The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission elected its new officers for 2016-17 during its one-day February meeting on Friday at the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s Region II Ray Bell Building.
Harold Cannon (Lenoir City) will serve as the 2016-17 chairman after he was vice chairman this past year. Jamie Woodson (Lebanon) moves from serving as secretary to vice chairman. David Watson (Lookout Mountain) was elected as the TFWC’s new secretary.
Chairman Cannon replaced Jim Bledsoe (Jamestown) who served in the role this past year. He was presented a plaque of appreciation for his service as chairman and will continue to serve as a commission member.
In other items at the meeting, the TFWC voted to withdraw a rule and follow TWRA’s recommendation that no changes be made concerning the required permits to hunt and fish on Reelfoot Lake/Wildlife Management Area. The TWRA held a public meeting on the subject in December and those persons in attendance were overwhelmingly opposed to changing permit/license requirements. The rule had originally been scheduled to come before the TFWC in January, but was postponed due to the impending inclement weather.
TWRA Wildlife and Forestry Division Chief Mark Gudlin gave a follow-up on his January presentation of preliminary harvest numbers for the recently completed deer, bear, and sandhill crane seasons. The update included the five-day private lands only January antlerless season in Unit L. There were 3,277 deer harvested during the period
Concerning bear harvest by equipment type, there were 434 by gun and 116 by archery. By method (dogs only vs. dogs not allowed), there were 408 with dogs and 142 without.
In addition to the harvest reports, Mr. Gudlin also said there have been two more verified cougar sightings in Humphreys County. They occurred near the location of two previous sightings. The verifications bring the total to six, the first two confirmed sightings coming in Obion and Carroll counties.
McNairy County Wildlife Officer Sam Bedwell was introduced as the 2015 Tennessee Shikar Safari Wildlife Officer of the Year. Shikar Safari representative Jim Maddox made the presentation.
Bob Drury was introduced to the commission for being named the Information Technology Division (IT) 2015 Professional of the Year. He is a Property Officer 2 for the division and was selected from four quarterly award winners for the yearly honor. IT Division Chief Michael May made the award presentation.
The TFWC will also hold its next meeting on one day. The TFWC will meet Thursday, March 24 at the Region II Ray Bell Building.