Tennessee Wildcast

Join us this week as we catch up with our new ANS Coordinator, Cole Harty. Cole joined the TWRA family recently and will be heading up everything surrounding Aquatic Nuisance Species or ANS. His main focus right now is Asian Carp. We will learn how they got here, problems associated with them and what steps we can take to help control the spread. All this right here on Tennessee WildCast. #tnwildlife #itswhatwedo www.tnwildlife.org This show was previously recorded. The WildCast crew and everyone at TWRA are practicing social distancing at this time. We will continue to bring you relevant and up to date content each week. Look for some special remote shows in the near future and as always thanks for tuning in each week to Tennessee WildCast.

The TWRA Wildlife Officer dedicates so much to the people and wildlife of this great state. This week we are excited to visit with two officers who go above and beyond. Shawn Edgmon grew up in the outdoors and found his calling to be an officer at an early age as he watched his father in this role. Bill Moulton has served Tennessee for a while now and is about to call it a career. They will share some stories and we learn how things have changed over the years. All this right here on Tennessee WildCast. #tnwildlife #itswhatwedo www.tnwildlife.org

This week on Tennessee WildCast we will meet up with Wildlife Forester, Luke Hadden, and Communication and Outreach Coordinator, Mime Barnes, at the Regional office in Crossville. Luke spends most of his time on TWRA's Catoosa Wildlife Management Area and sure knows his stuff. We will learn a little bit about him but then cut into the world of forestry. Luke will educate us on the job of a forester, talk about different habitat practices, and share with us some of the things happening on Catoosa WMA. All this and so much more right here on Tennessee WildCast. #tnwildlife #itswhatwedo www.tnwildlife.org

Checking in your harvest is very important to the TWRA. The data we collect from hunter-harvested animals is a key element in the season setting process and other management decisions made by our big game biologists. The 2020 Spring turkey season will be the start of a new, but really old idea, “Tag Before You Drag”. Every big game hunter is now required to tag a harvest before it is moved in the field. It is really simple and if you like our “On The Go” mobile app, it is even easier! Join us for this episode of Tennessee WildCast to learn how to “Tag Before You Drag”. #tnwildlife #itswhatwedo www.tnwildlife.org

Ames Plantation is more than the home of the Bird Dog National Championship, it's a facility for AgResearch, wildlife research, educational opportunities, and home to one of the oldest Angus herds in the United States. Join us this week as we visit with Dr. Rick Carlisle to learn all about Ames Plantation in West Tennessee. #tnwildlife #itswhatwedo www.tnwildlife.org

We welcome back fishing guide Ian Huey this week for more tips on bass fishing. It will be warming up before you know it and the bass will be on the move. Join us as Ian shares a few tips and tricks on how to find these fish this time of year. He also brought a few baits along too. We will talk about color choices, presentation, knot tying and so much more, right here on this episode of #TennesseeWildCast. #tnwildlife #itswhatwedo www.tnwildlife.org www.fisholdhickory.com @fishthehick on Facebook

The 2019-2020 deer season is behind us but the CWD team is still hard at work. Join us this week as we chat with CWD Coordinator Chuck Yoest and UT/TWRA Wildlife Veterinarian Dan Grove to learn about changes to Unit CWD, the next steps in analyzing the data received, the implementation of small and large scale incinerators and the important things to remember for next season. All this and so much more on this episode of #TennesseeWildCast. #tnwildlife #itswhatwedo www.tnwildlife.org

Join us this week for the history of one of the longest-standing continuously held sporting events for dogs in the United States. West, TN, has an impressive history when it comes to bird dogs. The first field trial was held just east of Memphis in 1874, and Grand Junction, TN, has been the home for the National Championship of bird dogs since 1900. Every Year in February, Ames Plantation becomes a tourist destination for hundreds of people attending the National Field Trial Championship in Grand Junction. Join TWRA and Dr. Rick Carlisle, Ames Plantation Superintendent, for a discussion about bird dogs, field trials, and Ames Plantation during the running for the 121st National Championship. #tnwildlife #itswhatwedo www.tnwildlife.org

This week we are excited to chat with Katie Van Slyke. Katie is an outdoors-woman and social media influencer. Hear her story of how she was introduced to the outdoors and learn how she is using her life as a social media influencer to introduce kids and women to the sport of hunting and fishing. Catch this and so much more right here on #TennesseeWildCast #tnwildlife #itswhatwedo www.tnwildlife.org

Ben Gallaher joins us this week to talk about living the life of an Outdoorsman and Country Music Entertainer. Ben grew up playing and hunting in Pennsylvania, but now calls Nashville home. He will tell a few hunting stories, talk about life on the road and share a song or two with us, right here on Tennessee WildCast. You don’t want to miss it! #tnwildlife #itswhatwedo www.tnwildlife.org

This week we welcome Information Specialist, Lee Wilmot, and Graphic Designer/Editor, Austin Bornheim to the show. These guys work hard to help deliver the Agency’s message through news releases, newsletters, and our Tennessee Wildlife Magazine. Learn about them and how to stay informed on this edition of Tennessee WildCast. #tnwildlife #itswhatwedo www.tnwildlife.org

