Tennessee Wildlife Federation
  • Latest News
  • Issues
    • Policy Action Center
    • Invasive Carp in Tennessee’s Waters
    • Chronic Wasting Disease
    • Recovering America’s Wildlife Act
    • Share Our Rivers
    • Solve Litter
  • Programs
    • Conservation Policy
    • Hunters for the Hungry
    • Scholastic Clay Target Program
    • Habitat Conservation
    • Hunting and Fishing Academy
  • About Us
    • Overview
    • History
    • Board & Staff
    • Conservation Achievement Awards
    • Contact
    • Media Resources
  • Ways to Give
    • One-time Donation
    • Monthly Giving
    • Gifts in Loving Memory
    • Legacy Giving
    • Corporate Council
    • Non Cash Gifts
    • Crypto
    • More Ways to Help
  • Donate
  • Menu Menu

Conservation Wins at the Tennessee General Assembly

July 28, 2021/in Anglers, Conservation Policy, News, Nongame Wildlife /by Kate Hill

This past legislative session, Tennessee Wildlife Federation’s conservation policy team was hard at work being your voice and monitoring more than 30 bills and rules that would impact our wildlife, waters, and wild places.

After all, more people are venturing into the great outdoors than ever before, and the need to safeguard Tennessee’s natural world is critical. Thanks to you, the Federation successfully advocated for legislation and rules that do just that. It’s how we’ve conserved Tennessee’s great outdoors for 75 years.

Here are a few of the bills and rules the Federation worked on.

Quick Links to the Issues

    • Public Duck Blind Access
    • Commercial Paddlecraft Permit
    • TDEC alternative Sewer Permitting
    • Tennessee CLEAN

TWRA Rulemaking: Public Duck Blind Access

The Federation’s Position: In Favor of Expanded Access

Status: Passed

Summary: The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission (TFWC) approved the rule change submitted by TWRA that changed how public waterfowling locations are allocated to increase access and opportunity to more waterfowl hunters across the state. Statewide polling showed a large majority of waterfowl hunters were unsatisfied with the old methods.

Our Role: To ensure people could easily participate in TWRA’s public decision-making process, the Federation created an online tool so individuals could easily contact the full Commission with their thoughts, delivering 6,230 messages.

TDEC Commercial Paddlecraft Permit (HB 887/SB 1075)

The Federation’s Position: In Favor

Status: Passed

Summary: Requires the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) to issue rules to create a Commercial Use Authorization (CUA) that requires a permit for those engaging in commercial activities in state parks or state natural areas. To help parks be more financially self-sufficient, the rules must include fees for these for-profit ventures.

Our Role: This issue aligns with our Share Our Rivers efforts that support fair and balanced access and use of our Tennessee waterways. The Federation amplified the message that there are hot spots, like on the Harpeth River, where state parks are experiencing particularly large negative impacts.

TDEC Alternative Sewer Permitting (HB 707/SB 1043)

The Federation’s Position: Opposed

Status: Dead this session

Summary: This bill sought to weaken the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s (TDEC) oversight of sewage treatment. It would have prohibited TDEC from requiring a permit, inspection, review, or approval of plans for the construction or modification of so-called land application systems, which treat wastewater by spreading it across open land. Sewer siting and design is complex and can cause potentially serious harm if not properly managed.

Our Role: The Federation worked alongside the Department and supported maintaining TDEC regulatory oversight of this issue to the fullest extent. Only by ensuring water quality protections can we minimize impacts to Tennessee’s water resources and human health.

Tennessee CLEAN

The Federation’s Position: In Favor

Status: TACIR to do Comprehensive Litter Study

Summary: Tennessee CLEAN (Cleaner Landscapes for the Economy, Agriculture and Nature) is the Federation’s anti- litter initiative that seeks a robust and unified response to Tennessee’s growing litter problem that is negatively impacting wildlife, water quality, and even our economy.

Our Role: The Federation worked behind the scenes to garner unanimous support for a comprehensive litter study by the Tennessee Advisory Commission for Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR), the research arm of the General Assembly. This is a critical step and the first fresh progress on statewide litter control in a generation. TACIR will look into topics like the sources and composition of litter, financial and environmental costs, economic opportunities of recovering waste, and more. This study will inform how to achieve the core goals of Tennessee CLEAN.

Tags: Access & Way of Life Activity, Angling Activity, Fish & Wildlife Activity, Habitat Activity, Hunting Activity, Land Activity, Water Activity, Wildlife Watching Activity
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail
https://tnwf.org/tennesseewf/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Casting-With-Kayakers-2-e1627481855469.jpg 606 1673 Kate Hill https://tnwf.org/tennesseewf/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/TWF_Logo_horizontal2-e1585681401361.png Kate Hill2021-07-28 09:18:162022-03-07 10:24:56Conservation Wins at the Tennessee General Assembly
Filter Issues by Topic
Access & Way of Life
Angling
Fish & Wildlife
Habitat
Hunting
Land
Water
Wildlife Watching
Donate
Tennessee State Capitol building

Find Your Elected Officials

Enter your home address to find and contact your elected officials.

Tennessee Wildlife Federation logo


300 Orlando Avenue
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
(615) 353-1133

© 2023 Tennessee Wildlife Federation

Donate for Wildlife
Take Action
Volunteer for Wildlife
Create a Wildlife Habitat
Programs
Media Resources
Latest News
Contact
Privacy
Experts Hosting Free Virtual Classes on Outdoor Skills USJ Shooting sports team Athletes Bust Targets at State Championships
Scroll to top
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT