Tracey Jones
UKC Forum Member
Registered: Jan 2005
Location: Tennessee! Go Vols!
Posts: 243 |
My number is 423-972-7809.
Would be glad to talk to you.
Here is the official proposal that we are sending to the TWRA for 2010.
TENNESSEE BEAR HUNTERS ASSOCIATION
P.O. BOX 762
GREENEVILLE, TN 37744-0762
Official Proposal to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency – 2010
Official Resolutions:
1. The Tennessee Bear Hunters Association wishes to express their gratitude for the outstanding efforts of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency in respect to recent bear populations. We are especially appreciative of the administrators, managers, scientists, and law enforcement officials who specifically seek to enhance bear populations and habitats. The long-term vision and foresight of the TWRA and its partners is worthy of recognition.
2. The Tennessee Bear Hunters Association wishes to express their gratitude for the great deal of field research that has been done by various individuals, groups, and associations within the southern Appalachians in reference to black bears and their habitats. This would include, but is not limited to, the biologists and other scientists of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, The University of Tennessee and The Southern Appalachian Black Bear Study Group. We understand that the data you have collected has enabled sound management of the black bear in our state and surrounding areas.
3. The Tennessee Black Bear Association wishes to express their gratitude to the individuals who serve on the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission. Your willingness to serve the public and the time and effort you put into it are commendable.
Official Concerns:
1. BLACK BEAR POPULATION
We are concerned with the record black bear harvest of 2009. In fact, we are not exactly sure what the total harvest was. The TWRA website lists the record harvest as 571 in the article by David M Brandenburg (New Era in Black Bear Management in Tennessee), then lists the harvest record as 566 in a report released on December 23, 2009. However, if you add up the county by county kill numbers, they don’t appear to match either total.
Whatever the total, the drastic increase from 2008 seems excessive to us. We understand that the TWRA believes that the “cultural carrying capacity” has been reached and wishes to limit the black bear population from growing larger. Even still there must be a tipping point somewhere that would set the population back to lower than desired levels. We don’t want to experience “over kill” and then have to allow for several years to rebuild the current population levels. We hope the TWRA will choose to err on the side of “too many” bears instead of “not enough”.
2. FAIRNESS IN OPPORTUNITY
We appreciate the fact that the TWRA seeks to maintain a position of fairness in the use of our wildlife resources. It can’t be easy to satisfy so many individuals and groups who each seek their own agenda. The Tennessee Bear Hunters would like to express our concern with reference to disparity of opportunity.
The Tennessee Bear Hunters would like it to be known publicly that we fully support the opportunities for still hunting bear in Tennessee. Most of our members are hound hunters, but we stand united with all who wish to pursue bear in our state regardless of preferred methods.
However, a simple calculation will reveal that the still hunters are favored in the hunting seasons. They have the opportunity to hunt first and to hunt many more days. In addition to this they get to hunt bear as a “bonus animal” while they are primarily deer hunting. Hound hunters have long been the primary bear hunters in Tennessee and only wish to be on equal playing ground with those who have joined our ranks in recent years.
3. ILLEGAL BAITING
The Tennessee Bear Hunters admits that illegal activities exist among all categories of bear hunters including our own ranks. We believe that illegal baiting, which has always been a problem, has increased to drastic levels. Many of our members know the black bear as a game animal quite well and it is just not possible that so many black bears are being killed still hunting unless illegal baiting is being used as a method to lure the animal into range.
Black bear encroachment on private land is a stated problem with the TWRA. We understand that still hunting is seen as a solution to “problem bears” on private property. However, we believe the rampant baiting of the still hunters has become part of the problem instead of a solution. Many of these “problem bears” would not be on private land if it were not for the bait placed there by the hunters themselves.
Official Recommendations:
Concerning Fairness of Opportunity
1. We recommend that the early season still hunt be limited to the last two weeks of October. Last year the hunt dates were September 26-October 30. Still hunters killed 147 bear during this early hunt last year. That is a lot of bear being killed before a hound hunter ever has opportunity. Limiting the length of the early hunt would create greater parity.
2. We recommend that the TWRA establish a “BEAR STAMP” which must be purchased prior to bear season opening. A “BEAR STAMP” would insure that those who kill bear have respect for the bear as a game animal and are not just shooting them because they walk past while actually hunting for other game. The black bear is a great animal and deserves more respect than being killed as a bonus animal. The fee for the “BEAR STAMP” should be required of all hunters who wish to bear hunt, even those who have lifetime licenses and annual sportsmen’s licenses. All proceeds from the “BEAR STAMP” should be permanently channeled into a fund that would support the black bear and its habitat within Tennessee.
3. We recommend that TWRA law enforcement officials be allowed to require all bear hunters to take them back to the spot of a kill after checking in a harvested black bear. The possibility of a random spot check would reduce the illegal baiting. The state of Montana has a similar law.
Concerning Kill Season
1. We do not wish for kill seasons to be expanded.
2. If the TWRA insists that more kill season is necessary to maintain current bear populations we recommend that hound hunters be given additional kill season during the early seasons. We also recommend that the early October seasons be extended to all counties, so that seasons are exactly uniform. This would give the hound hunters greater parity with other hunters. The hunting dates were moved to December in past years to reduce the sow kill percentages. If sow kill percentages are no longer an issue then we would like to hunt more before the bear den up or severe weather limits our success.
3. We recommend that the late season dates not begin on Thursday. We prefer to have the season begin on Monday. This makes it easier for hunters to obtain vacation days without odd days.
Concerning Training Season
1. We recommend that bear hunters be allowed to train dogs throughout the year. If necessary, the training could be suspended on holiday weekends when camping areas (etc) have more traffic. Coon hunters are allowed this opportunity and we see no biological reason why this couldn’t be allowed for bear hunters. West Virginia allows for year-long training season with no ill effects on the bear population.
2. If year-long training season is unreasonable then we recommend that Tennessee extend training season to the same dates as the North Carolina training season. This would solve all confusion and law-enforcement problems with dogs crossing state lines during off set seasons.
Concerning Wild/Feral Hogs
We recommend that hound hunting for wild/feral hogs be allowed on private property year-long. Hound hunting is by far the most effective hunting method in controlling undesirable hog populations. All hunters should have to obtain written permission from land owners prior to releasing their hounds. We believe that current policies are discriminatory towards hound hunters. Hound hunting should be seen as an effective tool in the fight against increasing hog populations.
Concerning Hunter Safety Verification
We recommend that the verification on licenses be regarded as sufficient proof that a hunter has met the requirements of the state and that an additional card not be necessary as proof.
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02-17-2010 10:50 PM
