Category: Wild Life Conservation

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.

TWRA Chronic Wasting Disease Blunder

The deadly C.W.D. or Chronic Wasting Disease is a debilitating disease that appears to affect the central nervous system in deer and other similar hoofed animals. It is believed to be spread through the ingestion of the animal’s own waste when feeding in concentrated lump baiting and feeding areas, where unethical hunters will dump piles of corn and other attractants in one spot to then kill the vulnerable animals while the entire herd is feeding in the concentrated area. 

The disease has been well documented in New York, Ohio, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania for several years. 

There has been a decline, however, as these states have banned the sale of so called “Deer Corn” and other attractants in retailers like Wal-Mart  and other sporting good stores. Additionally greater strides have been taken by wildlife agencies to stop these unethical practices through stricter penalties, stringent enforcement, and consistent regulations that apply to both public use and private lands. 

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) has not taken any heed to these statistics or policies. Regulation standards in Tennessee are more relaxed for private land than public use lands. The TWRA, however, has chosen the “Throw the Baby out with the Bath Water” approach, by increasing bag limits and proposing season extensions in the affected areas. This will not only most likely have little effect on disease reduction, but poses a much higher risk to hunting public who may unwittingly come in contact with the disease when harvesting, and field dressing the infected animals. This malpractice will also increase the use of bait hunting, thus increasing the spread of this deadly disease.

 This is just another example of the reckless and rogue agency’s mismanagement practices that has led to several blunders in recent years, and probably the reason for the steady decline in interest from outdoorsman. Rather than prohibiting the sale of these products, and enforcing violators using these unethical practices, having consistent regulations, and using the funds that are generated by licensees for the promotion of healthy and prolific W.M.A.’s and waterways, they introduce non native species like Alewives, River Otters, and Muskellunge that are a detriment to native species. 

Most of these blunders are the result of catering to lobbying from special interest groups, not from the hunting and fishing license holders that pay for these experiments. If they are going to introduce anything, they should consider introducing the Axis Deer. They have a different breeding cycle than Whitetail and would provide greater opportunities for hunters. The TWRA in part of zone # 3, The Bridgestone Wilderness Area in particular, for instance burns large tracts of otherwise good habitat and food source, all for the sake of rumors that it will help the recently introduced Bobwhite Quail that have been released there through lobby from special interest, to which, by the way, no pause or hunting moratorium was put in place to allow the introduced birds to get established. This practice of burning of large tracts of otherwise abundant food sources is interrupting the habitual feeding cycles of the indigenous species like Whitetail and Turkey. Again it is the lobby of the special interest for the Quail that has taken precedence over those who pay to use the Bridgesonte Wilderness Area.

On top of all that, the TWRA has the nerve to complain publicly, about the decline in license purchases. These and other reckless policies have caused the agency to increase the cost of a Sportsman hunting and fishing license to a whopping $166.00 and that’s without any additional permits. Do they realize how much meat someone can just go to the store and buy for that kind of money? If they spent less money on literature, public relations, and special interest requests, and more on  actually enforcing violators and improving the conditions of their Wildlife Management Areas for wildlife like their designation claims it is supposed to do, it might improve their financial dilemma.

Bridgestone Burning

Attention all Tennessee hunting license holders! Once again, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is burning hundreds of acres of prime Wild Turkey and other ground dwelling game bird nesting and forage habitat in the Bridgestone Centennial Wilderness Area. I have exhaustedly attempted to find any justification for the burning by contacting the head of the T.W.R.A. in Nashville, TN. on several different occasions with my concerns. Not only do they burn the area every year, but often repeat the same areas year after year.

 As most hunters and wildlife enthusiasts know, but seems to elude the T.W.R.A. is that Wild Turkey, Quail, and Grouse, nest on the ground, and seek their nesting spots weeks before they actually mate and start laying and setting on the nest. With Wild Turkey season opening in just three weeks, no reasonable hunter would plan to hunt in these burned out thickets.

