(a) The consent of the General Assembly of North Carolina is hereby given to the making by the Congress of the United States, or under its authority, of all such rules and regulations as the federal government shall determine to be needful in respect to game animals, game and nongame birds, and fish on such lands in the western part of North Carolina as shall have been, or may hereafter be, purchased by the United States under the terms of the act of Congress of March 1, 1911, entitled “An act to enable any state to cooperate with any other state or states, or with the United States, for the protection of the watersheds of navigable streams, and to appoint a commission for the acquisition of lands for the purposes of conserving the navigability of navigable rivers” (36 Stat. 961), and acts of Congress supplementary thereto and amendatory thereof, and in or on the waters thereon.

Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as conveying the ownership of wildlife from the State of North Carolina or permit the trapping, hunting, or transportation of any game animals, game or nongame birds, or fish by any person, including any agency, department, or instrumentality of the United States or agents thereof, on the lands in North Carolina, as shall have been or may hereafter be purchased by the United States under the terms of any act of Congress, except in accordance with the provisions of this Subchapter and its implementing regulations. Provided, that the provisions of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143B-135.20 apply with respect to licenses.

Any person, including employees or agents of any department or instrumentality of the United States, violating the provisions of this subsection is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

(b) The State of North Carolina hereby assents to the provisions of the act of Congress entitled “An act to provide that the United States shall aid the states in wildlife restoration projects, and for other purposes,” approved September 2, 1937 (Public Law 415, 75th Congress, also known as the “Pittman-Robertson Act”), 16 U.S.C. § 669, et seq., as amended, and the Wildlife Resources Commission and the Division of Marine Fisheries of the Department of Environmental Quality are hereby authorized, empowered, and directed to perform such acts as may be necessary to the conduct and establishment of cooperative wildlife restoration projects, as defined in the Pittman-Robertson Act, in compliance with the Act and rules and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of the Interior under the Act. No funds accruing to the State of North Carolina from license fees paid by hunters shall be diverted for any other purpose than the protection and propagation of game and wildlife in North Carolina and administration of the laws enacted for such purposes, which laws are and shall be administered by the Wildlife Resources Commission. No funds accruing to the State of North Carolina from license fees paid by fishermen for license programs administered by the Division of Marine Fisheries shall be diverted for any other purpose than the administration by the Division of Marine Fisheries of the Department of Environmental Quality of the portion of the State’s fish programs applicable to the marine and estuarine resources over which the Division has authority under State law. Revenues collected from coastal recreational fishing licenses in accordance with the provisions of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 113-175.1(c) and N.C. Gen. Stat. § 113-175.5(c) shall be used solely for the administration of the Division of Marine Fisheries and for program functions described by this subsection.

(c) Assent is hereby given to the provisions of the act of Congress entitled “An act to provide that the United States shall aid the states in fish restoration and management projects, and for other purposes,” approved August 9, 1950 (Public Law 681, 81st Congress, also known as the “Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act”), 16 U.S.C. § 777, et seq., as amended, the Wildlife Resources Commission and the Division of Marine Fisheries of the Department of Environmental Quality are hereby authorized, empowered, and directed to perform such acts as may be necessary to the conduct and establishment of cooperative fish restoration projects, as defined in the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Act, in compliance with the Act and rules and regulations promulgated by the Secretary of the Interior under the Act; and no funds accruing to the State of North Carolina from license fees paid by fishermen shall be directed for any other purpose than the following:

(1) The administration of the Wildlife Resources Commission and the protection, propagation, preservation, and investigation of fish and wildlife.

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(2) The administration by the Division of Marine Fisheries of the Department of Environmental Quality of the portion of the State’s fish programs applicable to the marine and estuarine resources over which the Division has authority under State law. Revenues collected from coastal recreational fishing licenses in accordance with the provisions of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 113-175.1(c) and N.C. Gen. Stat. § 113-175.5(c) shall be used solely for the administration of the Division of Marine Fisheries and for program functions described by this subdivision.

(d) If as a precondition to receiving funds under any cooperative program there must be a separation of license revenues received from certain classes of licensees and utilization of such revenues for limited purposes, the Wildlife Resources Commission is directed to make such arrangements for separate accounting within the Wildlife Resources Fund, or for separate funding, as may be necessary to insure the use of the revenues for the required purposes and eligibility for the cooperative funds. This subsection applies whether the cooperative program is with a public or private agency and whether the Wildlife Resources Commission acts alone on behalf of the State or in conjunction with some other State agency. (1915, c. 205; C.S., s. 2099; 1939, c. 79, ss. 1, 2; 1979, c. 830, s. 1; 1993, c. 539, s. 867; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 2004-199, s. 3; 2015-241, s. 14.30(ss); 2017-57, s. 13.15(b).)