The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Resources Commission will set the state’s 2015-16 hunting seasons at its May 21-22 meeting to be held at the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Ray Bell Region II Building.
The meeting will begin on May 21, at 1 p.m. with the committee sessions. The formal meeting starts at 9 a.m. on May 22.
At the April meeting, TWRA staff presented the TFWC Wildlife Management Committee with recommendations including increased deer hunting opportunities in Claiborne and Rhea counties. The Wildlife Committee passed a motion directing TWRA staff to develop a proclamation for a two-buck deer limit; which has allowed for public discussion and a comment period on this potential change in deer harvest regulations since the April meeting.
An increase in elk zones 5 to 7 with no increase in permits issued was proposed to reduce harvest pressure on certain zones. A limited elk hunting season in October has been held since 2009 at North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area. Five permits are issued for a five-day season and an additional youth permit has been issued for a two-day young sportsman hunt since 2012.
There was also a recommendation to change turkey regulations on bottomland Wildlife Management Areas in West Tennessee by moving 14 WMAs from quota hunts to non-quota hunts and five WMAs from statewide regulations to non-quota hunts. Fall turkey hunting in Middle Tennessee was proposed to be closed in four counties and reduced in 16 others due to hunter concerns over population levels in the specific counties.
A date change to the bear dog training season and a zone expansion to include all of Hamilton County were proposed. New regulations were recommended for the recently acquired 1,800 acre Happy Hollow WMA in Hickman County. Several other minor WMA regulations were also proposed.
In other agenda items, the 2014 Shikar Safari Wildlife Officer of the Year will be recognized. There will also be a report on the recently announced long term funding for trout production at federal hatcheries and stocking in 13 TVA dam tailwaters. The TWRA’s Chris Richardson will give a legislative update.
The public is invited to attend. To view previous TFWC meetings, visit the TWRA website at www.tnwildlife.org and click on the commission link.