Displaying items by tag: hunting

Bull elk in Cataloochee Valley, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Oct. 22, 2009.    anoldent

CLINTON — The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) seeks information related to a bull elk illegally poached in Anderson County on Sunday, Oct. 8. TWRA was notified on Sunday that a bull elk had been killed and upon investigation, the entire carcass was located with what appeared to be a wound inflicted by an archery system.

The elk head was taken into custody by officers as evidence and the carcass was taken in for processing to support the Hunters for the Hungry program. Processing was donated by the Campbell Outdoor Recreation Association (CORA).

“Poaching is a serious offense in Tennessee,” said TWRA Officer Caleb Hardwick “The TWRA has been working diligently since 2000 to restore the elk population to a huntable size. Poaching is not only illegal, but it threatens restoration efforts that ensure Tennesseans have the opportunity to legally hunt these animals.”

$3,000 in reward funding was donated by CORA, The Tennessee Wildlife Federation, and the National Wild Turkey Federation Pine Mountain Longbeards Chapter to support the investigation. Rewards are available for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the poacher. Information such as the individual’s name or description, vehicle tag number or description, and location of the offense greatly assist the TWRA in apprehending wildlife poachers.

All information received by TWRA is kept in strict confidence. Individuals with information about the poacher can contact the East Tennessee Regional Poaching Hotline at 1-800-831-1174.

Elk harvest is regulated by a quota permit system. The next application period for elk quota hunts is Feb 7-28, 2024. Nineteen quota permits are issued in designated Elk Hunt Zones. A legal deer hunter may harvest an elk incidental to deer hunting on private and public lands open to deer hunting except in Anderson, Campbell, Claiborne, Scott, and Morgan Counties and except for Big South Fork River Recreation Area.

 For more information about legal elk hunting opportunities in Tennessee including quota hunt application dates and elk hunting units visit www.TNWildlife.org.

New River Gorge National Park preserves paddling and climbing paradise

When you think of national parks within a day’s drive of East Tennessee, what comes to mind? Great Smoky Mountains National Park, of course. Or perhaps Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, or Virginia’s Shenandoah. You have a new option.        

New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, created by Congress Dec. 27, 2020, by way of a pandemic relief bill, is America’s 63^rd and newest national park. Located in southern West Virginia, the 72,186-acre park and preserve protects land along both sides of a 53-mile stretch of the New River, which is famous for its world-class whitewater. It’s walls rise up to 1,400 feet, attracting rock climbers from across the country.

The New River Gorge, known locally as “The New,” currently welcomes about 1.4 million visitors a year. It’s within a day’s drive of 40 percent of the U.S. population, and is expecting an initial 20 percent increase in visitation this year because it is now a national park with national attention.

Local merchants and business owners are already touting the economic benefits, including new jobs in in-store retail and dining, two industries decimated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We’re super excited about it,” Cathedral Cafe manager Cassidy Bays said. She said the cafe, just minutes from the park, plans to increase staff and extend hours. “We’re even building an outdoor patio to increase dining space,” Bays said.

And this is not your grandfather’s West Virginia: Locavores can find locally sourced food and lean into a vegan juice bar. Several community-supported agriculture (CSA) and co-op farms are a main source of the cafe menu. “We actually cater to locavores. We are a farm-to-table restaurant” Bays said.