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Tennessee ‘Right to Work’ Amendment on the Ballot

On the ballot in this year’s midterm election is a proposal to amend our state’s constitution..  From the initial reading, one might think Purposed Amendment #1 – Right to Work is designed to strengthen legislation that has already been passed. However, one must look deeper into the motives and consequences of changing the Tennessee Constitution.

Here’s a look at the current law:

 The “Right to Work” laws currently existing in the state allow both the company and the employee to work at will. Both can walk away from the employment agreement. If an employee is fired from their job, they qualify for federal unemployment benefits while seeking employment from another company. If an employee wants to quit their job for a better opportunity, they can leave their employment without being beholden to the company or a Union. All Tennessee businesses run their companies to meet market demand and have the freedom to manage their payroll and other expenses according to their business plan in order to survive and thrive so they can keep their employees employed.

The language in the purposed new amendment reads: 

“It is unlawful for any person, corporation, association, or this state or its political subdivisions to deny or attempt to deny employment to any person by reason of the person’s membership in, affiliation with, resignation from, or refusal to join or affiliate with any labor union or employee organization.”

This new amendment specifically would make it unconstitutional to refuse employment regardless of a person’s involvement or affiliation with any union or similar structured work environment.

Sounds good on the surface, but let’s look at an example of how it will work. The Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga needs to hire someone. If a person who belongs to a union, for example The U.A.W. in Detroit relocates to Tennessee and they apply for the position. Since this person has experience in the industry, it would be almost considered discrimination if Volkswagen didn’t hire them. Now, what happens when the employee starts to mention that union wages are much higher and demands from a Tennessee business’s Human Resources person that they match the prevailing union wage the employee is used to? The company would under the newly proposed amendment to The State of Tennessee’s Constitution be bound to accommodate that employee, under threat of litigation because of the sentence in the purposed amendment that reads “…..it is unlawful for a corporation to deny employment to any person by reason of the person’s membership…with any union…”. If this new amendment succeeds the employee is bound to constitutionally prevail if he is not hired and sues Volkswagen.

 See what happened here? The company no longer has the authority to hire and fire who the need to run their businesses. This new amendment just stripped the business of their power to run their own businesses.

While all this is happening, how many employees at the plant are now going to refuse the U.A.W.’s promises of higher wages and better benefits? Is any company in Tennessee willing to take that gamble?

This new amendment would be inclusive of ALL Unions and any worker affiliated agent, like The A.F.T that’s pushing Critical Race Theory or Social emotional learning as it’s been renamed to disguise the intent. There are many affiliated organizations; all are basically socialist organizations, disguised to benefit workers, but only the major corporations that operate the unions gain the most profits off the backs of the workers they claim to protect!

We all know what happens next. All the union shops immediately set up shops all over the Tennessee because of the lucrative lower taxes. Then the union representatives flood in and union workers bombard the state.

Of course everyone knows that The Unions, and their representatives and most of their workforce mostly vote for Democratic candidates.

Goodbye, Conservative, red Tennessee if this passes!!!

Here is what the ballot will look like:

Constitutional Amendment #1 

Shall Article XI of the Constitution of Tennessee be amended by adding the following language as a new section?

“It is unlawful for any person, corporation, association, or this state or its political subdivisions to deny or attempt to deny employment to any person by reason of the person’s membership in, affiliation with, resignation from, or refusal to join or affiliate with any labor union or employee organization.”

VOTE NO!

America’s Lost Memory

Apparently the American people are all suffering from dementia. With the recent passage of the ill-named Inflation Reduction Act, there is a provision to increase the corporate tax rate.

It was only six years ago that Americans elected Donald Trump. One of his promises was to reduce the corporate tax rate because of the staggering loss of American jobs due to the relocation of hundreds of factories relocating to China and other countries to get away from the high taxes imposed by The Obama administration. Now, with the help from the only two conservative Democrats in congress, we can return Americans to the same downward spiral that forced businesses to leave the last go-round. This high tax climate will ultimately have the same effect, and instead of reducing inflation, it will cause The Government to lose far more revenue from the business exodus, than could possibly be collected from those that remain in this country.

