Fish and Wildlife Commission Holds August Meeting in Columbia

COLUMBIA, Tenn. --- The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission unanimously approved the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency's 2025-26 operational budget which will begin July 2025. The Commission also heard an overview of the new deer management framework and seasons at its August meeting which concluded Friday. The two-day meeting 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 very similar, 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.

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, he recently turned 15-years-old 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. He served the Agency for 38 years.

---TWRA---

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