A hand-held permit drawing for the second annual sandhill crane hunt will be held this Saturday, at the Birchwood Community Center (formerly the Birchwood School) in north Hamilton County. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency will provide computers for identification testing during registration and following the permit drawing. However, the test is also available online beginning on the TWRA website at www.tnwildlife.org.
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.
Applicants must have a current Tennessee hunting/fishing license (Type 001) and a waterfowl license (Type 005) or equivalent. If there are leftover permits, the number of permits available will be announced on TWRA’s website on Monday. 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. TWRA regional offices are located in Jackson (Region I), Nashville (Region II), Crossville (Region III), and Morristown (Region IV).
The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission established a limited sandhill crane hunting season for a designated zone in southeast Tennessee. The hunt zone is south of Interstate 40 and east of Tennessee Highway 56. The sandhill crane hunting season is open during the late waterfowl season on Nov. 22-23 and Nov. 29 through Jan. 1, 2015.