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Article published Dec 7, 2008 Black bear harvest might break record this year
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is expecting this year's black bear harvest to set a new record, as I predicted in last week's column. The highest number of bears killed was 371 in 1997. It was the result of a massive mast failure in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which forced the bears to range far and wide for food outside the park and nearby bear preserves.
Recent harvest numbers have been steadily increasing in recent years. Last year, the total was 337. The reason is a growing population of bears and not a scarcity of food.
As the final segment of the 2008 bear season was about to begin (Dec. 4-17), the harvest stood at 246. TWRA notes that the average for this last segment over the last three years has been 165 bears. That figure would put this year's kill at 411.
TWRA has the Big Game Harvest Report on their Web site, www.tnwildlife.org. But readers have told me that it has been hard to find it lately. This address will take you directly to it: https://hfwa.centraltechnology.net/TNHFInternetHarvest/app/goHome.do.
Harvest data is available for all four of Tennessee's big game species: bear, boar, deer and wild turkey. Data can be viewed for any period of time selected.
- Gary Myers, the executive director of the TWRA and the longest serving such officer in the United States, will retire on March 1, 2009. Myers, 73, came to the TWRA in 1974 and was named interim director in 1977; the assignment was made permanent in 1978.
In the nearly 31 years of Myers leadership, the annual deer harvests in Tennessee have grown from 11,000 to more than 180,000. In his first year, the TWRA's budget was $8 million with a deficit of $300,000; most of the equipment was from a World War II surplus. The latest budget is nearly $90 million, none of it from state taxes.
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission first looked for the new director inside the TWRA and now has broadened its search. Myers' replacement will be chosen by February 2009.
- The TWRC met two weeks ago for regular business and came to the following decisions:
The 2009 elk hunt was approved as proposed by the TWRA, which was reported here earlier. Final details will be hashed out in a spring meeting.
The rules were clarified on the importation of game meat of cervids (mainly deer and elk) from areas with chronic wasting disease. In general, the meat must not contain any bones or spinal tissue. For more details, see page 17 of the 2008 Hunting and Trapping Guide, which will list the 16 restricted states and Canadian provinces.
The season on paddlefish on non-commercial fishing waters will be Nov. 15 through April 15, with a minimum length of 36 inches. On commercial waters, there will be open season and no size limit. All other current regulations will remain in effect.
- Here are some uncommon Christmas gifts for the hunter and angler. The Boone and Crockett Club has its 2009 wall calendar with vibrant photos of these North American big-game animals: Moose, elk, barren ground caribou, bighorn sheep, black bear, Dall's sheep, grizzly bear, mule deer, Rocky Mountain goat and white-tailed deer. Also included are trophy scoring tips, images of award-winning trophies, and information on top trophy-producing areas.
The calendar cost is $12.95. To order, go to www.booneandcrockettclub.com or call 888-840-4868.
Practical gifts for hunters and anglers are available from the TWRA. Starting small, there's a subscription to the TWRA magazine "Tennessee Wildlife" for just $10 per year ($17 for two years and $25 for three). Next, there's a specialty license plate for $35 above the price of state registration; choose from the bluebird, black bear, wild turkey, and smallmouth bass.
Finally, a gift to be cherished for a lifetime: a Resident Lifetime Hunting/Fishing License. These are great bargains. The prices per age group: Under age 3, $200; ages 3-6, $540; ages 7-12, $810; ages 13-50, $1,620; ages 51-64, $945; ages 65 and over, $270.
All of these items can be found at www.tnwildlife.org. By phone, the contact number is 423-587-7037 or 800-332-0900. A card to acknowledge the gift is available.
For the turkey hunter on your list, check out the unique gifts offered by the National Wild Turkey Federation. Go to www.nwtf.org and select "Turkey Shoppe."
- A hunter education class for Blount County will begin at 5 p.m. on Dec. 8 at Gunny's Shooting Range in Maryville. Students should bring a pencil and their Social Security Numbers.Tom Wiest welcomes news, questions and comments from readers. Contact him at wiest.tom@gmail.com.