A hand-held permit drawing for the second sandhill crane hunt in Tennessee will be held on Saturday, Oct. 18, 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.
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 the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s website on Monday, Oct. 20. 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. 22.
All sandhill crane permit holders must pass an internet-based crane identification test before hunting. Permits 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. 18.
The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission established a limited sandhill crane hunting season for a designated zone in southeast Tennessee. The sandhill crane hunting season is open during the late waterfowl season on Nov. 22-23 and Nov. 29 through Jan. 1, 2015.
TWRA regional offices are in Jackson (Region I), Nashville (Region II), Crossville (Region III), and Morristown (Region IV).