Outdoor Notes: Fish and wildlife commission holds August meeting

COLUMBIA — The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission unanimously approved the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s 2025-26 operational budget, which will begin July 2025, and heard an overview of the new deer management framework and seasons during its August meeting.

The two-day meeting, which concluded Friday, Aug. 23, was held at the Tennessee Farm Bureau headquarters for the first time since May 2000.

A review of the new science-driven deer management framework that uses stakeholder objectives and additional data sources was provided by the Wildlife and Forestry Division. While the majority of the deer hunting regulations are similar to past years, there are new units and changes related to chronic wasting disease (CWD), hunting regulations and antlerless bag limits in East Tennessee.

The new units were created by grouping counties where biological and environmental factors that influence deer populations were similar. This will allow improved monitoring and management of deer. With the changes, there is no longer a Unit CWD in West Tennessee. The regulations there will revert to the normal statewide seasons, and rifles are not allowed during the August velvet hunt and the muzzleloader season.

The CWD Management Zone (feeding and transport regulations) remain the same. The Earn-a-Buck program applies in CWD-positive counties.

Additionally, there are increased antlerless bag limits in parts of East Tennessee, and TWRA will closely be monitoring the area over the next two years.

For a full review of the new process and how these regulations were approved, visit the commission page on tnwildlife.org to view the March and April meetings.

There will also be a new feature where deer hunters can voluntarily report specific locations of their deer harvests. This data will help to improve the agency’s understanding of the spatial distribution of deer and deer harvests in order to improve monitoring and understanding of population dynamics over time.

Other business

The Wildlife and Forestry Division also presented amendments and clarifications to the Gatlinburg Bear Feeding Proclamation. The proclamation now clearly includes unintentional feeding after final notice has been given. Changes also realigned the proclamation with the expanded city limits from growth. The proclamation reinforces commitment from TWRA and the city of Gatlinburg for public safety.Amendments and clarifications were also made to Oak Ridge WMA, Happy Hollow WMA, youth participation in quail quota hunts at Bridgestone Centennial Wilderness, verbiage for the Catoosa WMA turkey hunts, and dates of North Cherokee bear archery hunts.An update on TWRA’s Private Lands and Sharecrop Program was given. The crop lease program is utilized in all four regions and has a community impact to local producers across the state. The 96 leases cover just shy of 16,000 acres. There is a service lease where a percentage of a crop is left unharvested for wildlife and a cash lease or a cash payment to the Agency for services in lieu of cash.Communications and Marketing Director Emily Buck recognized Cash Daniels for his work in promoting conservation, in particular efforts to prevent plastic pollution in Tennessee waterways. A resident of Hamilton County, Daniels recently turned 15 and has picked up 45,000 pounds of trash and an estimated 5,000 miles of fishing line. Buck provided an update on how TWRA is involved in many outreach efforts with Tennessee Farm Bureau, 4-H and FFA to support rural youth and youth in agriculture. TWRA has supported these organizations through summer camp programming, wildlife education, shooting sports, and other outdoor recreation opportunities.TDOT presented a North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) Award copy to the TWRA Biodiversity Division for pollinator work. TWRA has partnered with TDEC and TDOT to support the work in Tennessee.Montana Michelson, who was earlier announced as the TWRA Boating Officer of the Year, was introduced to the commission. He is assigned to Sumner County and his boating duties are primarily on Old Hickory Lake.Col. Darren Rider, who is retiring as the head of the Boating and Law Enforcement Division at the end of the month, was honored by Executive Director Jason Maxedon and the commission. Rider served the agency for 38 years.

Quail quota hunt application period set

NASHVILLE — The application period for both the 2024-25 sandhill crane quota hunt and the 2024-25 bobwhite quail quota hunt will be held Sept. 4-25.

Additional information can be found on the quota hunt instruction sheets available online at Quota Hunts (tn.gov). Quota hunt applications can be made online at www.quotahunt.gooutdoorstennessee.com or in person at any TWRA license agent or TWRA regional office. No mailed applications will be accepted.

SANDHILL CRANE QUOTA HUNT: Applicants may create or join a party (five maximum), apply alone or submit a point only application. A party must be established by a party leader who will create the party. A party number will be assigned to the leader after the application has been submitted to the system and is printed on the receipt. The leader notifies the person(s) wishing to join the party of the party number. The members will choose “join a party” on their leader’s party number on their application. The party number is what links applications together.

Point only applications must be submitted individually (no parties). Applicants will be awarded one additional priority point, after the drawing is finalized, that will be added to their existing priority point total for the specific quota hunt for which they have submitted an application. Individuals cannot submit a point only application and an application to enter the hunt. Applicants must be 13 years old by the application deadline to enter the drawing.

TWRA’s priority drawing system gives one priority point to applicants each year they apply and are not successful for any hunt. Applicants who were successful on their last application start over with a priority of zero. If applicants in a party have varying priority points, the points will be averaged. If a party application is unsuccessful, each individual party member’s total will increase by one point.

BOBWHITE QUAIL QUOTA HUNT: For the first time, a bobwhite quail quota hunt will be held on four dates at Bridgestone Firestone WMA on Dec. 19 in 2024 and Jan. 9, 16 and 23 in 2025. There will be one permit per hunt and applicants may create or join a party or apply as an individual. The maximum party size is three. There are no priority points associated with this hunt.

If drawn, applicants may choose to alter their party or bring additional hunters (not to exceed a party of three) up until check-in at the WMA the day of the hunt. Non-hunting individuals may not go on the hunt. Applicants must be at least 6 years old by the date of the hunt. There can be no more than two youth (16 years old or younger) in a party. Youth hunters must be accompanied by an adult who may hunt as a member of the party, not to exceed a party of three.

Customers can apply by visiting www.quotahunt.gooutdoorstennessee.com, on the TWRA mobile app, at one of the TWRA regional offices, or at any TWRA license agent. There is no application fee for current Annual Sportsman License holders, Lifetime Sportsman License holders, or seniors possessing an Annual Senior Citizen Sportsman License. For all other applicants, there is a nonrefundable $12 application fee and a vendor fee. When applying at a license agent, hunters must remain at the location while the application is processed to verify the information is correct on the receipt.

All applicants should have a valid and accurate email address on their GoOutdoorsTennessee.com account. A receipt, which serves as proof applications, will be sent to the email address on the account.

Applicants may review their applicant (including party members) by logging in at QuotaHunt.GoOutdoorsTennessee.com. Applications may be edited until the deadline. Successful applicants will be notified by email.