President Donald Trump was able to lower the corporate rates and convince many businesses to return to America, sparking growth, lower unemployment, and increasing tax revenue to The Federal balance sheet.

 It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that with this Inflation Reduction Act, history will repeat itself. It costs a small fortune for a business to relocate, whether overseas, or to return back to America. I wonder what magic wand can be waived to make the businesses relocate back for a second time.

For those who may be mathematically challenged, that would be four times that businesses would go through the expense to relocate in just six years. I seriously doubt that any tax incentive could be strong enough to overcome those expenditures for any company.

 The loss of American run businesses will be permanent for this go-round. So, Joe Biden’s dementia is contagious. Apparently Joe Manchin and Kirsten Sinema have it too, because without their vote, it would never have passed through reconciliation.

Teenage Sex Change Operations at Vanderbilt Hospital without Parental consent

The latest sign on display at Vanderbilt. It reads : “Parents of Pre-Teen Be Aware – When your 12-year-old turns 13 you will lose access to your My Health at Vanderbilt account. You and your teen must present yourself to the front desk with your ID and fill out a MHAV 13-17 Form to retain access.”

Vanderbilt hospital has now engaged in the practice of genital mutilation on minors through both chemical and surgical means. Worse yet, is doing so without parental guidance or consent. In fact the new policy is attempting to deliberately exclude parents from being aware of these procedures. This is heinous, beyond immoral, and criminal. Any so-called physician engaging in this activity should lose their license to practice medicine, be charged with a class A felony, and imprisoned as if they were convicted of assault with a deadly weapon. Would any reasonable physician allow a minor child to put their arm in a vat of acid because they dislike their skin color, and not disclose the event to the child’s parent?

Here is the link to the newspaper article:

https://thefederalist.com/2022/07/11/vanderbilt-health-is-treating-tennessee-minors-without-parental-consent/

 A minor child is in the custody of a parent or guardian until they are either emancipated by the court or reach the age of consent, in most states that is 18 years old, and has no right to give consent to any medical procedure until they reach 18 years old. For instance; a minor child can’t legally get a piercing or a tattoo until they are 16 and have written consent from their parent or guardian.[1] The children’s medical records are being deliberately withheld from their parent or guardian by Vanderbilt Hospital, in order to perform these genital mutilations, without a court ordering it so, I am assuming Vanderbilt is violating Hipaa, Civil, and Criminal statutes of Tennessee law.

Vanderbilt has the tail wagging the dog here. The obligation of the hospital is to first warn or advise a parent or guardian of a child’s attempt to undermine their care. Then release any records pertaining to a visit by a minor child to said guardian or parent.

It’s Vanderbilt’s position that a counselor will be appointed on the child’s behalf to “guide” them through the process. First of all, Vanderbilt has no legal right to guardianship over any patient. Secondly, the guardian or “counselor” as it were, is most likely not neutral in their position of transgenderism. In fact, I would bet good money that the “counselor” has undergone the procedure themselves. Therefore, an impressionable child wouldn’t be given a fair assessment of the procedure; they would be a victim of flat out coercion.

This practice of genital mutilation was last practiced in the 1940’s in NAZI Germany, in an effort to perpetuate “The Arian Race”. If child rape is a crime, then this is far more sinister. All physicians must take an oath “The Hippocratic Oath” it means to “Do No Harm”. 

I ask all Tennesseans to write to the Tennessee State Legislatures and Governor Lee’s office and demand that a special legislative session be held immediately to halt this before any children are needlessly harmed.

The 10th amendment of the Unites States Constitution guarantees the rights to the citizens (parents) of the state over any draconian rules of businesses or hospitals or the federal government.

