Effective November 18, 2009, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission changed their guidelines for distance learning. Students are now required to spend a minimum amount of time on each course page before proceeding to the certification exam.

Click here to go to the latest version of the Today's Hunter in North Carolina online course—the official hunter education course of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

The following course material is for reference only. Please go to the new course to complete your North Carolina certification.

Wildlife Conservation

The concept of wildlife conservation has been around since ancient times. Restrictions on taking game are mentioned in the Bible, and the first official hunting season may have been established in the 13th century by Kublai Khan.

Doe and fawn

Today, wildlife conservation has evolved into a science, but its goal remains essentially the same: to ensure the wise use and management of renewable resources. Given the right circumstances, the living organisms that we call renewable resources can replenish themselves indefinitely.

Preservation is another means of protecting or saving a resource, such as by outlawing hunting of endangered species. Both preservation and conservation are necessary to sustain resources for future generations.

conservation: Wise use of natural resources, without wasting them
preservation: Saving natural resources, but with no consumptive use of them