State: TN

Why It Matters: One major topic of this year’s legislative session in Tennessee that shines through has been issues impacting sportsmen and women. Whether that is legislation that establishes an optional hunter safety education in schools program or legislation that protects hunters’ ability to lawfully hunt within city limits, the interests of Tennessee’s sportsmen and women were well represented in Nashville. However, there is still work to be done, particularly […]

Why It Matters: As hunting participation has generally been on the decline in recent years, access to quality hunting ground is often cited as a leading barrier to hunting participation. These challenges can be exacerbated when access and opportunity are governed by conflicting rules established by multiple agencies, causing confusion among would-be participants. Efforts to codify the state’s fish and wildlife agency as the sole rulemaking and […]

Why It Matters: Exposing young people to the fundamentals of our time-honored traditions is essential in recruiting the next generation of hunters. Bringing hunter safety education classes into schools offers a controlled and safe environment for students to learn the fundamentals needed to safely participate and enjoy our favorite pastimes and continue funding conservation through the […]

Why It Matters: Whether it’s the funding of conservation today or enabling the next generation of sporting license buyers, there are bills moving through the Tennessee General Assembly that would benefit the sporting-conservation community both short and long-term. Hunters and anglers generate the vast majority of state-level conservation funding through the “user pays – public benefits” structure that is the American System of […]

Why It Matters: Hunters and anglers generate the vast majority of state level funding for conservation through the “user pays – public benefits” structure that is the American System of Conservation Funding (ASCF). State fish and wildlife agencies rely on funds generated by sportsmen and women through sporting license sales and excise tax revenue from the Wildlife and Sportfish Restoration programs to…

Why It Matters: Today’s youth are the next generation tasked with carrying our time-honored traditions forward. Introducing them to the outdoors helps build the foundation needed to sustain those traditions into the future. Hunter safety education in schools programs play a key role in this effort by instilling a strong conservation ethic, teaching essential hunting safety skills, and encouraging youth to support the “user pays – public benefits” structure […]