[1] https://www.verywellfamily.com/ages-for-body-piercing-and-tattooing-2611114

War and the USA

Some fun facts about the United States and its involvement in the major wars, historically. In 1812 with America’s conflict in The Spanish – American war, James Madison, a Democrat, was president.  Preceding The Civil war in 1860, James Buchanan, a Democrat was president. In 1918, at the start of The U.S. entering World War 1, Woodrow Wilson, another Democrat, was president. At the onset of World War 2, guess what, Franklin Roosevelt, another Democrat, was the president. In 1964, once again, The U.S. went to war in Vietnam. You guessed it, John F. Kennedy, another Democrat, was president. In all those conflicts, a Republican president got the country out of those conflicts. Now, as there’s mutterings of World War 3, because of Russia’s invasion into Ukraine, how many guesses do we need to know what party is in The White House? The only exception being The Attack on America on September 11th 2001, when a Democrat, Joe Biden surrendered to The Taliban after our 20 year involvement in the region. Oh, by the way, that Taliban we surrendered to was armed and funded into existence with United States taxpayer dollars during, yes you guessed right again, a Democrat president Jimmy Carter in the late 70’s in an attempt to disrupt Russian influence in the region.

TWRA Mismanagement Continues

Passing by the Bridgestone Centennial Wilderness Area on Eastland Road there laid a dead coyote in the middle of the road. The T.W.R.A. has recently attempted to introduce quail in the W.M.A., and is failing miserably to accomplish this.

 The agency has recently tried to convince the Bridgestone Corporation and the local public that all that is needed is more open lands in the W.M.A. to be successful. The agency has proposed a massive “clear cutting” operation to do this that has been met with staunch opposition from T.D.O.C. and the local public. The fact is that The T.W.R.A. is simply either poorly educated about wildlife or just stubbornly ignorant. The agency is failing to introduce the Quail for one simple reason -the rampant coyote population in the area. Unless and until these predator numbers are either eradicated or severely checked, no terrestrial bird can be introduced successfully.

 In fact the statistics show that the terrestrial bird populations are near extinction levels now in the Bridgestone Centennial Wilderness Area. Gone are the Ruffed Grouse and Ring Neck Pheasants. Wild Turkeys are disappearing rapidly, and very few of the 1200 Quail released only a couple years ago remain. The T.W.R.A. doesn’t need to clear or obtain lands as the agency would have everyone believe. They simply need to adequately manage the lands that they’ve been assigned to manage. 

Just a couple weeks ago Tennessee Tech released a dozen Quail with identifying marks to track them, overnight nine birds were gone. It’s foolish to just keep feeding these Coyotes, and why T.W.R.A. is failing to rid us of this non-indigenous predator, or recognize the problem for what it is I simply can’t understand.

 They had no problem eradicating the wild pigs in The W.M.A. with over a hundred killed and just bulldozed into a trench about four or five years ago, which, by the way is a felony crime in some states called ‘wanton waste’.

Bridgestone/Firestone Wildlife Management Area does not live in a bubble.

Open Letter to the TWRA:

Another topic we did not have enough time to discuss at the Oct 4th public meeting is herbicides. Which ones will be used to kill the trees you will cut down? What are the side effects of these herbicides on the residential population cattle wells, nearby Firestone Lake, the Caney Fork and other streams, ponds and the current animal, fish, insect and plant population in the woods as it is sprayed?

 Residents close to Bridgestone/Firestone Eastland Road entrance have 100’s if not 1,000s of acres of land to raise cattle, bees, gardens and to harvest fish and animals from Bridgestone/Firestone Wildlife Area and surrounding areas to provide for their families.

