State: TN

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)…

On February 6, the bipartisan and bicameral Tennessee Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus hosted an inaugural Wild Game Dinner in the War Memorial Auditorium in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. The event, with support from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation (TWRF), served as a fundraiser for the Sportsmen’s Caucus and specific youth programs…

On May 9, Governors Sportsmen’s Caucus member Governor Bill Haslam signed Senate Bill 454, which will allow the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) to be reimbursed for the issuance of free or partially discounted combination hunting and fishing licenses to persons on or after January 1, 2017. The measure is not retroactive and does not…

Senator Mike Bell, Co-Chair of the Tennessee Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus, was recently named “Legislator of the Year” by the Safari Club International (SCI).   An avid outdoorsman and champion-legislator for sportsmen, Senator Bell was chosen for the prestigious award from 11 finalists and over 15,000 state legislators across the country.  The award will be formally…

On February 15, the Tennessee Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus hosted its first meeting of the 2017 legislative session. Legislators, legislative staff, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) personnel, and conservation organization representatives attended the informational meeting.  Attendees heard from Stephen Tucker from Sumner County, Tennessee who recounted the story of recently harvesting a new world record whitetail buck…

On March 23, the bipartisan and bicameral Tennessee Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus hosted their annual legislative reception in the War Memorial Auditorium in downtown Nashville, Tennessee.   With support from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Foundation, the event served as a venue for interaction between legislators, staffers, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) staff and commissioners, and representatives from…