Woods & Water: Wildlife Commission makes changes to hunting seasons
The May meeting of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission concluded at noon on Thursday, May 29, with rules and regulations established for the 2003-04 hunting season.
This year most of the changes proposed by the Agency affected changes for bear, deer, and fall wild turkey hunting. The most significant changes were as follows:
• Legalize the use of crossbows during any muzzleloader or gun season. Only qualified handicapped hunters may use crossbows during archery-only seasons.
• Increased the bag limit on each muzzleloader hunt in 10 Middle Tennessee counties to 4 deer no more than one antlered.
• The same 10 counties in Middle Tennessee that have the increased muzzleloader harvest will allow 3 antlerless deer per day during the first segment of the gun/muzzleloader/archery season.
• Made all of the Unit B archery-only deer season either-sex.
• Add 13 counties to the fall wild turkey hunting season and in several Middle Tennessee counties there will be two hunts (Nov. 15-21 and Dec. 15-19) for quota permit holders.
• Added two days to the Unit A gun/muzzleloader/archery deer season.
• Moved the January Young Sportsman hunt one week later.
These and other changes will be listed in detail in the 2003 Tennessee Hunting and Trapping Guide that will be available in mid-July. The information will be available on the TWRA web page (www.tnwildlife.org) before then.
TWRC SETS 2003-04 HUNTING SEASONS
At its meeting in Nashville on May 29-30, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission (TWRC) set the dates for the 2003-04 hunting year as follows:
For small game and antlered deer seasons, see the inset graphic.
Antlerless Only Deer Hunts: Fifty-nine counties are listed this year for these special hunts. They vary in number of hunts and bag limit depending on the deer population in each county. A full listing will be included in the hunting guide. Counties having this special hunt for the first time are: Blount (west of Hwy. 411 and east of Hwy. 129, Carter (outside Cherokee WMA), Grainger, Johnson (outside Cherokee WMA), Loudon, and Sullivan (outside Cherokee WMA).
Fall Turkey Hunts:
Fifty-three counties will be open to fall turkey hunting. A full listing will be included in the hunting guide. Those 53 counties will be open for quota shotgun/archery hunting on Nov. 15-21. The same counties will also be open to non-quota archery-only hunting with a bag limit of one turkey either-sex during all archery-only deer seasons for that county. Counties, which have been added to this hunt for the first time, are: Benton, Carroll, Carter, Clay, Hamblen, Henderson, Jackson, Johnson, Madison, Marion, Perry, Sullivan, and Weakley.
Permit holders for Bedford, Cannon, Cheatham, Coffee, Dekalb, Dickson, Franklin, Giles, Hickman, Lawrence, Lincoln, Macon, Marshall, Maury, Montgomery, Moore, Robertson, Rutherford, Smith, Sumner, Trousdale, Wayne, Williamson, and Wilson counties may also hunt Dec. 15-19.
Bear:
Blount, Cocke (South of I-40), Sevier, G/M/A, Sept. 29-Oct. 5 (dogs allowed).
Blount, Sevier, archery-only, Oct. 11-19 (no dogs).
Blount, Cocke, Greene, Monroe, Sevier, Unicoi, Washington, G/M/A, Nov. 17-18 (dogs allowed).
Blount, Cocke, Greene, Monroe, Sevier, Unicoi, Washington, G/M/A, Nov. 29-30 (no dogs).
Blount, Carter, Cocke, Greene, Johnson, Monroe, Polk (north of Hwy. 64), Sevier, Sullivan, Unicoi, Washington, G/M/A, Dec. 4-17 (dogs allowed).
Johnson (no dogs) Oct. 4-5 (includes private land within the Kettlefoot Bear Reserve that lies within Johnson County.
Feral Hogs:
Private lands – year-round, except inholdings on Catoosa and South Cherokee. Dogs prohibited.
Public Lands – open during deer seasons (unless otherwise specified). Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area is also open from Jan. 21 – Feb. 29, 2004. Dogs prohibited.
Dogs are allowed on the following hunts:
Monroe – G/M/A, Oct. 13-20.
Blount, Sevier, Cocke (south of I-40) – G/M/A, Sept. 29-Oct. 5.
Blount, Cocke, Greene, Monroe, Sevier, Unicoi, Washington – G/M/A, Nov. 17-18.
Blount, Cocke, Monroe, Sevier – G/M/A, Dec. 4-17.
Hunting guides will be printed and available by mid-July. Season dates and regulations will be listed on the TWRA web page (www.tnwildlife.org) soon.
