The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission approved to allow Tennessee’s first elk hunt among its business today at the January meeting held at Reelfoot Lake State Park.

Upon recommendations made by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the elk hunt will be held October 19-23 at the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area. There will be five Elk Hunting Zones (EHZ) designated at the WMA. A total of five permits will be allocated.

Four of the participants will be selected through a drawing conducted by the TWRA. The drawing is open to both residents and non-residents. However, no more than one permit may go to a non-resident hunter. The fifth participant will be the winner of a permit that is donated to a NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) with fund-raising proceeds designated for the TWRA Elk Program.

Applications for the special hunt will be accepted April 1-May 31. The five winners will be announced at the June meeting of the TWRC in Nashville.

The TWRC also made a rule amendment presented by the TWRA that would establish a first come, first serve process for allocating Special Season County Permits for deer and fall turkey hunts. Over the last several years, these quota hunts have had substantial leftover permits after the drawings. Changing the process to a first-come, first-serve will provide sportsmen greater flexibility in planning their fall hunts.

A change in a rule concerning migratory bird hunting was approved that applies only to the Reelfoot Wildlife Management Area. Specifically, the change is to the methodology used to register a permanent registered duck blind site. Duck Blind registration at Reelfoot WMA had been by certified mail or in person since the system began in 1986.

Records were maintained by hand and later by computer. Two years ago, the TWRA was approved to go to the REAL system for the agency’s registration program. This rule change will codify the current registration procedure under the REAL system.

In a special presentation, Smith County native and current Dickson County resident Tom Beasley, was recognized for his long-time and current contributions to TWRA’s Outreach Programs which includes the use of his lands for youth hunts, BOW (Becoming an Outdoors Woman), and Wounded Warrior events.

At Wednesday’s Fisheries Management Committee meeting, a report was presented by TWRA staff outlining the agency’s assessment of natural resource damages and initiation of investigations into long term impact to wildlife resources and habitat as a result of the outer wall collapse at the TVA fly ash disposal area for the Kingston Steam Plant on Dec. 22.

Photos and a film presentation of the site were also provided at the meeting by TWRA officials.

The next meeting of the TWRC will be held Feb. 18-19 at the Region II Ray Bell Office Building in Nashville. The TWRC is expected to make the final selection of a new TWRA Executive Director.

The field has been narrowed to five candidates including:
-- Ed Carter, chief of the TWRA’s boating division
-- Nat Johnson, assistant executive director, TWRA staff operations
-- Brent Manning, director of the forest preserve district in DuPage County, Ill., and a former director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Wyoming’s Fish and Game agency
-- Dr. Paul Shelton, forest wildlife program manager for the Illinois DNR
-- Greg Wathen, chief of the TWRA’s wildlife division.