Retired University of Tennessee philosophy professor John Nolt has been waging a one-man campaign against destructive invasive plants, such as the ivy seen in the background strangling live trees, in the Baker Creek Preserve in South Knoxville. JJ Stambaugh/Hellbender Press

City taps people power to fuel fight against creeping exotic plants that are displacing native species

KNOXVILLE — Death is slowly overtaking the Urban Wilderness, one tree at a time. 

A host of invasive species have taken root in the 1,000-acre network of trails, parks, and quarries that draws legions of outdoor enthusiasts from across the Knoxville metropolitan area and beyond. Their prolific growth may look healthy to the untrained eye, but in reality their presence is a neon-green warning sign.

English ivy, wintercreeper, honeysuckle, and privet are just some of the non-native species of flora that are slowly taking over the region’s forested spaces, threatening the very existence of the countless plants and animals that depend on the local food web.

The problem isn’t new, but it’s been growing more visible with each passing year and has drawn the attention of environmentalists, government officials, and local groups of nature lovers.

For instance, retired University of Tennessee philosophy professor John Nolt has been waging a one-man campaign against the destructive plants in the Baker Creek Preserve in South Knoxville.

Several times a week, he walks the trails and takes note of how thick bands of brilliant green vines have wrapped themselves around the trunks of elm, birch, and sycamore trees. 

The Whip-Off is always a high-flying hit with Knoxville Adventure Festival crowds. The weekend of fun is set for May 1-2 at Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville. Smoke Signal Photo

Outlandish Adventure Festival returns to Ijams Nature Center May 1-2

KNOXVILLE — The Outlandish Adventure Festival is back at Ijams Nature Center this weekend for a free two-day celebration of the outdoors. The live music, large-scale spectacles, and immersive experiences spread across the trails, quarry, and open spaces make this venue unlike anywhere else.

Outlandish is built for those who want a full weekend of adventure and music. 

The weekend features spectacles and performances across two days:  climbing competitions, a bike whip-off, highline walkers over Mead's Quarry, kayak sprints, nine live music acts, a fire performance, and a late-night rave in the woods. Families are welcome, and there's dedicated programming for kids throughout the weekend.

Start your day watching climbers scale the rock face. Spend the afternoon at the water's edge. End the night under the trees with fire in the air and music carrying through the dark. Outlandish is built for wandering. Just show up and follow what pulls you in.

The Outlandish Adventure Festival is a collaborative effort by Knoxville’s outdoor enthusiasts and organizations, including Visit Knoxville, Ijams Nature Center, Knoxville’s Urban Wilderness, Appalachian Mountain Bike Club (AMBC), Knoxville Adventure Collective, River Sports Outfitters, Tennessee Riverline, Two Bikes, The Maker City, and The City of Knoxville. Together, they’ve created a weekend to inspire exploration, connection, adventure, and celebration of Knoxville’s natural beauty. 

 In an August 19, 1984, newspaper article from the Bristol Herald Courier, Bob Shumate and Rick Knight are pictured observing reintroduced peregrine falcon chicks at a hacking site in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Courtesy Bristol Herald Courier

Greenbrier Pinnacle in Great Smokies was epicenter of decades-long recovery effort

Holly Kays is the lead writer for Smokies Life.

GATLINBURG — With striking white-and-gray plumage, yellow beaks and talons, and powerfully compact bodies, peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) are beautiful birds in any posture. But they’re downright magical in the air—aerial acrobats capable of reaching 200 mph as they dive down onto their prey. For Johnson City, Tennessee, ornithologist Rick Knight, such sightings are especially rich in meaning.

“It’s like watching one of my kids or grandkids making his own in the world,” he said.

In the summer of 1984, Knight was 28 years old, an East Tennessee farm boy with a bachelor’s degree in biology and an abiding love for the outdoors. When he learned about an opportunity to get paid to spend all summer camping in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, he jumped at the chance.

The job revolved around four fluffy peregrine falcon chicks, which wildlife managers hoped would become the first wild peregrines to soar over the Smokies in decades. The Smokies reintroduction was a joint effort of the National Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Tennessee Valley Authority, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, and The Peregrine Fund.

 

Purveyor of literary science to speak to Arboretum audience about the flowers in our lives

OAK RIDGE ­— Acclaimed writer David Haskell’s latest book offers a literary and scientific look at the vitality of plants (and most importantly, their flowers) and their impact on civilization.

