KEEPING TENNESSEE WILD
SINCE 1946
We tackle Tennessee’s most urgent conservation issues through public policy and strategic programs that serve our wildlife and community.
The Federation and TWRA Tennessee Wildlife Federation is sometimes confused with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA), the state agency responsible for setting and enforcing hunting, fishing, and boating regulations. The Federation is an independent organization that focuses on conservation policy, youth engagement, and habitat restoration. Our work is made possible by the generosity of our donors and grants.
Tennessee Wildlife Federation was founded by outdoor writers, sportsmen, and community leaders who gathered to build a new organization to restore the integrity of all of Tennessee’s wildlife and natural resources. Their goal, establish new leadership focused on science-based wildlife management.
Conservation Policy
As the only wildlife organization with a regular presence on Capitol Hill in Nashville, the Federation actively shapes public policy, whether creating solutions or monitoring and challenging proposals that would negatively impact Tennessee’s natural resources and wildlife.
Browse By Category
Fish & Wildlife
Land & Habitat
Outdoor Pursuits
Streams, Rivers & Wetlands
Habitats We Restore
Forests
Grasslands
Streams & Rivers
Wetlands
Outdoor Outreach
hunters for the hungry
Give Back By Hunting
Tennessee Wildlife Federation’s Hunters for the Hungry program feeds Tennesseans in need by providing hunger relief organizations, such as food banks and soup kitchens, with venison donated by generous deer hunters. It allows hunters to do what they love, donate venison, and give back to their communities.
Hunting and Fishing Academy
Learn to Hunt and Fish
Scholastic Clay Target Program
Introduce Youth to Sporting and Conservation
Tennessee Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) provides youth ages 9 through the 12th grade and college an opportunity to participate in the three main shotgun disciplines—trap, skeet, and sporting clays—with peers from across the state. Tennessee SCTP is designed to teach the importance of safe firearm handling, responsibility, leadership, teamwork, and promote healthy competition.
Strategy for Growth in Diversity
Purpose Statement
Tennessee Wildlife Federation believes that our work and our mission are non-partisan and non-discriminatory and welcoming to all. From this belief, we have over our history sought to expand the conservation community by engaging and recruiting into our work all peoples. It is through this diverse family of Tennesseans concerned for conservation that we will engage diverse communities and introduce them to the wonders and benefits of Tennessee’s great outdoors.
Our desire and goal is to proactively pursue relationships with people who bring varied and diverse life perspectives so that those perspectives can be applied to our work and efforts to accomplish our mission, “To lead the conservation, sound management, and wise use of Tennessee’s wildlife and great outdoors.”
To these ends, we will pursue the ideas captured in this document over a three-year period and will develop annual progress reports to show an accounting of our progress.
Board Leadership Actions
Proactively seek conservationists and sportsmen of different ethnic, racial, and cultural backgrounds to serve on the Federation’s board of directors, advisory board, and committees who share our passion for conservation, wildlife, and our mission.
Staff Leadership Actions
- Proactively seek wisdom to understand the experience of underrepresented communities from community leaders across Tennessee, and seek their thoughts and input on their perspectives as to how best to engage other underrepresented community leaders on conservation
- Engage existing conservation leaders who come from historically underrepresented communities to broaden the Federation’s understanding of their perspectives in conservation and apply them to make our organization more diverse, and better able to accomplish our mission
- Continue participation in diversity trainings for Federation leadership
- Seek funding to add staff to (a) help the Federation understand how to best engage underrepresented community members interested in conservation and (b) empower those members to become active participants in the conservation community and our work
- Proactively diversify the Federation’s staffing with qualified professionals who are passionate about our mission without a reduction in capabilities to fill the respective roles
- Pursue appropriate training/consulting to engage Federation staff on the topic of diversity
Programming Actions
- Actively seek to understand existing barriers that prevent underrepresented communities from feeling welcome in our programs or from enjoying outdoor experiences
- Actively seek partners who can utilize our programming approaches to reach a more diverse population of participants
- Actively pursue and establish funding to assist those who may need financial assistance to participate in our programming
- Identify and develop conservation volunteers from underrepresented communities who will become active leaders and recruiters for our programming efforts
Get the latest conservation news and actions to take!
Latest News
Types of Grasslands in Tennessee
Grasslands are a critical habitat for wildlife! They were once widespread in Tennessee, but more than 90% of those grasslands are now gone.
Conservation Priorities at the 2024 Tennessee General Assembly
In the 2024 Tennessee General Assembly, the Federation tracked 150+ state bills related to wetlands, outdoor recreation, and more.
Historic Participation at the 2024 TNSCTP State Championships
All seven disciplines experienced an increase in participation as athletes each engaged in multiple events at the 2024 Tennessee SCTP State Championships.