Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) has a long standing tradition of season long card holders for Duck Blinds on Wildlife Management Area’s (WMA’s.) There has been a push here of late to strip that tradition (the precedence) away from Tennessee Waterfowl hunters, in the name of “more opportunities,” preventing the buying and selling of blinds and preventing the spread of “COVID” on Wildlife Management Area’s (AEDC, Old Hickory, Cheatham Lake, Barkley, Camden, Gin Creek, West & Big Sandy, Gooch, Tigrett, And Reelfoot.)

It is our belief the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) has tried to go away from the season long in person draws for some time without enforcing the law on those infamous individuals at Camden WMA. In recent years TWRA has set intentionally or unintentionally flawed systems that now leads us with a system that will destroy many season long blinds for more 3-7 day quota and first come first serve hunts. By signing to this petition you believe in holding to (the precedence) season long cardholders with in-person handheld draws on those traditional WMA’s listed prior, and you believe that “IF” TWRA should invest in to waterfowl hunting they should create more safe and accessible season long hunting opportunities for their Tier 2 ,3 , & 4 systems elsewhere on virgin WMA’s such as: Ernest Rice, Moss Island, John Tully, Fort Ridge, Tumbleweed, Parker’s Branch, Harts Mill, Spring Creek, Perry Switch, Benson Creek, Shelton’s Ferry, Cedar Hill Swamp (the Wolf, Hatchie, Obion, Forked Deer and South Forked Deer, Beech, Buffalo, and Duck Rivers) 

Reasons Against the Rule Change:

Known failures thus far: The TWRA ID Leak during the draw & the misrepresentation of the draw process.

Less licenses will be purchased: The $14 application fee being the only requirement creates more quantity but less quality purchases, and may actually create less quality purchases for many waterfowl only hunters that would normally have to pay $100+ to enter the draw. Not being awarded a hunt may prevent them from hunting/purchasing a waterfowl license at all for that season. If awarded a 3-7 day hunt one may elect to just buy a 7 day license, if that is the only opportunity one has to hunt in the State of Tennessee that season. 

Killing a Tradition: Depriving an avenue hunters previously were able to communicate and gather before the hunting season, like an annual reunion for duck hunters of that particular WMA. These events would build a rapport between others hunters, techs, officers, area managers, and organization chapters ,like DU, all of whom had a vested interest in the success of that particular WMA. Going to an online draw might weaken those relationships overtime as new officers and managers are assigned.

Lack of Transparency & Trust: Many of us respect our area managers, officers, and techs from building a rapport with them over the years from the handheld draws; however, our disdain for TWRA comes from those decision makers/directors in Ellington as it is perceived the hunters voices are being silenced. 

If the push for this change comes out to be for biological reasons it has not been presented as such, hence the claim of lack of transparency. 

With the misrepresentation of the draw process in the 2021-22 Season Long draw and the skewed outcomes that favored non-local hunters, there are concerns of how TWRA will administer the post-season survey that is expected to go out to the successful parties. If they choose to send those surveys to just the successful parties based off there own admission of skewed outcomes. This post season survey's integrity is to be questioned, along with the original survey 2020 survey that evenly distributed hunters in all four regions now knowing the numbers:

Region 1 makes up 40% of applicants

Region 2 makes up 43% of applicants

Region 3 makes up 7% of applicants

Region 4 makes up 5% of applicants

Out of State makes up 5% of applicants  

Trust between a majority of waterfowl hunters and TWRA is at all time low. Given the previously failed change either the executives of TWRA and TFWC are incompetent or have intentionally calculated to lead us to this type of change for years, either would be insulting to the intelligence of us hunters who have voiced feasible alternate ,less aggressive/ board line authoritarian, changes that has fueled mistrust among us stakeholders. 

Deprivation of funds gained at handheld draw events by organizations: Killing fundraiser events at handheld draws such as: raffles to go towards wildlife like Ducks Unlimited, Delta Waterfowl, NWTF and other reputable organizations that support battered women, or Hunters for The Hungry, local ball teams, and young sportsman’s programs, etc.