I am enraged that part of my $160 I pay as a Sportsman License holder is paying the T.W.R.A. to actually make hunting less available on public hunting lands. The agent overseeing the area, has actually responded when asked by a hunter; why do they keep burning? He stated that he likes the aesthetics of “open ground”.  I was under the impression that T.W.R.A. agents were supposed to protect wildlife and wild habitat, not their own interests. At least, that is, that’s the line of hogwash that you see and hear when they advertise or try to solicit money from the public.

When I inquired of the T.W.R.A. headquarters about the statistical and observational decline in game in the W.M.A., the agent gave me a bunch of bull crap that Native Americans used to burn the land to find game. Since I am an educated person, and not some ignorant Appalachian hillbilly, I felt it necessary to explain the facts to him that the Native American tribes that used those practices were of the northern plains, such as The Blackfoot, Comanche, and Cheyenne, to more easily hunt Buffalo in the tall grasslands, not the indigenous tribes of the woodlands in this region, like The Cherokee, Paiute, and Shawnee, they never would have taken the risk setting fire to their own woodland villages and drive the game  they relied on from the forests. What’s even more absurd is that a lot of The Bridgestone Centennial Wilderness Area was a ranch that was owned and cleared by none other than country music legend Jim Reeves, and has nothing to do with Native American Indians.

In my opinion, The T.W.R.A. is an underworked overpaid bunch of blundering buffoons, and there are probably far more examples of these blunders than successes, if one takes the time to uncover them. Here are just a couple of the more blatant ones in addition to their annual burning:

  1. The T.W.R.A. put Alewives, a type of minnow into the waterways. Unfortunately these fish contain an enzyme that inhibits the spawning ability of Walleye, a prized edible game fish revered by fisherman everywhere. Of course now more money and resources have to be used by The T.W.R.A. to capture spawning Walleye, artificially spawn them, and raise them to be later reintroduced to maintain adequate populations.
  2. The Agency introduced Muskellunge, a northern large predatory fish into some of the waterways at the request of lobbyists that relocated here from northern states and formed a “Muskie” club. These fish have all but consumed the once plentiful Rock Bass, White Bass, Yellow Perch, and Crappie from the Upper Caney Fork and Collins rivers, great for the “Muskie” club, for the rest of the fishermen, not so much. They also introduced River Otters in the same waterways, another fish eating glutton.

Yes, what The Tennessee Resources Agency needs most is some responsible oversight, perhaps at the federal level.

TWRA

There are several W.M.A.’s (wildlife management areas) throughout Tennessee. They are managed by the T.W.R.A. (Tennessee Resources Management Agency). The funding that supports the agency is partially provided by hunting and fishing licensing fees. I have, as a hunter accessed one of these areas in particular, The Bridgestone W.M.A. (about 12,000 acres).

Over a period of about four years have noticed a severe decline in game in the W.M.A. ( big game harvest statistics are available on the T.W.R.A. website) In the past three years I have also noticed that the TWRA’s regard for the hunting public has also declined, while increasing favorability to the non hunting public, upgrading hiking trails, burning and clearing wildlife habitat, decorative landscaping, and more troubling, allowing access leading to greater interactions between the hunting and non hunting public during hunting seasons.

This policy can only foster negative results to either party. Previous signage indicating limited access to the non hunting public during hunting seasons has been removed. Gated access to certain areas previously available to hunters during hunting seasons has now been restricted. This would not be of that great concern to me; however, I have now noticed that several weddings and other events have been hosted in the W.M.A. with unrestricted access to the area.

Since the area is exclusively managed by the T.W.R.A., I find it not only insulting to those whose licensing fees are paying in part for the resources to host these events, but flat out discrimination against those who pay the licensing fees.

This autonomous out of control agency is guilty of several blunders throughout the state, resulting in damage to wildlife populations not only on land, but in our waterways as well. This recent example of blatant discrimination is only just another reason this agency desperately needs oversight either at the state or federal level.

