Tag: twra

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.

 

Stocking Muskellunge in Tennessee Waters

The introduction of Muskellunge, a large predatory fish, most commonly found in large lakes and commercial waterways in the northern United States has had a devastating impact on the smaller pan fish more desired by subsistence fisherman.

These large fish were primarily introduced through a lobby by a small number of sport fishermen, whose contributions expanded the introduction program to include smaller more shallow water way areas than can not adequately accommodate these large predators.

It is not only the predation on the smaller pan fish, but the intimidating presence or proximity that inhibit the smaller fish from feeding that is making these fish less likely to be harvested by fisherman. These large predatory fish can grow to nearly 5 feet in length and consume large quantities of fish that could otherwise be consumed by subsistence fisherman. These Muskie, as they are affectionately called, can consume fish a quarter of their body length or more. The TWRA (Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency) has doubled down on the Muskie program by adding thousand of these fish into areas that cannot possibly sustain their huge appetites. My personal experience, as well as many of my fellow fishermen, have seen a huge drop in subsistence fish populations in the smaller waterways that are usually great places to fish. Additionally these large fish have migrated into small tributaries and streams in an attempt to find available food for themselves. These fish are, simply put, just another blunder by the TWRA in an attempt to satisfy a small number of lobbyists.

As a northerner that has relocated to the warm weather of the Tennessee area, I am quite familiar with Walleye fishing. I have been informed, however of some more of the wacky escapades of the TWRA.

Apparently the TWRA introduced  Alweives, a shad like minnow into Tennessee water ways to help with availability of food for Walleye and other species of large sport fish. The TWRA did not, however, do any comprehensive study on the impact of this introduction.

When Alweives are consumed by Walleye, an enzyme that is contained in the minnow inhibits the ability of Walleye to spawn properly. This is very beneficial to the TWRA because now they can increase their budget and employ agents to shock and artificially spawn Walleye in an attempt to support their populations.

Why the TWRA would not simply ban fishing in spawning zones, where overfishing exploits the Walleye’s vulnerability is unclear to me. Wildlife agencies in other states have strict regulations with regard to spawning fish and their habitats.

Upstate New York has strict guidelines for Salmon, Bass, Pickerel, Sturgeon and other species. Why would this practice be ignored by TWRA, if not only to boost salaries, and create more expenditures for their agency? Any outdoorsman can see the outrageous hikes in licensing fees over the past few years. I would like to know where the oversight is for this out of control agency. If some has any additional information, please share.