KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said part of a hunting area in East Tennessee is closed until October 4 because of illegal baiting activity.
They said that an area near Chandley Farms in the Rankin Bottoms Wildlife Management Area was closed because of illegal baiting. The TWRA said signs have been posted in the area — from the railroad crossing on Industrial Road upstream to Chandley Farms.
The WMA is part of the Blue Ridge Conservation Opportunity Area, which is meant to increase the number of acres available for natural ecological systems and decrease the negative effects of development on species facing possible extinction.
It is managed in partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Knoxville Zoo, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as well as several city and county governments. The BRCOA extends through a large portion of the Tennessee and North Carolina state line.
In total, the Rankin Bottom WMA is around 1,225 acres large in Cocke County composed of islands and floodplains. Comparatively, the area closed until Oct. 4 is small.