NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency faces a multi-million dollar funding shortfall that could lead to cuts to wildlife law enforcement officers, conservation efforts and other programs if the state can’t find another revenue stream.
Unlike most other agencies in Tennessee, the TWRA doesn’t receive any money from the state. Instead, it relies heavily on fees from hunting licenses, which TWRA representatives told lawmakers don’t provide a dependable, steady funding stream.
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“It ebbs and flows who buys those,” Chris DeVaney, chair of the Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission, said last September. “We saw an increase during COVID, and now it’s flat.”
Last June, the TWRA asked permission to raise the hunting license fees by nearly 30%, but quickly ditched the idea after backlash from lawmakers and hunters…