Nashville, TN – The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission will be presented with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s new strategic plan proposal during its February meeting.
The TFWC will be returning to Nashville and the TWRA Region II Ray Bell Building after holding its January meeting in Memphis. Committee meetings will be held (Thursday) February 13th at 1:00pm while the formal TFWC meeting is (Friday) February 14th at 9:00am.
In addition to receiving the proposed new strategic plan, the commission will hear a summary of comments received by the TWRA during the recently-ended comment period.
The TFWC will have a month to review the new documents. After the commission makes its approval, the plan will be submitted to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
Agency employees involved with the research, development and implementation of TWRA’s first native mobile app will be recognized. The (downloadable) mobile app became available prior to the start of the new year and allows sportsmen and wildlife enthusiasts to take along the latest agency info whenever they are on the go.
Scott Somershoe, TWRA’s state ornithologist, will give an update regarding golden eagles research that is currently underway in Tennessee. TWRA has been working with other states on the project to document and track golden eagles that frequent the state.
A presentation will be given on the status of brook trout in Tennessee, the state’s only native species. A survey of all brook trout streams outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was completed during a two-year study from 2011-13.
The survey inventoried the current resource of brook trout streams and determined changes in the downstream distributional limit of each population since the first comprehensive survey was conducted in the early 1990s.
The TWRA will present an amendment to the proclamation regarding statewide non-protected wildlife and species deemed destructive. The amendment would allow individuals licensed to hunt bear to take wild hogs during any proclaimed bear/dog hunt.
Representatives of the Shikar-Safari Club International will be at the meeting to present its 2013 Tennessee Officer of the Year Award. The presentation was postponed at the January meeting due to the illness of the recipient.
The annual award from the conservation-based organization honors the officer whose efforts during the year display outstanding performance and achievement among TWRA law enforcement personnel.