“I hope that after reading the “How Flowers Made our World,” readers will experience flowers with more delight, curiosity, and reverence,” Haskell said in a release from Penguin Books. Haskell is the author of five books, two of which were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction.

 “As in my other books, I interweave rich sensory observation with the latest scientific discoveries, aiming to enrich readers’ own experiences of flowers and the living world.

“This book is a culmination of what I’ve learned as a biologist and writer over the last thirty years: that even though we often dismiss flowers as mere ornaments, flowers run our world, from building ecosystems, to spurring the diversity and vitality of animals, to being the foundations of human agriculture.

He will speak to a Knoxville online Knoxville audience at 7 p.m. March 30.

The program is free, and registration for the Zoom presentation is available on the Arboretum Society website UTArboretumSociety.org. Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning is a cosponsor.

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This 2024 global temperature anomaly recap was released after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared 2024 the hottest year on record. On Feb. 12, 2026, the Trump Administration moved to gut the science-based “findings” rule that allowed the U.S. to restrict the release of carbon dioxide and other pollutants known to be contributing to the global greenhouse effect. NOAA

Higher education can train students to carefully consider the evidence around them

This story was originally published by The Conversation. R. Alexander Bentley is a professor of anthropology at the University of Tennessee.

KNOXVILLE — Years ago, after taking an Earth science class, I found myself looking at the world differently. It was the 1990s, and lakes in Wisconsin where I lived at the time were beginning to freeze later in winter and thaw earlier in spring, and flowers seemed to bloom a bit earlier.

That geology class helped me understand the gradual warming that was underway, warming that has accelerated since then.

People are more likely to believe an explanation when they see direct evidence of it. In the U.S., the percentage of people who recognize that global warming is happening is higher in counties that experienced record high temperatures in the previous decade. But understanding what’s happening and why also matters. That’s because people’s existing knowledge shapes how they interpret the evidence they see.

Education level and political affiliation are both known to be strong global predictors of concern about climate change.

But does higher education actually create climate concern? As an anthropologist and a researcher in computational social science, I and my colleague Ben Horne set up a study to try to answer that question. 

NASHVILLE — The annual Tennessee Urban Forestry Council conference is set for Nov. 14-15 at the Scarritt Bennett Center. 

This year’s theme is Under One Canopy, which will highlight how individuals, organizations and municipalities are engaging with diverse stakeholders and cross-sector partners to make an impact in Tennessee communities through urban forestry. Confrence attendees will celebrate achievements from across the state, exchange ideas and learn from the latest urban forestry studies and stories.

Full registration and lodging details will be announced soon.

“Ring of Fire” annular eclipse.  NASA

While most people associate “Ring of Fire” with the great Southern country singer Johnny Cash, it will feature a different beat on Oct. 14 when the “Ring of Fire” annular eclipse will cross North, Central and South America. 

For other locations and more details visit Time and Date.

The moon will pass in front of the sun, and an annular eclipse will be visible over much of the United States and Central and South America. Unlike a total solar eclipse, the moon will not completely block the sun and make day appear like night. It will, however, make the sun appear like a thin ring of fire. The difference between an annular and a total eclipse is that the moon’s orbit varies slightly in it’s distance from Earth. If an eclipse occurs when the moon is at a farther point during its orbit, it will appear slightly smaller and not large enough to cover the sun completely. 

All eclipse-watchers on Oct. 14 will need to use special eye protection — such as eclipse glasses or a specialized solar filter — or an indirect viewing method to safely watch. Such safety measures must be used throughout the entire eclipse, no matter a viewer’s location, as even the small ring of sun visible at the peak of the annular eclipse is dangerous if viewed directly.

Live coverage of the eclipse will air on NASA TV and the agency’s website from 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Oct. 14 The public may also watch live on social media accounts on Facebook, X, and YouTube. 

Wild hogs are seen rooting in a sensitive area. Hog season opens later this month in Big South Fork.  National Park Service

ONEIDA — Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area this week announced regulations for those wanting to kill invasive wild hogs during the 2022 fall and winter seasons.

Most hog populations within the protected areas of BSF are believed to be present on the Tennessee side of the park, which spans the Kentucky border. Feral hogs have been present in East Tennessee for generations. They destroy local flora and fauna mainly by rooting in low-lying mountain and valley areas. They are especially fond of salamanders, many species of which are in grave decline. In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, hunters are regularly deployed to cull hogs throughout the park.

