On Friday, officials with the SC Department of Natural Resources announced a temporary hunting closure for portions of Horry and Georgetown Counties due to the high river levels and flooding from Hurricane Matthew.
According to the SCDNR website, effective midnight on Saturday, Oct. 15, a ten-day closure of the hunting season for all game species excluding alligator, dove, hogs and coyotes will be in effect.
Officials say the flooding has created potential for exploitation of game species that are deprived of their normal escape routes and confined to small areas of high ground.
The closure halts all hunting within the Waccamaw River drainage system on all game species except for alligator, doves, hogs and coyotes.HORRY COUNTY West side boundary – beginning at the N.C. line on SC 905, thence down S.C. 905 to the intersection with U.S. 701, thence south on U.S. 701 to the Georgetown County line. East side boundary – beginning at the N.C. line on U.S. 17, thence down U.S. 17 to the Georgetown County line.GEORGETOWN COUNTYWest side boundary – beginning at the Horry County line on U.S. 701, thence south to U.S. 17 in Georgetown. East side boundary – beginning at the Horry County line on U.S. 17, thence south on U.S. 17 to U.S. 701 in Georgetown.
DNR says they will continue to monitor flooded areas and adjust the closure zones and timeframes as conditions change.
