Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency news

BUI arrests down this year during Operation Dry Water

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Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) officials remind all those who visit the state’s waterways to be safe this time of year.

TWRA officials emphasize the use of personal flotation devices (PFDs) while boating in a safe and responsible manner. The TWRA staff wants everyone to have enjoyable time. However, TWRA officers will be on the watch for dangerous boating behavior, such as boating under the influence (BUI) and other reckless operation.

TWRA boating officers are coming off the 3rd annual Operation Dry Water weekend. Operation Dry Water is a national weekend of BUI education and enforcement directed toward reducing alcohol and drug-related accidents and fatalities. Operation Dry Water is held during the weekend prior to the Fourth of July holiday in order to give BUI enforcement high visibility.

After making 27 arrests during the Operation Dry Water weekend in 2010, the TWRA Boating Division reports that BUI arrests were down to 11 this year across the state.

A total of 17 accidents resulted in 16 injuries, and TWRA boating officers made 28 BUI arrests during the 2010 Fourth of July holiday period. Almost one third of the arrests were on Old Hickory Lake.

Through the Operation Dry Water weekend, there have been 13 fatalities on the state’s waterways in 2011. There have been 24 total injury accidents and 25 other accidents that have resulted in property damage. TWRA officers have made 51 BUI arrests, down from 85 at the same time last year.

Wearing a life jacket is the single most effective way to protect boaters and reduce drowning in boating accidents. Eighty percent of the people who drown in boating accidents were not wearing a life jacket.

Operating a boat with a Blood Alcohol Content of .08 percent or higher is illegal in Tennessee, the same as operating a motor vehicle. Penalties may include fines, jail, boat impoundment and the loss of boat driving privileges.

Statistics show that more than 20 percent of boating-related fatalities are a result of alcohol use. Sun, wind, noise, vibration and motion intensify the effects of alcohol, drugs and some medications.

Deer hunts scheduled at Holston Ammo Plant

Holston Army Ammunition Plant (HSAAP) is now accepting applications for six white-tailed deer hunts to be held on the installation during the 2011 hunting season.

HSAAP will continue the “earn a buck” program during the 2011 hunts, and hunters who are drawn for any of the one-day either-sex hunts will be required to harvest — and check-in — a mature doe before being allowed to hunt for a buck.

Deer hunts offered for 2011 are as follows:

•Archery, Oct. 8, hunter quota 70, bag limit of 2 deer (1 antlerless, 1 buck)

•Archery, Oct. 9, hunter quota 70, bag limit of 2 deer (1 antlerless, 1 buck)

•Youth ages 13-16, shotgun/muzzleloader, Oct. 29, hunter quota 45, bag limit of 2 deer (1 antlerless, 1 buck)

•Youth ages 13-16, archery, Oct. 29, hunter quota 15, bag limit of 2 deer (1 antlerless, 1 buck)

•Muzzleloader, Nov. 5, hunter quota 45, bag limit of 2 deer (1 antlerless, 1 buck)

•Archery, Nov. 5, hunter quota 10, bag limit of 2 deer (1 antlerless, 1 buck)

•Muzzleloader, Nov. 6, hunter quota 45, bag limit of 2 deer (1 antlerless, 1 buck)

•Archery, Nov. 6, hunter quota 10, bag limit of 2 deer (1 antlerless, 1 buck)

•Shotgun/Muzzleloader, Nov. 20, hunter quota 45, bag limit of 2 deer (1 antlerless, 1 buck)

•Archery, Nov. 20, hunter quota 10, bag limit of 2 deer (1 antlerless, 1 buck)

Deer taken at HSAAP count toward the Unit B bag limit.

Hunters who harvest a mature doe on their hunt but fail to harvest a buck will automatically be issued a permit for a buck hunt in November 2012. As usual at HSAAP, hunters who earn a buck permit may legally harvest only bucks having at least eight points.

Hunters who apply for the 2011 HSAAP hunts should be aware that there have been several changes made to the installation’s hunting program in the past few years. One significant change is that all hunters who hunt on the plant, regardless of age, are required to have completed a hunter safety course and show proof of completion of that course before being allowed to hunt. In addition, all hunters who apply for one of the installation’s hunts will be required to obtain a background check from a law enforcement agency in the city or county in which they reside and provide a copy along with their hunt application.

Anyone interested in obtaining an application for this year’s hunts may call the HSAAP hunting and fishing information line at 423-578-6291 for recorded information on where applications may be picked up. Applications are also available online at www.holstonwildlife.com and at www.tnwildlife.org. Hunters may request an application by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope to the following address: Holston Army Ammunition Plant, Attn: Deer Hunt Information, 4509 West Stone Drive, Kingsport, Tennessee 37660. 

All applications must be received by Aug. 9 in order to be considered in this year’s drawing.