Rewards totaling $5,500 have been posted for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) who recently illegally killed an elk in East Tennessee.
The bull elk was found shot on the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area, the third one poached in that area in the last three years.
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency officer Brenden Marlow, who is investigating the incident, said none of the meat was taken.
Last year, an elk was illegally killed on the WMA, and the head and meat were removed.
The previous year, one was killed and left to spoil, as was the recent one.
Marlow said the elk was shot at close range and “couldn’t have possibly been mistaken for a deer.”
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Marlow at (615) 571-4792.
CWD creeps closer
Alabama’s first case of chronic wasting disease has been found in Lauderdale County, across the state line from Tennessee’s Giles and Lawrence counties.
The infected deer is the closest to Middle Tennessee found so far. The fatal deer disease first appeared in some West Tennessee counties and continues to spread.
TWRA biologist Russ Skoglund says no CWD-infected animals were found in approximately 650 deer inspected in Middle Tennessee during the past season, including some samples taken at Cedars of Lebanon State Park.
Conservation award
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is accepting nominations for the Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award. Detailed information is posted on the TDEC website at https://www.tn.gov/environment.
Trout stockings
The TWRA’s winter trout stocking continues in waters across the state, with approximately 75,000 rainbow trout released and ready for catching.
One stocking was held Dec. 7 in Wilson County’s Sinking Creek that runs through the Don Fox Community Park, and a second stocking is scheduled for early February.
No fishing license or trout license is required for anglers 12 and younger.
Anyone 16 and older must have a standard fishing license plus a trout license to fish for trout, even if none are kept. An annual Sportsman’s License or Lifetime License covers all requirements.
Licenses can be purchased at most outdoors outlets or on online at www.tnwildlife.org, which also posts a stocking schedule.
There is no size limit on the stocked trout, which average about 10 inches, but there is a seven-fish daily limit.
Contact information
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