Tennesee’s Wild Side Weekly Article
TWRC Previews Proposed Hunting Changes
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission (TWRC) heard the 2008-09 hunting season recommendations from Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency staff among items on its agenda at its regularly scheduled April meeting, held at the TWRA Region II Ray Bell Building.
The following are proposed changes which would affect Region IV (Tennessee’s eastern 21 counties).
Increase antlerless deer gun opportunities:
- Increase hunt from 3 to 9 days to Anderson, Carter, Claiborne, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Jefferson, Johnson, and Loudon (East of I-75).
- Increase hunter quotas in Carter, Johnson, and Sullivan;
- Make antlerless hunt non-quota in Hawkins, Knox, and Loudon (West of I-75).
- Increase bag limit to 2 in Sevier.
- Extend the bear archery still hunt from September 27 – October 24. Added Sept. 27 – Oct. 10 to private lands in Blount, Carter, Cocke, Greene, Johnson, Monroe, Polk (east of 411 & north of 64), Sevier, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington counties.
- Add fall turkey hunting opportunities in Anderson, Blount, and Knox.
- Set the 2009 Spring Turkey opener for March 28, 2009 (Young Sportsman March 21-22).
- Defined a legal antler point as a projection of at least one inch long, measured from the tip of the point to the nearest edge of the beam, following the mid-line of the tine.
- Proposed to allow a turkey hunter to take two bearded birds per day if one is a bonus bird taken on a quota WMA hunt and the other is a statewide bird.
- Propose to open Jefferson County (East of Hwy. 411) to bear hunting and bear dog training.
- Propose to open private lands in Blount, Carter, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington counties to bear dog training.
- Clarify youth accompaniment requirements. A supervising adult would be allowed to accompany more than one youth hunter as long as the adult is in position to take control of each hunting device.
- The Commission requested the Agency to look into expanding the deer archery seasons throughout the historic closed days in Unit B.
These proposals and others that affect hunting in other parts of the state will be voted on by the TWRC at its Season Setting Meeting on May 21-22, 2008 at the TWRA Region II Office.
TWRA
