§ 70-5-101 — Establishment of hunting areas, refuges, and wildlife management areas - Prohibited acts

(a) The wildlife resources agency has the power and authority to establish, with the consent of the property owner, public hunting areas, refuges, or wildlife management areas, wherever it deems necessary or feasible for the protection, propagation and management of wildlife, or any of these. (b) (1) It is unlawful to hunt, kill, destroy, trap, ensnare, or molest in any manner any wildlife within such areas or to trespass on such areas, except as provided by proclamation or rule or regulation. Such areas shall be posted in conspicuous places. The executive director is authorized to issue permits for the destruction of predatory wildlife within such areas. (2) A violation of subdivision (b)(1) is a Class C misdemeanor. (c) Notwithstanding subsection (b), a person with a handgun carry permit pursuant to § 39-17-1351 may possess a handgun the entire year while on the premises of any refuge, public hunting area or wildlife management area or, to the extent permitted by federal law, national forest land maintained by the state. Nothing in this subsection (c) shall authorize a person to use any handgun to hunt unless the person is in full compliance with all wildlife laws, rules and regulations. (d) Nothing in this section shall authorize a person with a hand gun carry permit to possess such weapon in the portion of any refuge, public hunting area or wildlife management area that is within the boundaries of a state park or state natural area unless otherwise authorized in accordance with state law. (e) Nothing in this section shall authorize a person to access any area unless the person is in full compliance with all current wildlife laws, rules, proclamations and regulations. (f) (1) Subject to existing rights, lands managed by the wildlife resources agency shall be open to access and use for recreational hunting and fishing, except as limited by the agency for reasons of public safety, homeland security, or as otherwise limited by law. (2) For the purposes of this subsection (f), lands managed by the agency include lands owned by the agency, as well as lands owned by other public entities for which the agency regulates hunting and fishing. (3) The agency shall exercise its authority to manage lands in a manner to support, promote and enhance recreational hunting and fishing opportunities to the extent authorized by law. (4) The agency is not required to give preference to hunting and fishing over other uses or priorities established by state law. (5) Agency decisions and actions shall not result in any net loss of any acreage available for hunting and fishing opportunities. (6) Prior to January 1, 2008, and each January 1 thereafter, the agency shall submit to the chair of the agriculture and natural resources committee of the house of representatives and the chair of the energy, agriculture and natural resources committee of the senate a written report containing: (A) The estimated acreage managed by the agency that has been closed to recreational hunting and fishing during the previous fiscal year and the reasons for the closures; (B) The estimated acreage managed by the agency that was opened to recreational hunting and fishing to compensate for the estimated acreage that was closed during the previous fiscal year; and (C) The estimated acreage of new public hunting and fishing lands added to the existing hunting and fishing lands base since the previous report. (7) When lands owned by the agency are closed to hunting or fishing, the agency shall mitigate the closure by opening new lands to be used for the same purpose, within twelve (12) months of closure. The managed lands to be opened shall be at least equal to the acreage of lands closed by the agency and shall be located in the same grand division of the state in which the closed lands are located. The agency shall not be responsible for mitigation of land closures when lands not owned by the agency are removed from the agency's control or closed to hunting and fishing by the owning entity. (8) The agency is exempt from this subsection (c) when closing or utilizing acreages of public hunting and fishing lands for the following purposes: (A) Firearm and archery shooting ranges; (B) Road development and maintenance; (C) Service buildings; (D) Administrative buildings; (E) Creation of agency lakes; (F) Agency project-related parking; (G) Establishment of wildlife refuges; and (H) Development and maintenance of a proposed or existing greenway connecting Davidson, Wilson and Rutherford counties on land that is owned by the Nashville district of the United States army corps of engineers. (9) This subsection (f) shall have no effect on the agency's authority or ability to regulate hunting and fishing, including its ability to set season times and lengths, and bag limits.

Legislative History

Amended by 2013 Tenn. Acts, ch. 236, s 11, eff. 4/19/2013. Acts 1951, ch. 115, § 56; 1953, ch. 255, § 4 (Williams, § 5178.85); impl. am. Acts 1974, ch. 481, §§ 6, 7; Acts 1974, ch. 481, §21; 1982, ch. 738, § 32; T.C.A. (orig. ed.), § 51-601; Acts 1989, ch. 591, § 113; 1990, ch. 891, §21; 2007 , ch. 87, §§1, 2; 2009 , ch. 606, §2; 2012 , ch. 604, § 23.