SNAKES – WATCH WHERE YOU STEP
With warm weather returning to West Tennessee, people and snakes are coming in contact with each other, but most of those snakes are harmless, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Many people are afraid of snakes, but TWRA offers the following facts to keep things in perspective.
• On the average, approximately 50,000 people are bitten by snakes nationwide each year.
HOWEVER:
• Only 8,000 of these bites are from poisonous snakes.
• Of those people bitten, about 1,200 do not seek any medical attention and fully recover.
• About 12-15 people die from snake bites in the U.S. each year.
Compare that to the fact that:
• Approximately twice as many die from wasp and bee stings.
• About 100 die from being struck by lightning.
Only three to four people die in the U.S. from the bite of snakes similar to those we have in Tennessee and in the past 40 years there have only been 7 recorded deaths from snake bites in this state.
The TWRA recommends that if you are in the woods, watch where you put your hands and where you step, especially when climbing over fallen logs. Most bites occur on hands, arms, feet and legs. Don’t lift stones from rock piles or turn over logs.
If you are outdoors and see a snake, simply leave it alone. Most of these reptiles want to avoid you too and will try to escape if they can. Besides, it is illegal in Tennessee to kill a snake and they are important in the control of rats and small mammals.
If you are bitten, stay calm. Remember, a bite from a poisonous snake is painful but treatable, so do seek medical attention. Do not try to treat the victim with ice, tourniquets or cutting into the wound to draw out the poison. Those old-fashioned remedies are not effective and can do more harm than good. Just get to professional medical help as calmly and quickly as possible.
Tennessee is home to over forty species of snakes, only four of which are poisonous. The southern copperhead lives predominantly in the southwestern section of the state; the northern copperhead throughout the rest of the state. The timber rattlesnake can be found all over the state. Tennessee’s pygmy rattler lives primarily in the counties along the Kentucky Lake. The cottonmouth water moccasin is found in the wet areas in the western half of the state.
Remember: watch where you walk and do not upset the wildlife. If bitten, don’t panic, but get immediate medical help.
Small Game, Antlered deer seasons
SMALL GAME:
Species Opens-Closes Bag
Squirrel Aug. 23-Feb. 29 10
Spring Squirrel May 8-June 13 10
Grouse* Oct. 11-Feb. 29 3
(*closed W. of I-65)
Rabbit Nov. 8-Feb. 29 5
Quail Nov. 8-Feb. 29 6
Dove Sept. 1-Sept. 26 15
Oct. 11-Oct. 26 15
Dec. 20-Jan. 6 15
Woodcock Oct. 25-Dec. 8 3
Wilson Snipe Nov. 15-Feb. 29 8
Wood Duck/Teal Sept. 13-17 4
(no more than 2 wood ducks)
Canada GooseSept. 1-Sept. 15 5
(statewide)
Raccoon Sept. 19-Feb. 15 2 (Western Unit; limit 2 each per night)
Nov. 7-Feb. 15 1
(Eastern Unit; limit 1 each per night)
———
BIG GAME:
Deer Unit A
Archery Sept. 27-Oct. 31 4
Nov. 10-Nov. 21
Dec. 15-Dec. 19
(no more than two antlered)
Muzzle/Archery Nov. 3-Nov. 9 2
(no more than 1 antlered, except 1 deer (either-sex) only in Polk County. However, 4 deer no more than 1 antlered in Davidson, Bedford, Giles, Lincoln, Marshall, Maury, Moore, Rutherford, Williamson, and Wilson counties.)
Dec. 8-Dec. 14 2
(no more than 1 antlered, except 1 deer (either-sex) only in Polk County. However, 4 deer no more than 1 antlered in Davidson, Bedford, Giles, Lincoln, Marshall, Maury, Moore, Rutherford, Williamson, and Wilson counties.)
Gun/Muzzle/Bow Nov. 22-Dec. 7 2 Dec. 20-Jan. 11
(antlered only)
Deer Unit B
Archery Sept. 27-Oct. 31 2
Nov. 10-Nov. 21
(either sex)
Muzzle/Archery Nov. 3-Nov. 9 1
antlered deer (except either-sex Nov. 7-9)
Dec. 12-Dec. 14 1
(antlered only)
Gun/Muzzle/Bow Nov. 22-30 2
(antlered only)
Dec. 20-Jan. 7
Young Sportsman’s Deer Hunts
Unit A Nov. 1-Nov. 2 2
(1 antlered)
Unit B Nov. 1-Nov. 2 1
either-sex
Unit A Jan. 17-Jan. 18 2
(1 antlered)
Unit B Jan. 17-Jan. 18 1
either-sex