 In these uncertain times of the availability of food and the ability to pay for food, poisoning these residents’ private land to turn a forest into a savanna is callous if not criminal. To destroy current trees on Bridgestone WMA (and nearby private lands forests) that are in the prime of their production of acorns to feed wildlife; to kill bees who ARE ENDANGERED unlike quail, to potentially poison Firestone Lake that provide water to the surrounding Bon Air, Ravencroft, parts of Pleasant Hill, DeRossett and Eastland road residents with herbicide overspray, to poison the surrounding private land trees, soil, water, cattle, crops, Caney fork and other streams, need I go on… All this destruction and poisoning to create a savanna which already exists in the United States for a bird that already exists in the United States, based on someone’s BELIEF, but shows no scientific proof, that this is what Tennessee looked like. Savannas provide little sustenance in the winter months for wildlife. Even if Tennessee was a savanna, right now in the PRESENT time people are living in the area, caring for the land and animals, providing food and shelter for their families, so it makes no sense to destroy Bridgestone WMA and private property owners’ lands for something that no longer exists here.

  Should we take down all the houses and dig up all the roads so the landscape looks like something from the past?  Should we bring back the dinosaurs whose bones have been found in Tennessee – just because some believe they roamed Bridgestone/Firestone wildlife area a while back? https://www.thoughtco.com/dinosaurs-and-prehistoric-animals-of-tennessee-1092101

According to the UT Institute of Agriculture https://utia.tennessee.edu/ and the Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries https://fwf.tennessee.edu/, the herbicides often used in Tennessee are a “Mixture of Triclopyr and Imazapyr”,  https://fwf.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2021/02/Herbicide-mixture-for-FSI.pdf .

The manufacturer of Trilopyr reports about the adverse side effects of their product as the following:

Triclopyr and commercially available products containing this herbicide are of particular concern to human health and the environment, due to: 1) potential toxicity from acute and chronic exposures, including eye, skin, respiratory and gastrointestinal injury; 2) potential adverse effects to non-target plants and animals, due to over-spray, drift, leaching, and translocation to aquatic habitats from weather and erosion factors; and, 3) the potentially extreme hazard to both humans and animals from exposure to “inert” ingredients in triclopyr products, such as EDTA, triethylamine, and kerosene.…..and for specific details of the herbicide side effects there’s this from their website:

https://fwf.tennessee.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2021/02/Herbicide-mixture-for-FSI.pdf .

Human Health Risk Summary

Acute Effects: Brief exposure to triclopyr has been found to cause severe eye damage, skin sensitization, dizziness and/or drowsiness, respiratory irritation, and gastrointestinal irritation. Acute exposure has also been linked to blood, kidney, liver, and nervous system toxicity in animals

Chronic Effects: Carcinogenicity: Though not widely classified as a carcinogen, two unpublished studies on triclopyr ingestion by rats and mice have suggested increased frequency of mammary gland cancer at high doses.

Reproductive & Developmental Toxicity: In experimental animal studies, high doses of triclopyr have been shown to cause reproductive and developmental abnormalities, including: increased fetal death, skeletal malformations, as well as liver and kidney defects.

Ecological Hazard Summary

Environmental Fate: Triclopyr is moderately persistent in soil, with an estimated half-life from 30-90 days, though it has been shown to persist for over a year depending on conditions. In an aquatic setting, half-life ranges from several hours to 10 days depending on water-depth and sunlight conditions. Adsorption to soil particles varies based on formula and soil type. Butoxyethyl ester has a greater potential for surface-water runoff and waterway contamination than the triethylamine salt, due to its low soil adsorption capacity. Butoxyethyl ester and TCP (the most common breakdown product of triclopyr) may pose significant risks to groundwater and surface water sources.

Risk to Non-Target Flora & Fauna: Triclopyr has been shown to be moderately to highly toxic to freshwater plants and fish as well as some marine vertebrates and invertebrates when in butoxyethyl ester form, as well as in the degradate (TCP) form. Salmonid species of fish have been shown to be more sensitive to both the ester form and TCP than other species tested. , Both fish and amphibian species have exhibited behavioral defects, reduced oxygen uptake and loss of motor control when exposed to low doses of triclopyr. At least one study has indicated that mammal populations dwelling in forested areas treated with triclopyr have been significantly reduced. Because triclopyr is a potent plant growth disruptor, unintended target plants may be destroyed due to spray drift, leaching, erosion and storm-caused translocation. Additionally, triclopyr has been shown to disrupt the normal growth and nutrient cycling properties of microorganisms, fungi, mosses and algae; all of which perform critical functions to maintain a healthy ecosystem.