State Funds to Maintain Blinds: The state will have to use additional resources to uphold a safe structure that is properly brushed. As a program like this continues the budget and overhead this program will have to increase to maintain and replace these blinds as material cost and wage rates increase for general maintenance and brushing of these Tier 2 blinds. The inherent hazards these blinds are placed in makes it an evitability that at some point straight line winds or floods will compromise the structure completely even if it is made out of light gauge steel. The work that goes into blinds is time consuming and have previously been place on the successful draw party for that year, now the agency will have that taxing responsibility when most WMA’s and area managers need new pumps, levees reworked, newer equipment, etc.

Potential of No Shows: It has happened time and time again, at certain pools on the current quota hunt system where someone from hours away doesn’t show up for their pool after sending a Notice of intent in West Tennessee, meanwhile ducks are using those pools unable to be harvested. 

Less opportunities to hunt Waterfowl on Public land: With TWRA robbing from the same resources and preventing “blind hopping” for their Tier 2 system they actually are creating less opportunities. The flaw with the $14 application fee will make it to where ones odds for the opportunity has greatly diminished than it was before, even with a priority point system involved, since logic tells us the those willing to pay for more (applications/find more non-hunter applicants) will likely be awarded more opportunities which in turn waters down hunting opportunities for other waterfowl hunters.

We ask why not create/invest in Tier 2, 3, and 4 hunts opportunities on virgin WMA’s? Many of these virgin WMA’s have limited sometimes hazardous access. Why not invest this $1.5 million dollars in more land/wetlands purchases, easements, levees, roads, flood gates, pumps, boat ramps, boat access to be able to provide more habitat and safer accessibility for these proposed Tier 2, 3, and 4 hunts, rather than take away opportunities from an exhausted resource which are our traditional WMA’s with season long waterfowl blinds? 

Systematic Bias & Potential of Added Fatalities (If No Structure): TWRA & TFWC will most likely elect to eliminate a majority of these mid to lower prestigious season long permanent structures, as they are systematically (non-preferred in someone’s top 24 selections out of 432 blinds or will go without being intended because of being disqualified for the other quota hunts.) 

Currently TWRA does not have a secondary draw for the Tier 1 blinds. This shows a systematic bias that will lead to the elimination of less preferred/prestigious blinds. The Tier 2 & 3 system allows up to 48 selections, and for those remaining unwarded or non-preferred permits and there are local handheld draws for the remaining permits that don't count against ones priority points. If one is awarded a less preferred blind (for example: a local blind at AEDC) they are disqualified/hindered from entering in the Tier 2 & 3 quota hunts. This will lead to blinds at Old Hickory, AEDC, Cheatham and other less prestigious WMA's to be systematically eliminated overtime if TWRA doesn't allow for secondary draws for those remaining Tier 1 blinds.

With no stable structure some hunting locations will be by boat only, too deep to wade. Anyone who has ever hunted any body of water can tell you that high winds often with rain in a boat has a potential to be life threatening. Structures like permanent blinds protect the hunter if anything from drowning, hypothermia, and pneumonia. We need to maintain these structures even for the less prestigious blinds for safety reasons as long as local parties show desirable interest.  

Will hinder the elderly, youth, and others: There are already those that don’t have the ability to hunt from a boat, and layouts or at least have hardships that prevent them from performing tasks or keeping warm where a blind would provide more comfort and other accommodations that provide safer more enjoyable hunting experiences. If the goal is to reach the maximum amount hunters (old and new) structures/blinds are needed.

Will Help Further Benefit the Wealthy: The thought of wealth controlling waterfowl hunting has been a major factor in a push for change; however, this will likely benefit those with the resources to mobilize decoys and set up temporary blinds or well equipped boat blinds. Hindering those without expensive type rigs. Also this will raise the demand for private hunting locations; therefore, raising the price of leases in the state so this even negativity effects the pockets of private land hunters as well.

Back to the $14 applications, these inexpensive applications presented a economically skewed system in favor of those willing and able to improve their odds by gathering applicants to party's who have no desire to hunt nor have any interest to ever going through a hunters safety course. Essentially this is watering down the odds between actual hunters form those willing and able vs. those unwilling or unable to “pay to play.” 

All of these concerns above are just some of the reasons why we stand against this pilot program. Thank you for hearing our voice. May we find the best solution that benefits all, not just those with deep pockets able to manipulate a flawed system.