Six years of litigation concluded with a six-week trial and a 190-page ruling that highlights the binding importance of constitutional protections of hunting and fishing.

In 2020, the Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina (CCA NC) along with 86 citizens, including five former members of North Carolina's Marine Fisheries Commission, filed a lawsuit holding the state accountable for failing to protect its coastal fisheries by allowing them to deteriorate and collapse.

Two years later, the Court of Appeals unanimously ruled in favor of plaintiffs that the state has “an affirmative duty” under the public-trust doctrine and the North Carolina Constitution to “preserve the people’s right to fish and harvest fish,” which includes a “duty to preserve fisheries for the benefit of the public” and a “duty to keep fisheries safe from injury, harm or destruction for all time.”

On August 17, 2026, the Wake County Superior Court applied the Court of Appeals decision as binding precedent. It cited evidence that not one of North Carolina's state-managed coastal fish stocks is currently viable.

“This ruling demonstrates exactly why constitutional protections for hunting and fishing matter,” said Brent Miller, Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation vice president of policy. “These amendments are more than statements about our outdoor heritage — they provide meaningful, lasting protections for sportsmen and women."

North Carolina voters passed a constitutional amendment to protect the right to hunt, fish and harvest wildlife in 2018. Today, 23 other states have hunting and fishing constitutional protections: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Colorado can become the 25th state later this year. Proponents qualified a constitutional right to hunt and fish amendment for a vote in the November 2026 election. Fifty-five percent of Coloradans must vote in favor of it to become law.

About Hunt 2 Conserve 

Hunt 2 Conserve is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Its mission is to advance a legacy of hunting and conservation by educating, activating and developing stewards and defenders of these fundamentally American ideals. For more information, go to hunt2conserve.org.