Tennessee's youth hunters will get the first shot at bagging a 2007 spring gobbler, as the woods are all theirs this weekend.
Tennessee's statewide youth turkey hunt will begin on Saturday and continue Sunday, with a limit of one bearded bird, which does count towards the statewide bag limit.
The hunt is open for youngsters ages six through 16. Each hunter must be accompanied by a non-hunting adult. The adult is not required to possess a valid hunting license but must remain in position to take immediate control of the hunter's weapon at all times.
Hunters ages six through nine are not required to have a license for the hunt, nor are they required to possess proof of completion of the hunter education course. Hunters ages 10 through 12 are required to possess proof of completion of the education course but do not need a license. Hunters ages 13 through 15 are required to have the state's youth hunt/fish/trap combo license, while hunters age 16 are required to have the regular hunting/fishing license and supplemental big game stamp, or a sportsman's license.
All regulations of the 2007 spring turkey season will apply to the youth hunt.
In addition to private lands and any public lands open to statewide hunting, many wildlife management areas across the state will be open for the hunt. Those include (in alphabetical order):
Alpine Mountain, Arnold Mountain, Bark Camp Barrens, Barkley (Units I and II), Bean Swith Refuge, Bear Hollow Mountain, Beaver Dam Creek, Big Sandy, Bogota, Bridgestone/Firestone, Browntown, Buffalo Springs, Camden (Units I and II), Cedar Hill Swamp, Charlotte Ann Finnell Neal, Cheatham, Cheatham Lake, Cheatham Lake Pardue Pond Refuge and Dyson Ditch Refuge, Chickamauga, Chickasaw State Forest, C.M. Gooch, Cold Creek Refuge, Cordell Hull, Cordell Hull Refuge, Cove Creek, Cummings Cove, Cypress Pond Refuge, Eagle Creek, Edgar Evins State Park, Ernest Rice, Flintville Hatchery, Foothills, Gallatin Steam Plant (archery only), Harmon Creek, Haynes Bottom, Henderson Island, Hiwassee Refuge, Hick Hill, Hickory Flats, Hop-In Refuge, Horns Bluff Refuge, Jackson Swamp, Jarrell Switch, John Tully, Keyes-Harrison, Kyles Ford, Lick Creek, Lick Creek Bottoms, Long Pond, Maness Swamp Refuge, Maple Springs, Mingo Swamp, MTSU, Mt. Roosevelt, Moss Island, New Hope, Nolichucky, Normandy, North Cherokee, Obion River, Old Hickory, Owl Hollow Mill, Pea Ridge, Percy Priest (Units I and II), Pickett State Forest, Rankin, Royal Blue, Shelton Ferry, South Cherokee, Standing Stone State Forest, Sundquist, Tellico Lake (except McGhee-Carson and Niles Ferry units), The Boils, Three Rivers, Tie Camp, Tigrett, Tumbleweed, Watts Bar, West Sandy, White Lake Refuge, White Oak and Yanahli.
FORT CAMPBELL SEASON OPENS
Hunters without a youth hunter to take to the woods on Saturday or Sunday should not despair, as the first in-state adult season will also open on Saturday. Ft. Campbell's season will begin on March 24. The season there will continue through May 3. Special regulations apply. For more information, see their website, http://www.fortcampbellmwr.com/.
