The Standard was contacted last month by a resident about the lack of access for handicap individuals at Barkley Wildlife Management Area (WMA). He said he wants to take his grandson hunting down there but can’t walk in. We reported in 2021 about the lack of access for anyone to fish in the main river channel. The gate was closed and locked quite often then. We reported in 2021, even though there are miles & miles of shoreline in Stewart Co., without a boat, most are impossible to access for fishing, especially if you want to fish in the main river channel. The Dover river bottoms is owned by the US Army Corps of Engineers and managed by Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA).
Kenneth Perry of Stewart Co. told us he contacted them concerning handicap and disabled veterans being denied access to WMA Dover bottoms. Perry said, “If you can’t walk you can’t gain access. There are no provisions at this time to address the issues, with no specific permits for ATV’s or anything else to help the nonwalking.” We were told in 2021, TWRA is keeping the gate closed in the river bottoms below the Dover Bridge due to a pump running, draining the bottoms. It used to always open up after duck hunting season for years and years, but the new TWRA manager for Ky. Lake WMA, and the Dover bottoms, told the Corps to keep the gates closed. There was a new pump put in, safer than the old one and way away from the road to access the main river channel from the bank.
Perry sent us an email he received from Barry Cross, Communications for TWRA, stating, “It appears that there are currently no handicap access provisions available at the WMA. I recommend reaching out to the Region1 Program Manager,
[email protected] and the Area Manager, Evan.Gaskin@ tn.gov to explore potential solutions or accommodations that may be available. Additionally, Cheatham WMA does offer some handicap accessible options.”…