To the Future of Fair-Chase Elk Hunting in TN

[TheLBLman]

North Cumberlands Land Conservation Plan

The North Cumberlands conservation plan represents approximately 123,854 acres valued at an estimated $148 million.

The properties are located in Scott, Campbell, Anderson and Morgan Counties and stretch from Frozen Head State Natural Area to the Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area.

This plan represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to protect majestic woodlands on the Northern Cumberland Plateau that include some of the most important forests, mountains, streams and wildlife habitat remaining in North America.

Over the long term, establishing this unbroken core of protected land has the potential to enhance life in Tennessee through increased tourism, protection of unique forms of wildlife and their habitats, and opportunities for public access and recreation.

The "landscape scale" of this project will also help preserve the purity of streams and rivers and provide a natural corridor for wildlife such as songbirds, elk and deer to move and migrate freely.

However, former Lt. Gov. Wilder filed an amendment to the Governor's budget that will KILL the Northern Cumberland's Land Conservation Project. [color:#FF0000]This plan is a plan the Tennessee Wildlife Federation (TWF) has strongly supported and that will result in approximately 40,000 acres in new public hunting opportunities, and more than 50,000 new acres of permanent protection of wildlife habitat.

A vote on this amendment could come as soon as Monday, June 11, 2007.[/color]
IT IS CRITICAL THAT MEMBERS OF THE SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE ARE CONTACT AND ASKED TO (1) OPPOSE WILDER'S AMENDMENT AND (2) SUPPORT THE GOVERNOR'S NORTHERN CUMBERLAND'S CONSERVATION PLAN.

Below is the list of Senate Finance Committee members and contact information including phone numbers and e-mail addresses.

For further information, please e-mail [email protected] and TWF will gladly provide you with additional information.

Thanks for your support in advance.


Senate Finance Committee Members
Please contact ASAP

Senate Finance, Ways and Means
Randy McNally, Chair Phone (615) 741-6806 [email protected] Oak Ridge District 5 - Anderson, Loudon, Monroe and part of Knox counties

Douglas Henry, Vice-Chair Phone (615) 741-3291 [email protected] (D)Nashville District 21 - Part of Davidson County

Tim Burchett, Secretary Phone (615) 741-1766 [email protected] (R) Knoxville District 7 - Part of Knox County

Diane Black Phone615) 741-1999 [email protected] (R) Gallatin District 18 - Robertson and part of Sumner counties

Raymond Finney Phone: (615) 741-2427 [email protected] (R) Maryville District 8 - Blount and Sevier counties

Joe Haynes Phone (615) 741-6679 [email protected] (D) Nashville District 20 - Part of Davidson County

Rosalind Kurita Phone (615) 741-2374 [email protected] (D) Clarksville District 22 - Cheatham, Houston, and Montgomery counties

Jim Kyle Phone (615) 741-4167 [email protected] (D) Memphis District 28 - Part of Shelby

Mark Norris Phone (615) 741-1967 [email protected] (R) Collierville District 32 - Dyer, Lauderdale, Tipton, and part of Shelby counties

Bo Watson Phone (615) 741-3227 [email protected] (R) Hixson District 11 - Part of Hamilton County

John Wilder Phone: (615) 741-2368 [email protected] (D) Mason District 26 - Chester, Crockett, Fayette, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, McNairy, and Wayne counties.

 

[Radar]

Good info , Wes . I hope it passes . We need to press the Senate finance commitee members to support the conservation project . It is good to know we have groups like TWF that support our interests .

 

[PMC certified]

Is this land to be designated a WMA or a State Park?

Pmc

 

[mike243]

last i heard it was to be a wma like royal blue,they done a bunch of surveying about 2 years ago,seen somebody posted they were losing their hunting property because of it,mike243

 

[Anonymous]

Why did Lt. Gov. Wilder file the amendment? Was it to save money?

 

[gil1]

Yup. See the below link.

Sen. John Wilder, the state's former lieutenant governor, said he doesn't support the land buy because the money could be put to better use.

"Our principle business is education, roads and health care. That's the business we're in," said the Democrat from Mason.

Land Buy Article

 

[Advocate]

How ignorant. Can't he see the value to the State now as well as the value to the State 50 years from now? It's already a near impossibility to find areas of property in excess of a few hundred acres for sale. The days of large tracts of farm land and wilderness are going away. We need to preserve this, if not for ourselves now, but for the children in the generations to come!

 

[4onaside]

"How ignorant. Can't he see the value to the state now as well as the value to the state 50 years from now?" What does he care? He is a very old man and a very powerful politician and is probably electable for as long as he lives. The only real setbacks(at least publicly) that he has experienced in modern times is falling and hitting his head at his home this year, and losing the Lt Gov. position this term. He has more land, power and money than he can use, and has always gotten what he wants in state affairs. I would think that the way to get this as far as a senate floor vote, would be thru the Governor. If that will not work, the people are just out of luck, at least as long as John Wilder is around.

 

[Anonymous]

Mo,

I think that you are right about this project not turning out like you want.

There are too many higher priority items that will be considered way before this ever gets any real consideration.