“The wild hog is an invasive exotic species that has a significant negative impact to native species and do a great deal of damage to farmlands and residential areas. The damage they cause threatens park resources including federally listed plants,” according to a release from the park service. 

OAK RIDGE — WBIR channel 10 News 2-minute video highlighting a controversy that has been brewing for a decade.

Infographics and more details added May 5, 2022

Tree clearing would radically degrade the visual experience and take away shade crucial to enjoyment of a walk during increasingly hot weather

On April 4, TRISO-X LLC, a subsidiary incorporated last August by X-Energy LLC, disclosed plans to build a plant at Horizon Center to manufacture a new kind of “unmeltable” tri-structural isotropic nuclear fuel (TRISO) for high-temperature pebble-bed gas reactors. It will use uranium, enriched to less than 20 percent, to fabricate spherical, billiards-ball sized High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU) pebbles.

Horizon Center,

situated among sensitive natural areas, was designed as an upscale light-industrial and office park. Despite its fancy landscaping with sculpture gardens, it failed to attract the many buyers that had been anticipated when it was created a quarter century ago. A principal argument for its establishment was that Oak Ridge needed to attract more private enterprise to reduce dependency on Federal jobs.

Terragenics’ $38 million plant, which was built to manufacture implantable radioactive pellets to treat prostate cancer never went into full production and was abandoned in 2005. 2015, with Governor Haslam in attendance, Canadian CVMR promised 620 jobs, using the plant for it’s first U.S. production site and to move its headquarters to it from Toronto, too.

MEMPHIS — Area residents were invited to a film screening of “Keep the Lights On” and a panel discussion at the Memphis Rox climbing gym with community members, local advocates and policy experts. The event, which ran from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20, coincided with Global Climbing Day, and professional rock climbers Nina Williams, Manoah Ainuu (who recently summited Everest), Olympic Silver Medalist Nathaniel Coleman, and Fred Campbell hosted and participated in community and climbing-oriented events prior to the film screening and conversation. 

The film follows Memphis Rox staff member and leader Jarmond Johnson, recounting his experiences with intermittent energy access growing up in South Memphis, his growth into a gang activist and mentorship role at Rox, and, ultimately, working with professional rock climber and environmental activist Alex Honnold (best known for the academy award-winning film, Free Solo) to bring solar energy to the gym. Following the screening, Jarmond and a panel of experts discussed takeaways from the film, and how equitable access to solar energy could help all Memphians keep their lights on. 

— Southern Alliance for Clean Energy

Carson-Newman University Professor Brian Sohn is hosting a climate-oriented webinar on March 30.  Thomas Fraser/Hellbender Press

Local installment of worldwide virtual Climate Teach-In is set for 2:30 p.m. March 30

JEFFERSON CITY — Brian Sohn had “the closest thing to a panic attack” when his second daughter was born.

He had long been alarmed by climate change and its potentially disastrous effects, but her arrival brought home the need to address the environmental challenges of a rapidly changing planet.

So now the Carson-Newman University education professor is putting some final touches on a virtual climate-related “teach-in” he’ll host from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 30.

Alex Pulsipher holds a sign demanding that TVA transition to 100 percent renewable energy at a rally Wednesday in Market Square in Knoxville. Courtesy Amy Rawe/Southern Alliance for Clean Energy

Varied environmental groups offer unified plea for clean energy, coal ash management and accountability from TVA

It was people power generating energy at Market Square in downtown Knoxville on Wednesday.

A coalition of civic and environmental groups and their representatives met at the bottom of the two Tennessee Valley Authority towers urging the public utility to reopen meetings to public comment; swear off all fossil fuels by 2030; and carefully tend to the needs of those affected by coal ash and devise a plan to contain it for the safety of current and future generations.

KNOXVILLE — Volunteer registration is open for the 34th Ijams River Rescue on Saturday, April 15, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. A severe weather date is set for Saturday, April 22.

Ijams Nature Center’s annual event removes tons of trash and tires from sites along the Tennessee River and its creek tributaries. Sites are typically located in Knox, Anderson, Blount and Loudon counties.

“During this cleanup, between 500-1,000 volunteers come together to make a tangible, positive difference in their community,” Ijams Development Director Cindy Hassil said. “It’s eye-opening to participate because you really get to see what ends up in our waterways. Hopefully it makes people more aware of how they dispose of trash and recyclables, and inspires them to look for ways to reduce the amount of waste they create.”

