TFWC gets officially started at first meeting
By Tom Wiest | (wiest.tom@gmail.com)
The 2012 Tennessee Hunting and Trapping Guide is now being distributed to all license agencies. Some of the changes of interest: Unit B antlerless deer archery season bag limit increases to four; and all Unit B counties get the entire 14-day muzzleload season to take one antlerless deer.
• The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission (formally the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission) had its first meeting in Nashville last week. The TFWC is the group of political appointees that regulates the wildlife biologists and wildlife law enforcement officers of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. The TFWC elected officers and finalized appointments of commissioners to the various districts of the state.
The TFWC is made up of 13 commissioners. Nine are named by Governor Bill Haslam, and two each are named by the Speaker of the House and the Speaker of the Senate. Seven of the new appointments were carryovers from the old TWRC.
Our area is District 2 and our commissioner remains Harold Cannon of Lenoir City. His phone number is 865-389-4525 and his term will expire in 2017.
• Chronic wasting disease has claimed another state. Texas became the 19th state to be afflicted when two mule deer tested positive for the disease two weeks ago in Hudspeth County during routine testing. Texas has had a CWD surveillance program in place for more than a decade.
New Mexico joined the CWD list in mid-June of this year. Presently the main area infected is a swath of states from New Mexico and Texas due northward through Montana, the Dakotas and central Canada, and stretching east through Wisconsin, Michigan and New York. Portions of other states are also infected, some as close as Missouri and Virginia.
In Tennessee no person may import, transport, or possess a deer (cervid) carcass or carcass parts from any area that has a known case of chronic wasting disease except as provided as follows: All bones must be removed from the meat; all flesh must be removed from antlers, teeth and skulls. Hides and finished taxidermy products are allowed. For a complete map http://www.tnwildlife.org and select “hunting,” then “big game,” then “deer” and find the CWD topic.
• Restoring native grasses, forbs and wildflowers has become a crucial part of habitat improvement for small game and deer. Commercial grasses such as alfalfa and fescue do not provide food for deer or shelter for game birds and rabbits. For several years the TWRA, as part of its management plan, has been eradicating commercial grasses and replanting native species. Now you can do the same on your property or hunting lands.
Mossy Oak has developed a line of native seed blends called “Nativ Seeds” that can restore native habitats and increase the aesthetic value of your property. The five blends are for bedding areas, barriers, wetland edges, wildflowers, and pollinators. The “Full Bloom” blend is colorful mix of 23 different wildflower species designed to bloom summer through fall for the eastern U.S. http://www.nativnurseries.com .
Tom Wiest welcomes news, questions and comments from readers. (wiest.tom@gmail.com)
