The Cedar Point Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to ask state lawmakers to nearly triple the town's current duck hunting safety buffer zone, intending to push hunters further away from residential properties. The decision has sparked a quick backlash from regional hunting groups, who warn the move could effectively eradicate a long-standing coastal tradition.
Safety Concerns vs. Coastal Tradition
Under current regulations enforced by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, waterfowl hunting is legally permitted within 450 feet of the shoreline. However, town leaders say action is required, citing multiple complaints from neighbors living along Bluff Road and Odom Street, which sit downstream from the Croatan National Forest game lands.
In response, the five-member town board authorized Town Manager David Rief to submit a formal letter to the North Carolina General Assembly requesting the buffer zone be expanded to 1,200 feet from private residences.
Opponents of the buffer expansion have launched online petitions on Change.org to urge the town council to reconsider. Ross Moncourtois started a petition opposing the change, which has garnered over 360 signatures.
Speaking on the banks of the White Oak River, Moncourtois emphasized that the tradition is deeply personal.
"Some kids have sports and that kind of keeps them on a straight and narrow path, so to speak. Mine was actually duck hunting," Moncourtois said. "The rule with my parents is if I make good grades, I can go duck hunting. And that's kind of why this transpires into meaning so much to me, not only for myself, but as a father now, I have a child of my own." — Eastern North Carolina duck hunter Ross Moncourtois
Hunting Advocates Warn of "Eradication"
The North Carolina Outdoors Coalition strongly opposes Cedar Point's proposal. While acknowledging proximity complaints, hunting advocates argue that a blanket 1,200-foot restriction along the riverbank would eliminate highly utilized, historic hunting blinds passed down through generations.
Moncourtois argues the current restrictions are already sufficient, noting that the proposed changes would make the town an extreme outlier.
"Cedar Point would be the only town in Carteret County to have regulation as far as a 1,200-foot guideline," Moncourtois said. "Right now the regulation is currently 150 yards, 450 feet, and I personally think that's plenty of room as far as being a distance from private structure." Instead of an outright distance ban, hunting groups are asking local officials to consider compromise measures, including:
- Establishing precise guidelines on allowable shot directions away from land
- Implementing enhanced safety education programs
- Working directly with the Wildlife Resources Commission
Data on Disturbances Remains Thin
Moncourtois points out that official documentation of safety hazards or disturbances on the river is remarkably thin.
"They've only had one report through e-mail and then one verbal report. And when I say report, that is just a conversation," Moncourtois noted. "There has been zero safety reports as well as zero noise complaints. So, I think that also should play a big part. You know, if we had damaging reports or stuff like that involved, then they might have something to look at."
Cedar Point Town Manager David Rief declined a request for an interview but passed along a statement clarifying that the board's directive was to pass along a resident's safety concerns to the state to consider increasing the distance, noting the town is not asking for a 1,200-foot buffer specifically.
The Future Rests in Raleigh
Because local municipalities do not hold independent authority to alter state-regulated wildlife laws, the future of the proposal rests entirely with state lawmakers in Raleigh. Meanwhile, hunters say they are determined to protect the area they have shared for generations.
"People have been duck hunting Cedar Point for over 100 years," Moncourtois said. "One of the things that kind of sticks out to me is kind of like if you have an airport and you move next to the airport and start complaining about airplanes... The airport, so to speak, was there first, kind of like duck hunting in the White Oak." — Eastern North Carolina Duck hunter Ross Moncourtois
Hunting advocates emphasize that responsible hunting supports the regional coastal economy through tourism, gear sales, and conservation funding. For locals like Moncourtois, losing access to the river means losing a piece of his own past.
"This is where I grew up hunting and now I'm hunting all over the states and I just don't want to see that happen to my hometown," Moncourtois said. "I've duck hunted over 5 states and the White Oak is home."
Town officials admit there is no guarantee the General Assembly will act on or approve the expansion. If lawmakers do choose to take up the request during an upcoming legislative session, they will decide whether to grant the coastal town a localized exception to the standard 450-foot rule.
