RALEIGH – The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and the U.S. Army have begun discussions about an agreement that will allow for changes to military training simulations on a small portion of the Sandhills Game Land by placing non-permanent structures at five locations.
The Sandhills Game Land is comprised of more than 64,000 acres across portions of Hoke, Moore, Richmond and Scotland counties.
The proposed agreement will allow the U.S. Army to place the non-permanent structures, which are made of Conex shipping containers, within one mile of Camp Mackall. The proposed sites will simulate two villages and three homesteads. The footprint of the village sites will be roughly the size of a football field and the homestead sites will be roughly one-third the size of a football field. These sites were chosen in an effort to minimize the potential for conflicts with game land users and environmental and biological disturbances.
The impact of this agreement will be minimal as the number of soldiers on the ground would not increase when compared to the number of solders that are currently conducting training activities on the game land.
“The Commission has enjoyed a longstanding and productive partnership with the U.S. Army,” said Gordon Myers, the Commission’s executive director. “In fact, in 1949 the federal government conveyed to the state more than 54,000 acres of land that was being used for military purposes. This land now comprises the majority of the Sandhills Game Land. The transfer of that acreage has provided increased opportunities for hunting, fishing and other wildlife-associated recreation to North Carolinians.
“As part of the 1949 land transfer, the Army retained maneuvering and firing rights on the game land,” he added. “This proposed agreement would simply result in a more focused impact at the five locations as compared to soldiers being dispersed over a larger area of the game land.”
To avoid potential conflicts with hunters, no daytime training activities would occur on the game land during the deer gun season.
With more than 2 million acres of public game lands in North Carolina, outdoor enthusiasts have ample opportunity to experience hunting, fishing, hiking, birding, nature photography and more. For information, visit ncwildlife.org/gamelands.