This week is the first edition of TN WildCast Fishing 101 segments with Old Hickory Guide Service’s Ian Huey. Born and raised in Middle TN, Ian has spent many many days on Old Hickory Lake and is no stranger to many of our other great fisheries across the state. Ian will be joining WildCast hosts, Jason and Don, each month to share some of his secrets of bass fishing. Anything from where to find fish to how to catch them. Join us each month for a new segment and thanks for tuning in this edition of Tennessee WildCast. #tnwildlife #itswhatwedo www.tnwildlife.org

Our crews in West Tennessee are excited about the quality and numbers of fish they are seeing during their surveys. These guys work hard to provide the best quality fishery they can for the Sportsmen and women of Tennessee. Join us as we talk with Regional Fisheries Manager, Tim Broadbent, and Reservoir Biologists, Michael Clark to get the low down on the work happening on our West Tennessee waters. You don’t want to miss this and so much more right here on Tennessee WildCast. #tnwildlife #itswhatwedo www.tnwildlife.org

The Tellico Fish Hatchery produces trout for not only the Tellico River but for many streams across Tennessee. Today we will get a quick update on the Tellico Hatchery from Manager, Jon Ellis, then we will hear from some guides and business owners in the area. Cody Fisher, Owner of Tellico Outfitter and Caleb Luzader, Manager of TN Fly Co. have both seen a boom in business and are excited about the future of the Tellico River and fishing in the Southeast. You don’t want to miss this and so much more right here on Tennessee WildCast. #tnwildlife #itswhatwedo www.tnwildlife.org

This week, Turkey Program Coordinator, Roger Shields and University of Tennessee Ph.D. Student, Lindsey Phillips brings us an update on the Middle TN Turkey Study. A lot has been accomplished in the last 3 years and they have learned so much. Lindsey will give us an inside look at some of the progress. We will learn about the processes of the study and some of the struggles they face while collecting data. Learn all this and more right here on Tennessee WildCast. #tnwildlife #itswhatwedo www.tnwildlife.org

For some, it may be hard to believe how much is accomplished at the Tellico Fish Hatchery. This facility has been in operation for decades, providing quality angling for the sportsmen and women of Tennessee. It has a small crew, but they do amazing work producing and providing fish for anglers to catch on many different streams across the state. Learn about this hatchery and so much more, right here on Tennessee WildCast. #tnwildlife #itswhatwedo www.tnwildlife.org

This week, Jamie Feddersen, the TWRA Waterfowl Program Coordinator, joins us to discuss ducks in Tennessee. He will give us some updates on how bird populations are looking for this season. He will also be introducing a new joint mallard study with Tennessee Tech University. PhD students are capturing mallards in West Tennessee and placing GPS backpacks on them to track and better understand movements and habitat preferences of these birds in Tennessee and elsewhere.  We are excited about what this data will tell us moving forward. Hunters, If you harvest a bird with a backpack please contact the research team using the contact info on the transmitter. These transmitters can be redeployed and they want them back. The team will be happy to make a map of the harvested bird's movements and give you a replica transmitter for your mount or for those hunters who might want it as a keepsake. #tnwildlife #itswhatwedo www.tnwildlife.org

Partners are very important when it comes to managing fish and wildlife in our great state. There are many times the TWRA needs assistance from other groups, like the Tennessee Valley Authority, to help fund programs and improvement projects through grants. Today we are visiting with TWRA Fisheries Program Manager Mark Thurman and TVA Water Resource Specialist Shannon O’Quinn at the Tellico Trout Hatchery to learn about a grant we recently received from TVA to improve trout production, specifically our Native Brook Trout. You don’t want to miss this episode of Tennessee WildCast. #tnwildlife #itswhatwedo www.tnwildlife.org

From the top of Rocky Top to the mighty Mississippi River, Tennessee has it all. This week we invite TWRA’s Pandy Upchurch to breakdown the unbelievable biodiversity of Tennessee. We will learn about snakes, mussels, bats and so much more right here on Tennessee WildCast. Don’t miss it! #tnwildlife #itswhatwedo www.tnwildlife.org

In this episode, we explore an amazing salamander know as the Hellbender. The Southeastern Hellbender Conservation Initiative (SEHCI) is a collaboration between Defenders of Wildlife, NRCS, The Nashville Zoo, and other conservation partners to support farmers using conservation practices on their lands that help restore hellbender habitat. The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is working to address recovery of the hellbender in three states: North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Priority watersheds have been identified in a 35-county range of the Upper Cumberland, the Lower Tennessee system, and the western watersheds of North Carolina.  These priority counties are home to some of the last known existing hellbender populations in these systems. Learn about this program and how the TWRA, SEHCI, and The Nashville Zoo team up to work with this amazing animal. #tnwildlife #itswhatwedo www.tnwildlife.org