Wildlife Commission to Conduct Angler Opinion Survey on Lake Norman

RALEIGH, N.C. (April 8, 2008) – The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will conduct an opinion survey for anglers who fish Lake Norman to help the agency determine future management decisions for the 32,510-acre lake, located in the state’s western Piedmont region.

The survey will be mailed on April 22 to a random sampling of licensed anglers who live in Cabarrus, Gaston, Cleveland, Mecklenburg, Iredell, Catawba, Lincoln, Union, Rowan, Davie, Davidson, Forsyth, Yadkin, Surry, Wilkes, Caldwell, Alexander, Burke, Rutherford and Guilford counties.

Anglers who receive the survey will have until June 24 to return the completed survey to the Commission in the provided postage-paid envelope.

Survey results, which should be available to the public by next January, will provide fisheries biologists with valuable information on the types of fishing experiences anglers prefer at Lake Norman, according to Kerry Linehan, a human dimensions biologist with the Commission.

“This is the first study we have conducted to focus solely on anglers’ opinions of the Commissions’ management of Lake Norman fisheries and their preferences,” Linehan said. “It is part of a larger effort to evaluate the reservoirs’ fisheries so that we can make better management decisions and improve fishing experiences for anglers.”

In addition to conducting this opinion survey, the Commission recently completed a creel survey to estimate fishing effort, catch and harvest and currently is conducting numerous biological studies at Lake Norman.

“The Commission highly values anglers’ opinions and strongly encourages anglers who receive the survey to fill it out and return it,” Linehan said. “The more anglers who respond to the survey, the better information the Commission will have about anglers’ opinions and their use of this resource, which will lead to better management of the Lake Norman fisheries.”

For more information about the survey, contact Linehan at (919) 707-0339 or kerry.linehan@ncwildlife.org. For more information on fishing in public, inland waters, click here or call the Division of Inland Fisheries, (919) 707-0220.