There is a portion of the W.M.A. that falls under Federal Parkland jurisdiction; however, persons must access that portion of the area on the same roadway as the hunting public. Since hunting is prohibited on the Federal Parklands this creates another problem. There is a simple solution to this problem. All of the lands I have mentioned were all donated to the state and previously owned by the Bridgestone – Firestone Corp. The Bridgestone – Firestone Corp. still owns a large tract of land adjacent to, and bordering both the W.M.A. and the parklands. A well maintained roadway goes through the Bridgestone – Firestone land and borders the Federal Parkland known as Virgin Falls Wilderness Area. This six thousand acre parcel, probably used as a tax write-off, and managed by a local resident, who exploits the land use for personal gain.

Certainly a philanthropic company like Bridgestone, if they were made aware of this, and were asked, would gladly allow access to the Virgin Falls area, allowing the Federal Park system to continue road maintenance from volunteers or park donations collected for its use. This roadway, being located at the beginning of one of the access roads to the W.M.A., once opened for park use, the W.M.A. roadway could be then easily segregated for hunting access only, and the portion of the area where events are held can remain closed to hunter access as usual. I don’t think it is necessary to wait for someone to be injured or harassed to solve this.

 

TWRA catches Deer Poacher

Wow! it’s amazing, the T.W.R.A. finally caught a poacher this month. I guess in the entire state of Tennessee there was only one irresponsible hunter. Good job, guys. See details here: 

http://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/tennessee/2017/01/12/deer-costs-man-nearly-10000-under-new-tennessee-law/96480784/

I guess since this guy will probably learn his lesson, there probably won’t be any infractions next year. What a friggin’ joke, the T.W.R.A. is probably the most overblown budgeted agency to exist in the history of the U.S. There is almost no accountability for anything they do. Since the agency somehow convinced the state, or the powers that be, that on-line reporting of animals taken during the various hunting seasons, was a good idea, there has been more poaching and erroneous reporting, or the lack of reporting than ever before.

This policy has absolved the agency of the responsibility of woodland patrols. Even if an unethical hunter does happen to be questioned by an agent, all he or she has to do is say they intend to check the animal later when they get home. There is no means to check the animal in the field, because the on board computers in the patrol vehicles are “closed systems” that enable officers to check D.M.V. records, and criminal backgrounds. These systems cannot be tied to the general internet, because of vulnerability hack from the general public.

I witness agents mostly doing landscape duties in the W.M.A.’s. I happen to live very close to one of these areas. I am an avid hunter, and purchase my $116 sportsman hunting license every year. I hunted in the W.M.A. near my home for several years. I have never encountered a T.W.R.A. agent in the field.

There is literally no ability to enforce wildlife violators. What is even more unsettling, is that there has been no objection that I can see, from either wildlife advocates or hunters. Any ethical hunter knows that when an unethical hunter doesn’t follow the rules, it diminishes from the ethical one’s success in the field. This is all o.k. Because when there is an over harvest situation, the T.W.R.A. will just use their overblown budget to relocate animals into the affected area, reduce quotas for a little while, and repeat the process when needed.

The T.W.R.A. has completely abandoned the theory of sustainability through proper management of the state’s W.M.A.’s. Abandoning this recently adopted policy would mean that agents would actually have to be trained for work in the field. Interact with hunters, and get real “on the ground” knowledge of animal populations and harvest tallies.

In most states, the bag limits and quarry specifications for public and private lands are consistent. Not in Tennessee, you can kill any buck with visible antlers on private land, but there are antler restrictions on public lands. Gee, do you think anyone would lie, if confronted by a T.W.R.A. agent about where the harvest occurred? Another good regulation, wildlife feeders may be used until two weeks prior to hunting an area. I don’t know why the T.W.R.A. just doesn’t sell whitetail deer for people to raise in pens until they are ready for slaughter.

Using any attractant to kill wildlife is plain and simply unethical. Wal-Mart in Tn. sells bags marked “deer corn” from September through January for the sole purpose of this unethical practice. Unfortunately the ignorant policies of the T.W.R.A. are not likely to change any time soon. Out of curiosity, I wonder how many illegal feeding stations were ticketed for infractions this year in Tennessee? Continue reading “TWRA catches Deer Poacher”