An Awesome Year of Hunting.

This year was an awesome year for me as far as hunting wild turkey and whitetail deer. I was able to take three wild turkeys and three nice whitetail bucks by the end of the hunting seasons. My freezer is full now and all that is left to do is enjoy the memories of my adventures as I share my bounty with other friends and family throughout the coming year. Turkey season turned out to be an awesome and unfogetting adventure for me this year. I was able to rekindle a childhood friendship with a great buddy of mine that has allowed me access to his farm which he says has never been and will never ever be hunted by anyone else but me. My grandsons were able to go along with me on my hunts this year which made my hunts even more enjoyable and they are now starting into a life long tradition of hunting adventures of their own. The past week or so I have been busy getting things started for my grandsons to take the Hunters Safety Certification course which is now available from compact disk(cd) in our state. I called Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency and acquired two (2) cd's from them for my grandsons training which can be used by anyone else wanting to take the course. All that remains now is to get my grandsons here with the time to sit down and go through the instructional cd and take the test then print a completion form and follow up with a final field day of firearm training test. My whitetail hunting this year was just as enjoyable with my grandsons along for those hunts as well. I also made a new friend from a landowner joining the property I have been hunting when opening day of rifle season my buck jumped the fence onto posted property and I obtained permission to recover my buck after a lengthy conversation with the landowner and even received his help in the recovery. After the buck was processed I carried a large part of that bucks meat to my new landowner friend just to help seal the deal of future hunting rights on his property. All-in-all I've had an awesome year in 2010 and I've already started the year 2011 off planning my spring turkey hunting trips with my grandsons which start here in Tennessee in march for young adults and april for everyone else. I now look forward to my hunting trips with my grandsons every year as they become the best hunters they can be through my knowledge and understanding of this our great outdoors. Teach any kid to hunt and preserve our heritage for years to come. Next time you go hunting take a kid along, you'll be glad you did.

Two Historic Events with a Great Future Ahead.

December 2000, 50 elk were released into the Cumberland Mountains of East Tennessee marking a historic return of the elk to Tennessee's landscape. This year a second historic event will take place making the Elk Restoration Program a large success. This year 5 lucky applicants will be drawn to participate in an elk hunt in the Cumberland Mountains scheduled to take place on October 19th - 23rd. Tennessee residents and non- residents of Tennessee may apply for the Elk hunt either by Tennessee license agents or online at Tennessee wildlife Resource Agencies home page found at http://www.tnwildlife.org. or at http://www.tnelkhunt.org. Young adults ( under 16 years of age ) may also apply for the elk hunt but must be accompanied by an adult non-hunting companion 21 years or older. The fee for the application is $10.00 non-refundable regardless whether drawn or not plus all other hunting licenses applicable. All permits are non- transferable and no refunds will be made to anyone issued a permit. Of the 5 permits to be drawn for the elk hunt, 1 will be donated by a NGO ( Non- Governmental Organization ) with the proceeds designated to the TWRA ELK Program. Non-resident applicants will be restricted to no greater then 25 percent of the drawn permits. Photos of the Tennessee Elk herds can be seen at http://www.tnelkhunt.org as well as other information about the elk herds and the application instructions. Hopefully with the help of the Elk Restoration Program it will only be a matter of time before the Tennessee Elk can roam the woods and fields of open ranges as the whitetail deer do now.

Elk Restoration in Tennessee

On March 8, 2008 the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency will be moving 36 Elk from Land Between the Lakes ( LBL )in Kentucky to the Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area in Campbell County, Tennessee. The Royal Blue is part of Tennessee's 670,000 acre Elk Restoration zone which was started in 2000. Over a four year period 167 Elk have been released to the restoration zone and the release of these 36 Elk brings the Elk herd standings to approximately 200-250 animals. 31 of these Elk being released are fitted with radio collars for future research on the herd. This release will be a joint effort between Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, LBL Bugle Corp., LBL Association, U.S. Forestry Service, Campbell Outdoor Recreation Association ( CORA ), the UT Veterinary School, USDA, Animal Planet Health Inspection School ( APHIS ), and Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency staff and volunteers. The public is invited to attend the release of these Elk Saturday March 8, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Time ) at Massengale Mountain in Campbell County, Tennessee.