There are cleanup sites on land, along the shoreline (boots/waders recommended) and on the water (personal kayaks/canoes required).

Racers of all stripes assembled Saturday for Cheers to Clean Water boat races on the Tennessee River. Keenan Thomas/Hellbender Press

Cheers to Clean Water celebrants race, learn and scrub the river at Suttree Landing Park

KNOXVILLE — Beneath the sound of a beckoning banjo, partiers and athletes alike paddled the shores of Suttree Landing Park, picking up trash as they floated down the Tennessee River.

The fifth Cheers to Clean Water Celebration on Saturday (June 11) featured 4k- and 8k-kayak races, a cleanup in and around the Tennessee River, and a central gathering area punctuated by booths for land- and water-based advocacy organizations.

“It’s both on water and on land, cleaning up this section of the Tennessee River,” AmeriCorps member Madison Moore said on Saturday from the park. “After the boating is over, they’ll come down here for the celebration, where we have a whole bunch of other vendors that are helping us make this day a possibility.”

The celebration promotes the importance of maintaining and cleaning major waterways like the Tennessee River.

Booming construction and development, combined with more frequent heavy rains and an aging stormwater system, continue to threaten the age-old Appalachian river

This story was originally published by Jason Sandford of the Ashevegas Hot Sheet.

ASHEVILLE — North Carolina water quality officials declared a 19-mile section of the French Broad River in Buncombe County as officially “impaired” because of fecal coliform levels found during recent testing. It’s a sobering alarm bell (though there have been plenty of warning signs, as you’ll see below.) In Asheville, interest in the river as an economic force and tourist destination has never been higher. (The confluence of the French Broad and Holston rivers forms the Tennessee River above Knoxville.)

The designation will come as no surprise to even casual observers of the wide, northward-flowing river. Often, it runs a chocolate brown color, a clear sign of the sediment and other pollutants running through the waterway.

KNOXVILLE — Discover Life in America has a newly established partnership with Schulz Bräu Brewing Company to host its monthly Conservation on Tap speaker series.

The latest installment of the series at the new venue is 7 p.m. April 16. Join Conservation on Tap at Schulz Bräu Brewing Company, 126 Bernard Ave, Knoxville.

Join us for an insightful presentation by Phil Francis, Chairman of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, and former acting superintendent of GSMNP, as he provides an update on the current challenges facing the National Park Service and our national parks.

Francis will discuss the critical resources that need protection and the staffing necessary to ensure the preservation and maintenance of these cherished public lands. This event is a must-attend for anyone passionate about the future of America’s national parks and the efforts needed to safeguard them for generations to come. Learn more at: protectnps.org.

Come support local conservation efforts and enjoy a wide selection of 20+ beers on-tap (and plenty of nonalcoholic beverages) and some authentic German fare from Schulzes Schnitzel Kitchen.

KNOXVILLE — Members of the Knox County Growth Policy Coordinating Committee will hold their second (but first official) public meeting on Monday, Nov. 27 to hear from the public and consider amendments to the Growth Policy Plan that dates back to 2000. The meeting will take place at 5 p.m. in the Main Assembly Room of the City County Building. (This meeting was previously scheduled for Nov. 16.)

The committee’s first of two meetings required by Tennessee State Law to change a growth policy plan had initially been announced for Oct. 24. However, when it became known that the announcement had not been published with due notice in a local newspaper to met the letter of the law, the Oct. 24 gathering was relabeled as a public information meeting only, and its agenda limited to merely provide an introductory presentation about the Advance Knox process and its proposals, with an opportunity for brief citizen statements.

Efforts to eradicate wild hogs, which have a damaging effect on salamanders and other communities in the Great Smokies, have been ongoing with mixed success for decades. National Archives

Researchers quantify the effects of feral hogs on Smokies salamander populations

GATLINBURG — A recent study investigating the relationship between Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s beloved salamanders and its hated hogs concluded that the rooting of feral pigs decreases the abundance and diversity of Smokies salamanders.

Alexander Funk of Eastern Kentucky University said the effects of feral hogs on salamanders from the family plethodontidae were mixed and varied depending on the season.

Generally, across seasons and especially in the summer, the hogs’ foraging seemed to hurt salamander abundance and diversity. Funk is a student under Eastern Kentucky University’s Director for the Division of Natural Areas Stephen Richter but had help from Benjamin Fitzpatrick of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. The study involved Funk going out late at night on Balsam Mountain in the spring, summer and fall of 2022.

