Permit hunts are increasingly taking over, where once many years ago, many impoundments could be hunted without permits.

"An example of a generally open hunting area is Gull Rock," Howell said. "It is a six-day-per-week game land. Hunting outside the posted Gull Rock impoundments is therefore open six days a week. But in the impoundments, the hunting is more restricted. We control access inside the impoundments to keep hunter competition down, as well as to prevent the waterfowl from leaving the impoundment due to excessive disturbance. Another thing we've done to minimize disturbance is to limit scouting and install observation platforms hunters can use at many of our impoundments to prevent hunters from disturbing birds on non-hunting days."

All posted waterfowl impoundments have special rules, such as times of entry and departure and prohibitions on the use of motors. Parking areas are designated and certain roadways are typically blocked to prevent vehicles from alarming waterfowl on hunting days. These rules are in the regulations digest, on the draw permits issued to successful applicants and are also posted at each impoundment.

In contrast to areas that are open to waterfowl hunting on all hunting days, there are others open to waterfowl hunting only by special permit. These permits are awarded on a lottery basis, with the deadline for the early-season hunts of Sept. 1 and for late-season hunts of Oct. 1. Permit applications are available at license dealers, by mail or by telephone. Hunters should read the Special Hunt Opportunities booklet for available hunts and details on the application procedures.

In between the generally open category and permit-only category are those impoundments that have permit days, general entry days and those that require a simple point of sale entry permit for the entire season.

"J. Morgan Futch is one of the most restrictive access, permit-only areas," Howell said. "In that particular area, we felt that disturbance or over-hunting would be a problem and would not provide the quality experience hunters want. Some other permit-only waterfowl areas include North River Game Land, Currituck Banks and Currituck NWR, Mattamuskeet NWR, Roanoke River Game Land, Lantern Acres Game Land, Rhodes Pond Game Land and Suggs Millpond Game Land. Most of the impoundments we've established in the last five years fall into that category, and those we add in the future will likely continue to be in that category."

Restrictions on access are through hunter quotas for specific hunting dates and permits have occurred largely because hunters have requested them. Too much crowding is not conducive to quality hunting. Over the last few seasons, even the number of hunt dates for most permit-only impoundments have gotten more restrictive with three-day-per-week game lands now reduced to two-day-per-week hunting.

"There were also complaints of hunters bunching up," Howell said. "We're trying to listen to folks to alleviate some of these concerns and problems. We control this situation not only by the number of permits issued, we've also broken up some of the impoundments into subunits, so hunters must specify which unit they wish to hunt on their permit applications."

Impoundments with subunits are mostly coastal impoundments, including Goose Creek, North River, Futch and Suggs Millpond. But some of them are also in the Piedmont.

Goose Creek and Campbells Creek impoundments are hunted Tuesdays, Saturdays and some holidays. Goose Creek is one of the only impoundments with an open day on Tuesday and a permit day on Saturday and holidays. Holly Shelter and Gull Rock game land impoundments are hunted only on Tuesdays, Saturdays and holidays and have no permit restrictions.

White Oak River was recently designated as a permit hunting area for the entire season, except for the Huggins Tract, which has a quota, but the permits are issued at point of sale rather than by lottery.