A hand-held permit drawing for the first sandhill crane hunt in Tennessee will be held on Saturday, Oct. 12, at the Birchwood Community Center (formerly the Birchwood School) in north Hamilton County.
A total of 400 permits are available and each permit carries a limit of three birds. Registration for the permit drawing begins at 8 a.m. (EDT). The drawing will begin at approximately 10 a.m. Permits are non-transferable and individuals must be present to obtain permits.
Draw participants must have a Type 001 hunt/fish license plus a Type 005 waterfowl license or equivalent. If there are leftover permits, the number of permits available will be announced on the Tennessee Wildlife Resources website on Monday, Oct. 14. They will be available on a first-come, first serve basis at the four TWRA regional offices beginning at 9 a.m. EDT in Region IV and 8.a.m CDT at the three other regional offices on Wednesday, Oct. 16.
All sandhill crane permit holders must pass an internet-based crane identification test before hunting. All permits issued are not valid until a verifiable “Sandhill Test” validation code is written on the permit. The purpose of this test is to improve hunter’s awareness and ability to distinguish between sandhill cranes and protected species which may be encountered while hunting. The TWRA will provide computers for identification testing during registration and following the permit drawing. The test will be available online beginning Oct. 12.
The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission established a limited sandhill crane hunting season for a designated area in East Tennessee. The sandhill crane hunting season begins with the late waterfowl season on Nov. 28 and runs through Jan. 1, 2014.