State: TN

Contact: Mark Lance, Southeastern States Coordinator Highlights Why it Matters: The establishment of an oak/pine savanna would provide quality habitat for quail populations which have been on a continual decline across the Southeast for decades primarily due to loss of habitat. This habitat project would restore habitat for the South’s most iconic upland species as…

Contact: John Culclasure, Southeastern States Assistant Director On September 23, Governor Sportsmen’s Caucus Member Governor Bill Lee signed Executive Order No. 2 to establish the Asian Carp Advisory Commission (Commission). The purpose of the Commission is to address and mitigate the spread of invasive Asian carp (bighead, black, grass, and silver) in Tennessee’s waterways to…

Contact: John Culclasure, Southeastern States Assistant Director On September 2, the Tennessee Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus (Caucus) hosted their annual dove hunt at the Lock Five Farms in Lebanon. Hosted in conjunction with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation, the dove hunt provided an opportunity for Caucus members, sportsmen’s groups, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency leadership and Commissioners…

By John Culclasure, Central Appalachian States Manager Recently, the bicameral and bipartisan Tennessee Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus (Caucus) announced the addition of Representative Bob Freeman as the new Co-Chair of the Caucus.Representative Freeman joins National Assembly of Sportsmen’s Caucuses Executive Council member Senator Mike Bell on the leadership bench for the Caucus. “I’m excited to help…

Contact: John Culclasure, Central Appalachian States Manager On September 3, the Tennessee Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus hosted their annual dove hunt at the High Camp Farm in Erin. The event, hosted in conjunction with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation, brought the Tennessee sportsmen’s community together for a day of comradery afield. Roughly 50 people, including a…

Contact John Culclasure, Central Appalachian States Manager On May 24, the Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission approved deer hunting regulation changes in an effort to limit the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) and minimize its impact on Tennessee’s deer herd. In the three southwestern Tennessee counties where CWD has been confirmed (Fayette, Hardeman and…

Contact: John Culclasure, Central Appalachian States Manager On April 23, the Tennessee Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus hosted the annual Ron Lollar Memorial Wild Game Dinner at the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville. Lollar served in the Tennessee House of Representatives from 2006 to 2018 and was Co-Chair of the Caucus before he passed away in…

Contact: Bee Frederick, Southeastern States Director Recently, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee joined the Governors Sportsmen’s Caucus (GSC), a bipartisan group of governors from across the country dedicated to the interests of sportsmen and women. “Tennessee is rich with abundant natural resources and opportunities for sporting in each Grand Division. Having grown up hunting and fishing,…

By Bee Frederick, Southeastern States Senior Director On February 26, the Tennessee Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus hosted its first Caucus meeting of the year. In addition to electing new Caucus leadership, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) provided an update on Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) to more than 20 legislators during the meeting. The 2019-2020 Co-Chairmen…

By John Culclasure, Central Appalachian States Manager As of January 24, over 90 deer in Tennessee have tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD). The fatal disease in cervids was first detected in the state in December 2018, increasing the number of states with documented cases of CWD to 26. CWD poses a major threat…

By Bee Frederick, Southeastern States Director On April 4, the Co-Chairmen of the Tennessee Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus, Senator Mike Bell and Representative Jay Reedy, sent a letter to the Tennessee Congressional delegation in support of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA), HR 4647.  Introduced in the United States House of Representatives by Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus…

By Bee Frederick, Southeastern States Director On February 27, several wildlife conservation groups from the American Wildlife Conservation Partners (AWCP), including the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, sent a letter to the Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency supporting the proposed Importation of Wildlife Carcasses, Parts, and Products rule (number 1660‐01‐ 15‐.02)…