Upon application by either the Secretary of Natural and Cultural Resources or the Secretary of Environmental Quality, the Governor is hereby authorized and empowered to commission as special peace officers such of the employees of the Departments as the Secretary may designate for the purpose of enforcing the laws and rules enacted or adopted for the protection, preservation and government of State parks, lakes, reservations and other lands or waters under the control or supervision of the respective Departments.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 113-28.1