The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission will meet March 20-21 at the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s Ray Bell Building.
Committee meetings will begin at 1 p.m. on March 20. The formal meeting starts at 9 a.m. March 21 and the public is invited to attend both days.
The meeting will be the first with new chairman Jeff Cook, MD of Franklin presiding. Other officers include Kurt Holbert (Decaturville) who moves from secretary to vice chairman and Brian McLerran (Moss) who was elected secretary. Past chair Jamie Woodson (Lebanon) will continue to serve on the commission.
Brad Miller, TWRA’s Elk Program leader, will make a presentation on the TWRA Strategic Elk Plan for 2018-28. The plan has been available for public viewing on the Agency’s website for the past few months.
Dr. David Buehler from the University of Tennessee will give an update on a turkey research project. The TWRA and UT are partnering to conduct a 6-year project that began in late 2016 to look at turkey survival, reproduction and other factors having an impact on population trends in Middle Tennessee.
Mark Thurman, from TWRA Region III Fisheries, will give a report on the removal last year of the Roaring River Dam in Jackson County. The structure was the largest dam to be removed in Tennessee for river and stream restoration.
Assistant Director Bobby Wilson will give an update on the two-year season setting process. TWRA recommends starting next year, the process would happen every two years by proclamation, beginning with wildlife and then fisheries the next season setting.
At the TFWC’s January meeting, the commission asked the TWRA Law Enforcement Division to research the cost of equipment in regard to help with law enforcement issues surrounding chronic wasting disease (CWD). Lt. Col. Cape Taylor, who presented preliminary costs of freezers and incinerators at last month’s meeting, will give an update in regard to the cost and location of the freezers. Information on the incinerators will be presented by the Wildlife Division at the April TFWC meeting.
A presentation on a new live elk cam that will be available to the public on the TWRA website will be given by the Communication Division’s Doug Markham and Jason Harmon. The cam is located at the Hatfield Knob viewing area on North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area in Campbell County.
The Boating and Law Enforcement Division will present the 2017 Boating Officers of the Year. The division annually gives an award for full-time and part-time officers.