Toxicity of Inert Ingredients

Commercial triclopyr products are typically composed of 40-50% of the triclopyr acid or salt, and 50-60% of inert ingredients or surfactants. Many of these additives have shown to be significantly more toxic to both humans and animals than triclopyr itself. One of these compounds ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) has been shown to cause birth defects, cleft palate, and abnormal skeletons in test animals. EDTA has also been shown to be 10-fold more toxic to fish than the Garlon formulation alone. Another inert, triethylamine is extremely toxic to the eyes, skin and respiratory system. At least one commercially available triclopyr products contains kerosene, which has been linked to severe gastrointestinal, respiratory and nervous system toxicity.

PLEASE THINK BEFORE YOU DESTROY.

TWRA Public Meeting on their Savanna Habitat Plan

I don’t think anyone at the Oct.4th meeting took notice that The Savanna Habitats that were shown in The T.W.R.A presentation were all during the green or warmer months. These “Savannas”, while may be ideal habitats for some wildlife during the spring and summer, are almost void of any nutritional needs for the animals in the late fall and winter.

 The T.W.R.A. released 1200 quail in The Ranch portion only a few years ago, and admittedly the T.W.R.A. reports only 6 small coveys remain. I believe this is mostly caused by the rampant coyote population in The W.M.A., as quail roost on the ground at night, and are easily consumed by the aggressive predator. These pests added to the fox, the great horned owl, and common feral house cats, along with the quail hunters’ leaves little room for adequate propagation for the birds. In other words, the quail experiment is already a failure, so why on earth should it be expanded?

Contrary to the disingenuous T.W.R.A. presentation, even the quail that they hold so dear, will need to forage in and around the dense forest areas, during those lean months where Beech mast, Dogwood nuts, and partially eaten acorns, and hickory nuts will help them to survive. It is a well known fact that is known by true outdoorsmen, that deer eat only half the acorn as when they bite it, the other half falls to the ground where it is often left for other animals like the quail and turkey to consume. It is also a well known fact that squirrels are messy eaters, and leave hickory nut and acorn crumbles wherever they eat one. No hardwoods, no squirrels.

 Nature is complex and intertwined, and it seems whenever man interferes, in this case The T.W.R.A., nature loses.  Contrary to the falsehoods the T.W.R.A. is trying to get everyone to believe, the closed canopy hardwoods are both bountiful with sustenance, and essential for all wildlife survival.

 As a bow hunter of over thirty years, I can tell you that it is nearly impossible to have a whitetail deer get close enough in those open Savannas to get a shot at one, especially after the leaves fall. Their keen sense of smell and sharp eye for movement are the reason why. I think a lot of bow hunters along with the rest of the furious residents would be quite unhappy if The W.M.A. only provided opportunities for rifle hunting. I believe that Mike O’Neal was spot on; this is nothing more than a gigantic experiment with gigantic consequences when it fails miserably.

As far as the timber profits are concerned, Neither Tennessee State or The T.W.R.A. are supposed to profit. The Timber Contractor profits, and pays what is known in the industry as “stumpage”. Usually this can be as much as 60% of the actual timber company price per foot that is paid to the logging company. The “stumpage” is paid to alleviate the logging company’s responsibility to remove the stumps left behind when the trees are removed. Tennessee State or The T.W.R.A. only profit if they avoid their responsibility to remove the stumps. This arrangement works to profit private landowners, because they have no obligation to public interest to have the stumps removed, however, both Tennessee State and The T.W.R.A. do. It is my opinion that if Tennessee State workers and equipment are used to deforest any area, 100% of the timber company’s price per foot that is paid out to Tennessee State  should be considered “Stumpage”, and used to to finish the project by reforesting or removing all the stumps.