Officials mull farm runoff as possible cause

NEWPORT — Tennessee state conservation, agricultural and environment officials are investigating a widespread fish kill along the lower Pigeon River.

The probe began on Aug. 12 after Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency officers noticed multiple species of dead fish along the river near Newport.

Aquatic life in the Pigeon River, a popular rafting, kayaking and fishing spot boasting big smallmouth bass, has steadily recovered following years of pollution from the upstream paper mill in Canton. The Pactiv Evergreen site permanently closed earlier this year, after it and previous owners drastically reduced the amount of effluent into the river. Fishing and whitewater sports rapidly took off from there.

TWRA didn’t immediately identify the reason for the fish kill, which remains under investigation, but alluded to sediment and agricultural runoff that spiked during heavy rains this month.

Here is the full news release from TWRA:

“The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) and the Tennessee Dept. of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) are jointly investigating a fish kill on the Pigeon River above Newport. 

“On Friday, TWRA wildlife officers reported dead fish on the Pigeon River from Edwina Bridge down to the Newport police station.  TWRA fisheries biologists responded to the area documenting multiple species of dead fish at several locations. Based on the dispersal of the fish, recent water generation from the dam likely pushed them further downstream while leaving higher numbers of dead fish at the top of the kill zone.

“To determine potential contributing factors, biologists investigated the surrounding area and documented muddy runoff from agriculture fields likely caused by heavy rains in the area.

“TWRA biologists contacted the TDEC field office in Knoxville to assist with the incident and notified the Tennessee Department of Agriculture of the investigation. 

The incident currently remains under investigation.”

6-minute video about what to do if you see a black bear

Smokies officials say euthanized bear was overweight and seeking human food

GATLINBURG — Great Smoky Mountains National Park wildlife biologists and park rangers responded to Elkmont Campground on Sunday (June 12) after a peculiarly large black bear injured a toddler and her mother sleeping in a tent.

Wildlife biologists captured the responsible bear, and it was euthanized Monday, June 13, according to a news release from the park service.

“The bear weighed approximately 350 pounds, which is not standard for this time of year, suggesting the bear had previous and likely consistent access to non-natural food sources,” said Lisa McInnis, resource management chief.

A male carpenter bee takes a break from building its nest to get nourishing nectar from the base of a penstemon.  Juian Cowles/U.S. Forest Service

Please don’t wage chemical warfare on these busy bees

KNOXVILLE — Old George Harvey lived two houses upstream from where I grew up on Baskins Creek in Gatlinburg. He had a strange obsession. Using empty jars, Old George would catch bees he found on the flowers and gardens around his house, screw on the lid and line the jars up on a ledge inside his screened-in porch. He’d then watch the bees die.

We kids thought it was odd and cruel. We’d plot slipping into his porch and freeing all the bees like Elliot freed the frogs from the classroom in the movie “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.”

CHATTANOOGA — Birds of a feather are called to flock together this week at Chattanooga Audubon Society’s Avian Discovery Days April 5-7. This is the third year of this event at the Audubon Acres sanctuary, and reservations are required.

Call (423) 892-1499 or check out Avian Discovery Days for more information.

Participants will learn about birds during four activities, including bird walks specifically designed to teach identification skills. They will also learn how birds survive migration in the Great Migration Challenge game.

Darren Nunley of Whittier holds the 15.75-pound largemouth bass he caught on Nickajack Reservoir this winter. The fish is a new largemouth record. TWRA

NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA)  has confirmed that a new state record for a largemouth bass has been established, breaking the previous mark, which was set more than 11 years ago.

Darren Nunley caught the record fish in Nickajack Reservoir on Feb. 28. It weighed 15 pounds, 7 1/2 ounces, and was 27 7/8 inches in length. The new mark surpasses the previous record of Gabe Keen, who caught a largemouth weighing 15 pounds, 3 ounces on Friday the 13th in February 2015, which at the time had broken a record which stood for more than 60 years.

A resident of Whitwell, Nunley made his record haul at 8 a.m. on a jackhammer chatterbait lure. He was using a 17-pound fluorocarbon test line and a Shimano reel.

