Nashville, TN – The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission will set the state’s 2011-12 hunting seasons at its upcoming meeting on May 19th-20th at the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Ray Bell Region II Building.
TWRA officials previewed their recommendations for the 2011-12 hunting and trapping seasons at the commission’s April meeting. The recommendations feature several significant changes.
At the 2011-12 hunting seasons preview last month, new TWRA Wildlife and Forestry Division Chief Daryl Ratajczak said the agency is proposing to keep consistent regulations for the sportsmen and sportswomen of Tennessee and to save considerable time and money by not recommending changes for 2012-13. The regulations to be affected include big game, small game, furbearer, manner and means, and TWRA managed Wildlife Management Areas. Even with the proposed two-year cycle, the TWRC could recommend changing any of the regulations at any time.
Other major changes would include creating a continuous deer gun hunting season which would run from the traditional starting date of the Saturday before Thanksgiving through January 1st. Wild hogs will no longer be considered a big game animal and will be allowed to be taken at select WMAs during deer hunts.
Landowners would be given the ability to kill wild hogs by means not previously allowed. This includes all legal weapons and live trapping with bait outside of big game seasons.
The fall turkey season would be moved from December to October and the number of days would be increased from 12 to 14. Quail season would close the last day of January to help protect the resources and hopefully increase the state’s quail population.
The fisheries division will make a presentation on the activities taking place at TWRA warm water hatcheries to highlight the fish spawning process. This includes brood collection, egg fertilization, fry development, and the final process of stocking fingerlings.
Committee meetings will be held beginning at 1:00pm on May 19th and the formal commission meeting starts at 9:00am on May 20th. The public is invited to attend.
