WHAT? A bill has been introduced in the Tennessee General Assembly that would disband the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, and place the responsibility of managing Tennessee wildlife under the Division of Wildlife Resources, which would be created as a division of the Department of Environment & Conservation.
NOTABLES: The bill was introduced by Rep. Sherry Jones [D - Nashville] and Sen. Beverly Marrero [D - Memphis]. The bill is numbered 2856 in the House and its companion bill in the Senate is numbered 2914. The bill can be read in its entirety here.
THE PROBLEM? The bill could jeopardize the future of hunting in Tennessee.
OUR POSITION: While all hunters in Tennessee, including the publishers and editors of this website, differ from time to time with TWRA's management decisions, the success of the agency in managing Tennessee's wild game herds and restoring certain species cannot be denied. Tennessee boasts one of the largest wild turkey populations in America, one of only a few growing elk herds east of the Mississippi River, and one of the few huntable black bear populations east of the Mississippi River. The conservation of Tennessee's wildlife, as well as regulations for hunting and fishing, should be left in the hands of the Wildlife Resources Agency. Further, this bill proposes for all funds generated by license sales to go to the general fund, which means that hunter's dollars could wind up being spent to implement healthcare programs or some politician's pork rather than to properly manage Tennessee's wildlife. The old saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," applies here.
ACTION? Find and contact your representatives in the Tennessee House and Senate by clicking here.
THE LATEST: The bills were introduced on Jan. 16, and passed 2nd considerations on Jan. 23. The House bill is assigned to the Wildlife subcommittee of the House Conservation Committee, while the Senate bill is assigned to the General Subcommittee Senate Government Operations Committee. A number of co-sponsors had signed onto the bill in the House and Senate, but since opposition by the Tennessee Wildlife Federation raised public awareness of the bill, all but one co-signer (Rep. Mary Pruitt [D - Nashville]) had withdrawn their signatures from the legislation.
INTERNAL LINKS:
• BLOG POST: TWRA bill: Oops! (Feb. 28, 2008)