Wildlife Officials to Give Chronic Wasting Disease Update at Gatlinburg Meeting

Tennessee wildlife officials will gather in Gatlinburg this week for their final meeting of the year, which will include an update on chronic wasting disease affecting the state’s deer population.

The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission, the governing body of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, will meet Dec. 12-13 at the Edgewater Hotel and Conference Center in Gatlinburg.

The committee meetings will start at 1 p.m. (EST) on Thursday, Dec. 12 and include committees on Wildlife; Budget; and Retention & Recruitment.

The regular commission meeting will begin Dec. 13 at 9 a.m.

See the meeting agendas here.

The Wildlife Committee meeting on Thursday will include a chronic wasting disease (CWD) update. Program Coordinator Chuck Yoest will present the latest harvest and testing results. The statewide gun season began the Saturday prior to Thanksgiving across Tennessee while the Unit CWD gun hunting season opened Nov. 9.

Representatives from the Hiwassee Chapter Trout Unlimited will be in attendance. The organization is providing assistance in the Southern Brook Trout Restoration project.

Multi-Media Chief Don King will preview and show a clip from the new TWRA television program, Tennessee Outdoor Journal. The production and distribution of the program will be discussed during the Retention & Recruitment Committee meeting on Thursday.     

A Threatened and Endangered Species list will be presented to the commission for review at the meeting on Friday. The list is required by law to be reviewed and updated every two years.

The meetings are open to the public. The Edgewater Hotel and Conference Center is located at 402 River Road in Gatlinburg.

Photo: Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency/Facebook