Proposed proclamations for the 2003/2004 hunting seasons

By Press Release

April 30, 2003

The following information is a summary of the "draft" proclamations presented to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission at the April, 2003 meeting. These are only proposals and the Commission will take action on these at the May 28-29, 2003 meeting to be held at the Region 2 Office in Nashville.

Comments regarding the proposals should be sent to the following e-mail address: twra.comment@state.tn.us.

SUMMARY OF MAJOR HUNTING SEASON PROPOSALS

2003 Manner & Means of Hunting (Proclamation 03-09) - The only major recommendation to this proclamation includes a provision to make the crossbow a legal weapon during any muzzleloader or gun season. We are not recommending that crossbows be legal during the archery only seasons.

National Wildlife Refuge Seasons (Proclamation 03-10) - Several of the NWR's are proposed to be opened during the September goose seasons.

Dove and Early Migratory Bird Seasons (Proclamation 03-11) - We are making very few recommendations for change in this proclamation. We are, however, recommending a uniform bag limit of 5 for the early Canada goose season. The limit was 3 last year in West Tennessee.

Small Game Seasons (Proclamation 03-12) - We propose to restrict the raccoon season in Region III to be the same as Region IV. The season will open the 1st Friday in November and close February 15. The bag limit we be reduced from 2 to 1. Hunters in Region III, especially around Cookeville, have requested for several years that the season open later in November. We also propose to allow squirrel dog training year round as is already the case with most other dog training for small game species.

Big Game seasons (Proclamation 03-13)

1) We are proposing to restructure the seasons to open the early muzzleloader season on the second weekend in November by swapping some days with the archery season. Beginning in the 2004 season we will propose moving the early Young Sportsman hunt to the last weekend in October by again swapping some days with the archery season. These proposals will not change the total number of days or weekends in archery, muzzleloader or the youth hunts so we expect most hunters will be supportive of this proposal.

2) It is proposed that the bag limit for the two Young Sportsman hunts be increased to 2 deer (no more than 1 antlered) in Unit A.

3) In an effort to increase the antlerless harvest in several middle Tennessee counties, we are proposing increased bag limits for the muzzleloader seasons.

4) Several counties across the state will have modified quotas/bag limits for the special antlerless seasons as we adjust quotas to achieve the desired harvest and maintain populations. We will also be recommending 6 new counties in Unit B be placed in the antlerless quota hunt system.

5) In several counties in lower middle Tennessee (Davidson Bedford, Giles, Lincoln, Marshall, Maury, Moore, Rutherford, Williamson, and Wilson) where we have traditionally had antlerless quota permits left after the drawing, we are proposing removing the hunter quota to make it easier to achieve the desired antlerless harvest in these counties.

6) In Unit B in East Tennessee we are proposing to make all of the archery season either-sex as opposed to some days being buck-only in prior years. We are also proposing to make the first 3 days (opening weekend) of the muzzleloader season either sex. Both of these proposals will give hunters more opportunities to harvest antlerless deer.

7) For the fall turkey hunts, we are recommending the gun portion of that season be moved to the week prior to the opening of the regular deer gun season. Young birds should be slightly larger by that time. We are also proposing to increase the fall turkey hunter quota permits in many counties as well as add 12 new counties to the fall hunt. Middle Tennessee will also have more days of fall turkey hunting.

8) We are proposing to change some of the early bear seasons near Gatlinburg to reduce conflicts with non-hunters while still continuing to hunt. Some of the other early bear seasons and corresponding boar seasons have been moved slightly to alleviate some conflicts, get better weather, etc. Due to increased bear populations and some depredation complaints, we are recommending additional days of hunting in the NE Tennessee.

9) We are recommending an experimental regulation in Fentress and Overton Counties to allow the use of a dog to locate feral hogs from January 15 through March 1. It would still be illegal to chase feral hogs with dogs or harvest feral hogs being pursued by dogs.

WMA Proclamation (Proclamation 03-14)

1) Established hunting seasons on several new areas including Hickory Flats, Long Pond, and Sundquist.

2) Closed some areas such as Catoosa to summer ATV use due to increased damage and other problems.

3) Expanded deer hunting on several WMA's and established seasons to coincide more with statewide seasons where possible.

4) Established additional quality deer hunting areas at John Tully, Oak Ridge, Yuchi, and Laurel Hill.

5) Increased the opportunities for fall turkey hunting on several areas where possible to continue our efforts to build a fall turkey hunting program.

6) Expanded crow hunting opportunity on some WMA's.

7) The WMA proclamation is a very large document more than 50 pages in length. We have made numerous minor changes to dates, seasons, etc. that we normally have to do to maintain a season structure similar to prior years.