The information concerning the pricing of timber provided by the T.W.R.A. is misleading as timber is not sold by the ton. It’s sold by the board foot, and different prices per foot for different tree species. Interesting fact: A large, well equipped logging company can deforest approximately 40 acres a week. Just to deforest the proposed few hundred acres, will leave local residents dealing with heavy equipment traffic and logging trucks for at least half a year on Eastland road, which is already in desperate need of repaving.

Public Meeting October 4, 2021

A meeting is set for October 4, 2021, to determine what the public concerns are with regards to The T.W.R.A.’s plan to deforest part of The Bridgestone Centennial Wilderness Area for the purpose of creating a “Savanna” habitat for Bobwhite Quail. Representative Paul Sherrell is calling for the meeting. As a long time White County resident, Rep. Sherrell has many of the same concerns as everyone else around this area of the county.

The Bridgestone W.M.A. is the only W.M.A. in White County. The main concern is, with plummeting numbers of viable big game in The W.M.A., why is the T.W.R.A. focusing its efforts on this kind of project. The Main decree of the T.W.R.A. is to enhance wildlife. The T.W.R.A. claims that they want to create a “Savanna” in the Bridgestone W.M.A. However, a savanna, by definition, is a flat grassy plain. The Bridgestone W.M.A. is a hilly, rocky, and in some areas very steep and mountainous. Changing the terrain of the W.M.A. to do this would literally take an act of God. I know that The T.W.R.A. has a huge war chest of resources to bring to bear, but I doubt very seriously they have access to the kind of earth moving equipment to adequately satisfy the definition of “Savanna”.

This whole premise is obviously some pipe dream thought up by someone  in  management of The Bridgestone W.M.A. probably a lifelong bird hunter from either another state, or a different part of Tennessee, and is indifferent to the needs or wants of the White County hunting  community as a whole. If so, that would explain away some of the crazy that is presented before us with this “Savanna” idea.

 I am sure of one thing, a great number of residents, hunter or not, is absolutely livid about this including lifelong residents, especially, because they have watched as a great hunting area has been decimated through the direct mismanagement of The Bridgestone W.M.A. since they took over that responsibility several years ago.

 My neighbor can recall counting fifty or more deer walk past his tree stand while bow hunting in a single day. Now, you can drive the whole three miles from the main road down to the river and never see a deer or turkey, no matter the time of day.

Resuscitation Plan for Bridgestone Centennial Wilderness Area

In the past few years I have written several blogs that criticize the T.W.R.A. for its ill management of The Bridgestone Centennial Wilderness Area. Consider the following outline a gift to the T.W.R.A. in order to resuscitate the wildlife in The W.M.A., and bring back the hunting public to the area. 

 These are some of my suggestions for steps that need to be done:

1. A moratorium on all “Prescribed Burning” for five years, and if resumed, to be done in fall or winter, not early spring as apparently is the current policy.

2. Reintroduction of at least fifty Whitetail Deer from healthy populations of properly managed hunting ranches in Texas or other states or even Tennessee, to insure genetic viability of the deer herds.

3. Reintroduce at least one hundred Wild Turkeys from other parts of the state or nearby states, and perhaps even introduce The Rio Grande strain from south Texas, (a larger variety of The  Wild Turkey.) 

4. Introduce Axis or Fallow Deer, as they don’t follow the same rutting schedule as Whitetail.

 5. A moratorium on all Big game hunting for at least one year after any introduction.

6. Winter Wheat and other seasonal food plots to be sown into the recently cleared Bowater pine forests at regular intervals.

7. When Big Game Hunts resume, no does or antlerless deer are to be taken for two additional seasons, and current antler restrictions remain in place.

8.  New regulations in The W.M.A. should be strictly enforced with harvest restrictions, along with random night patrols in The W.M.A. That means that an agent must be present and actively patrolling and checking hunter’s licenses every day during Big Game Hunts. Additionally, an agent must be parked at the entrance to The W.M.A. on the opening day of rifle season, or rent the currently unoccupied building across the street to be used as a substation.

9.  Optional, but probably helpful, would be to have a special season for Coyote Hunts, after the regular season with a $25.00 bounty for every one surrendered. The T.W.R.A. could then sell the pelts to recover the financial burden from the bounty paid. Coyote Hunters would be responsible for removing the pelts prior to surrender.

10. Optional, but probably very beneficial, to request that the adjacent property allow the Virgin Falls parking area to be relocated much closer to the actual falls location. There’s a good road to get there, and it probably would avoid the several injuries and extractions of people that occur during the year because of the redundant arduous trek people are now undertaking to get there. This move would also put valuable space between the hunting public and the general public.

11. Allow A.T.V. access to only licensed and insured vehicles and a strictly enforced speed limit of no more than 20 miles per hour. All vehicles are to be logged in at the agent’s station for identification purposes, and drivers must agree to minimize road wear wherever possible, in a written agreement with The T.W.R.A. 

12. Ladder stands and other temporary stands are permitted as long as they don’t cause permanent harm to the tree, and a name tag can be placed at the stand to identify the owner. Severe penalties are enforced for stand thefts.

13. Optional, all Big Game hunters check in prior to the season for a pass (free of charge) to access The W.M.A. for the season.

TWRA clear cutting Bridgestone/Firestone WMA

Once again, The T.W.R.A. plans to embark on what probably will turn out to be their biggest blunder ever. The agency has plans to deforest thousands of acres of perfectly viable wooded habitat; all for the presumption to re-introduce more Bobwhite Quail into The Bridgestone Centennial Wilderness Area in White County Tennessee. There’s already about 3 square miles of land that was burned to create habitat for these birds. I believe it was somewhere around 1200 birds that were released, but very few remain. The T.W.R.A.  did nothing to reduce the Coyote population first, as quail are ground roosting birds and become easy prey for the night time predator. Also, rather than allowing these domestically raised Quail to become acclimated to their new environment, at least for the first year of introduction, The T.W.R.A. decided to allow them to be hunted just a few months after being released. 

 This is a direct violation of The T.W.R.A.’s mission parameters set forth by legislation when the agency was formed. Those mission parameters are as described on the T.W.R.A.’s website as follows: “The Mission of The Tennessee Wildlife Management Agency is to preserve, conserve, manage, protect, and enhance the wildlife of the state and their habitats for the use, benefit, and enjoyment of the citizens of Tennessee, and its visitors”. This mission does not include destruction of perfectly viable wildlife habitat, all for the prospect of creating some sort of quail sanctuary.

The T.W.R.A. has already failed miserably in The Bridgestone W.M.A. with regards to the big game populations there. A quick look at the agency’s own Game Harvest Statistics reveals abysmal findings. Rather than “Enhancing” the wildlife there, you would think they are deliberately exterminating it. Not only have the harvest numbers stagnated over the past ten years, they’ve declined steadily. The Wild Turkey Harvests show that only one bird for almost every two square miles was harvested. Whitetail deer Harvest numbers are pitiful also at one deer per about every two hundred acres.

There is only one barely justifiable reason to do what The T.W.R.A. has recently proposed; if the project was to save a federally endangered species. Last time I checked, the Bobwhite Quail was not on that list. The problem here is the agency itself. The designation “Agency” gives The T.W.R.A. certain protection from public scrutiny, because the agency has no obligation to report anything to the paying public that funds it. It’s kind of like a subcontractor. The T.W.R.A. only needs to file an annual report to the office of The Governor that it is adequately managing the state’s wildlife. The agency hangs on a thin thread that leads directly to The Governor. With the stroke of a pen through Executive Order, The T.W.R.A. can be dismantled, and the duties and responsibilities could easily be assigned to The Department of Environmental Conservation. It is my opinion that that would be the best course of action to both reign in the slaphappy misguided agency’s failed track record and insure accountability to those that pay for its services. As a department of The Government of The State it would be constitutionally bound to serve “We The People” rather than fulfill its own selfish aspirations.