 

[Advocate]

The good thing about this is that we do have a Governor who does care about sportsmen and women in the State of Tennessee. He's very "outdoor" oriented so maybe he'll do something to intervene and "nudge" Wilder out of the way. I'm still trying to figure out why Wilder would want to kill this...what private interest could he possibly have in that other than just a spiteful shot at the Governor and the Sportsmen of Tennessee?

 

[Advocate]

Yup. See the below link.

Sen. John Wilder, the state's former lieutenant governor, said he doesn't support the land buy because the money could be put to better use.

"Our principle business is education, roads and health care. That's the business we're in," said the Democrat from Mason.

I was under the assumption that his business is to represent the wishes of the voters and constituents...oops my bad. I forgot he's a life-time politician that only pursues his own agenda and not those of the people who continue to foolishly elect him.
Land Buy Article

 

[The Stik]

Maybe a lobbiest for the elk farmers called on mr wilder to kill this bill?

I mean if we get elk hunting in tn who would buy a tame elk when they could go hunt a wild one.

 

[Radar]

Maybe a lobbiest for the elk farmers called on mr wilder to kill this bill?

I wouldn't doubt that , LOL!

 

[The Stik]

I thought tn had a big surplus of money now.

 

[The Stik]

I'm still trying to figure out why Wilder would want to kill this...what private interest could he possibly have in that other than just a spiteful shot at the Governor and the Sportsmen of Tennessee?

Maybe Wilder was told it was "unsafe" to set this land aside?

 

[TheLBLman]

[size]Legislature Approves $82 Million for Innovative Cumberland Land Deal[/size]

Nashville, TN � June 14, 2007 � On June 12, the Tennessee legislature passed Governor Phil Bredesen�s $27.8 billion state budget proposal, which included $82 million to fund the protection of 124,000 acres on the Cumberland Plateau.

Governor Bredesen had first announced his administration�s interest in pursuing this �once-in-a-lifetime opportunity� for conservation in Febuary 2007. The forested areas are located in Scott, Campbell, Anderson and Morgan counties. All told, the 124,000 acres � almost 200 square miles � constitute the largest current land protection project east of the Mississippi River.

�This initiative will allow us to protect majestic woodlands on the northern Cumberland Plateau, which are some of the most important forests, mountains, streams and wildlife habitats left in North America,� Governor Bredesen has said.

To accomplish this enormous undertaking, the state of Tennessee has joined with The Nature Conservancy, Lyme Timber Company and other timber investment firms in an innovative partnership combining private equity with state and nonprofit funding. The Nature Conservancy is expected to contribute more than $11 million to the project, while Lyme Timber and the other timber firms will contribute more than $50 million.

Lyme Timber Company, a New Hampshire timber investment firm, specializes in working with conservation and government agencies to conserve forested areas while practicing sustainable timber management. The Lyme company previously partnered with The Nature Conservancy and the state of New York in 2005 to acquire and protect 104,000 acres of forestland in the Adirondacks.

The Cumberlands initiative is intended to connect the forestlands in Scott, Campbell, Anderson and Morgan counties with 165,000 acres of existing public lands, creating a protective corridor for wildlife as well as preserving a natural sanctuary for the public. The public landholdings involved in the project area are the Frozen Head State Natural Area, the Sundquist Wildlife Management Area and the Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area.

Scientists have ranked the Cumberland Plateau as globally significant for its diversity of plant and animal species. The area harbors increasingly rare species of bats, salamanders, fish and other creatures. Migratory songbirds in particular rely on these forestlands for habitat in spring and summer. In addition, large, wide-ranging mammals such as elk and bear are sheltered here.

With the support of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Tucker Foundation, The Nature Conservancy has been focused on finding ways to protect this biologically rich and scenic area. Tennessee�s State Wildlife Action Plan � developed cooperatively by the Conservancy and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency in 2005-06 � clearly points to this northern Cumberland Plateau/Cumberland Mountains region as a priority for protecting at-risk wildlife species.

�This is the kind of opportunity that doesn�t occur very often,� said Scott Davis, director of the Tennessee Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. �We have to seize this moment to protect one of the last great places left in the Tennessee � not only for us, but for future generations.�

The plan involves a combination of outright purchase, working forest agreements, and conservation easements. When complete, the project will permit selective timbering (restricted by conservation easements monitored by the state), while allowing public access on all 124,000 acres.

Hunters, anglers, hikers, and campers will all benefit from access to the properties, as will the local communities whose workers will be hired for operations surrounding timber management. In addition, local communities will receive tax payments from the timber companies, and the state has set aside funds for annual in-lieu-of-tax payments for any properties the state purchases outright.

The preservation of water quality is another benefit of this project. The New River and Emory River run through the properties. Protection of these forests will help maintain water quality for some 30,000 people in local communities that depend upon these watersheds, and it will deter floods and erosion.

 

[AlabamaSwamper]

The good thing about this is that we do have a Governor who does care about sportsmen and women in the State of Tennessee. He's very "outdoor" oriented so maybe he'll do something to intervene and "nudge" Wilder out of the way.

Did I miss something. Isnt' this the same governor that stood behind some crooked commissioners that closed Lock 5?

Just asking but that wouldn't seem to be "outdoor" oriented...or maybe he is but he stands behind those that aren't.

Dangerous either way.