KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee could have more regionally focused hunting seasons, according to changes planned by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
Emily Buck, Director of Communications for TWRA, said ideas behind the proposed changes started being discussed in 2019.
"Bottom line, what hunters are going to see will be new hunting unit maps for deer and turkey," Buck said. "We started a new process of basically changing the way our biologists set seasons for hunting for deer and turkey."
Setting hunting seasons can be challenging, Buck said. West Tennessee may have very different goals for turkey and deer management than Upper East Tennessee around the mountains. That's why TWRA said they want to have a more tailored approach across the state.
"One of the challenges that we have with season setting processes, it's very much so inconsistent from year to year," Buck said.
With the new approach, hunters could check whether there's going to be a shorter or longer season, or what bagging limits there are for male and female species within the area. TWRA will present these changes during the public meetings and give the public a chance to provide feedback.
The TWRA's meeting schedule is available below.
- October 23: West Tennessee Ag Research and Education Center in Jackson, 6-8 PM CT
- October 24: TWRA Region II Ray Bell Building in Nashville, 6-8 PM. CT
- October 25: Crossville Shooting Sports Park in Crossville, 6-8 PM CT
- October 26: TWRA Region IV Office in Morristown, 6-8 PM ET
"Every area is different," Buck said. "Every county is different. Parts of the state are different. And so, we want management to fit the goals of these communities and these areas," Buck said. "It will be a much more regional approach to hunting units and management, instead of a statewide approach to the season-setting process for turkey."