The fish was weighed on a certified scale at a grocery store in Whitwell. TWRA sent a fin clip for genetic testing, with official results finalized on May 9.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is responsible for protecting, managing, and conserving fish and wildlife species for the benefit of Tennesseans and visitors. The Agency also maintains public safety through law enforcement and safety education on waterways.

-TWRA

A father and his daughter pose with a bagged Georgia bird. GDNR

ATLANTA — Youth and mobility-impaired hunters get an early start to turkey season on March 21-22. This special opportunity gives youth and mobility-impaired hunters a chance to harvest a gobbler on private lands before the statewide turkey season opens, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Resources Division.

This early weekend hunt opportunity is available on private lands and is only for youth 16 years of age and younger, or hunters that are mobility impaired (i.e. confined to a wheelchair, hemiplegia, monoplegia, paraplegia, or single-leg amputation above the knee). Youth hunters must be accompanied by an adult (18 years or older) who may call for turkey but may not take or attempt to take a turkey.

The season bag limit for turkeys is one gobbler (male turkey) per hunter per day, and a season total of two gobblers.

All turkey hunters, including those under 16 years of age, landowners, honorary, lifetime, and sportsman license holders, must obtain a free harvest record each season.  Before moving a harvested turkey, hunters are required to immediately enter the date and county on the harvest record, and within 24 hours, must complete the reporting process through Georgia Game Check. More information at GeorgiaWildlife.com/HarvestRecordGeorgiaGameCheck.

-GDNR

KNOXVILLE — The East Tennessee chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (ETSPJ) once again will partner with the League of Women Voters Knoxville/Knox County (LWVKKC) to hold the annual legislative forum of the Knox County delegation. The forecast for Knoxville is warm and sunny, unlike the original date on Jan. 31.

When: Saturday, Feb. 28, 9-10:30 a.m.
Where: YWCA Phyllis Wheatley Center
What: Discussion with Knox County legislative delegation
Why: Hear from state senators and representatives about the 2026 session

It will be livestreamed on Facebook by the League of Women Voters HERE for those who can't attend in person.

The date is Saturday, Feb. 28, from 9-10:30 a.m. at the YWCA Phyllis Wheatley Center, located at 124 S. Cruze St., in East Knoxville near downtown. A parking lot next to the building and street parking are available. Parking is free.

Jesse Mayshark, a co-founder of Compass Knox, will serve as moderator. Access for one-on-one, in-person media interviews with the legislators in attendance also will be available at 10 a.m. after the hour-long forum.

Coffee and breakfast bagels and pastries will be available at 8:30 a.m. and are free while they last. The event is open to the public.

-ETSPJ

CHATTANOOGA — The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission will hold its final meeting of 2025 at the Tennessee Aquarium (Lupton Room) on Dec. 4-5. Committee meetings begin at 1 p.m. Dec. 4, with full commission proceedings continuing at 9 a.m. Dec. 5. Both meetings will be streamed on Youtube.

The commission will have three rule-making hearings, which were previewed by Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency staff at the TFWC’s October meeting in Nashville. To view the October TFWC meeting, click here. They pertain to the deer-baiting privilege license (only on private or leased lands), the North Cumberland OHV permit, and changes to the endangered or threatened species list.

One species, the teardrop darter, is under consideration to be added to the state Threatened and Endangered Species list. It is only found in Tennessee and Kentucky, where it occurs in the Barren and Green river systems. Two species, the Clinch dace and Sequatchie darter, are proposed to be removed from the list because they are not recognized by the American Fisheries Society.

Leading up to the rule-making hearing, Wildlife and Forestry Division Assistant Chief Mark McBride and wildlife veterinarian Dr. Dan Grove will present background information on the Deer Baiting Privilege License during Thursday's committee meetings. Expected impacts of baiting on deer, deer harvests, impacts on other species, and CWD will be among the topics discussed.

-TWRA

NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) will be operating chronic wasting disease (CWD) sampling stations across the state on the opening day of the 2025 muzzleloader season, Saturday, Nov. 8, to monitor the presence of CWD in white-tailed deer populations. Hunters play a crucial role in this monitoring effort by bringing harvested deer to designated sampling locations.

CWD, a contagious and fatal neurological disease affecting deer, has been detected in 18 counties, all in West Tennessee except one positive county in Middle Tennessee (Lewis County). A complete list of counties where CWD has been detected and specific test locations is available at tnwildlife.org. By participating in CWD sampling, hunters can assist TWRA in early detection and prevent the disease from spreading. 

-TWRA