TWRA officials held a press release on Wednesday afternoon to announce the ban on alcohol state-wide at Wildlife Management Areas due to alcohol-related crashes and incidents. (Left to right) TWRA Sgt. Dustin Burke, North Cumberland WMA manager Keith Thomas, Eighth Judicial District Attorney General Jared Effler and TWRA Public Information Officer Emily Buck.

By Charlotte Underwood

PIONEER, TN (WLAF) – Beginning Monday, April 15, alcohol possession and consumption will be prohibited statewide on all Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency WMA’s, including North Cumberland.

According to TWRA North Cumberland Area WMA manager Keith Thomas, the regulation” strictly prohibiting alcohol on WMA’s is a campaign to enhance safety and reduce safety incidences in those areas.”

Thomas, along with other TWRA officials announced this news at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon at their Royal Blue WMA office.

Thomas said the alcohol ban is being implemented due to the high rates of intoxicated driving on WMAs and multiple alcohol-related accidents.

He said it was about public safety and putting a focus back on public lands being family-friendly and safe for all those that want to use them.

“Our wildlife management areas are a place for the public to come recreate whether that’s fishing, hunting, hiking or off highway vehicle riding in some cases. We get a ton of use on all of our WMA’s; there’s thousands of acres across the state. We just want to make sure that as the steward and the host of this land that we’re providing the safest environment that we possibly can,” Thomas said.

Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency Sgt. Dustin Burke spoke of the emotional impact and the toll it takes on agents when they have to inform loved ones that their family member has been killed due to an alcohol-related accident on the WMA’s. He said the alcohol-related incidents had been a “growing problem that finally came to a head” and that the agency was going to “try to fix that.”

“We want to make this a safe place for families and people to recreate. We’re tired of going to these families and breaking this news to them. It’s hard to go to a family and tell them their son is dead; that he made a poor decision, and that’s hard, it’s part of our job and I wish it wasn’t. It all comes back to before you start drinking and driving, make the decision to not drink and drive because it affects a lot of people, including us,” Burke said.

The new law applies to all user groups and officials said Wildlife Officers would be issuing citations for alcohol possession and use that is not in compliance with regulations.

Eighth Judicial District Attorney Jared Effler was also at the press release event.  

“From our perspective at the district attorney’s office, we want to get the word out that beginning April 15 of this year, alcohol use and possession on WMA’s will now be prohibited. This is a significant change for North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area and hopefully the public will help us spread the word that, beginning then, it will now be a class “C” misdemeanor to possess alcohol on North Cumberland and all other WMA’s,” Effler said.

He said the change was “precipitated after the Tennessee Wildlife Commission saw the number of alcohol-related crashes happening on North Cumberland WMA and saw the need to prohibit alcohol on the area,” Effler said.

Before this state-wide alcohol ban, there were six or seven WMA’s that had alcohol prohibited, according to Thomas.

“I feel the agency made the right decision to make this ban state-wide,” Thomas said, adding that he felt all the alcohol-related incidents had “driven away the family units” that just wanted to visit the WMA’s and enjoy the wildlife.

In addition to being aware of the new state-wide ban on alcohol, he encouraged the public to be aware of the different rules and regulations that each WMA has.

“We want people to seek out information when they go to Wildlife Management Areas to make sure they understand that each management area is different. For this one we have a lot of off highway vehicles (OHV) trail-riding and there’s a trail system and specific laws regarding OHV’s. At another WMA, there might be special regulations for deer or turkey. Users can find this information at the back of the TWRA’s Hunting Guide. Every single WMA in the state is listed, along with its special regulations and the office number … Informing people of the resources they can use to get this information and educating and informing people is one of the agency’s top objectives,” Thomas said.

TWRA Public Information Officer Emily Buck wrapped up with the reminder that the agency wanted to also “remind folks that riding is only allowed on designated trails.”

“We ask people to be mindful of wildlife conservation work taking place on these properties by staying on the trail and also, pack in, pack out. We ask people not to litter our beautiful natural resources while they are out enjoying the WMA.

If you get on the TWRA’s website, there is an interactive map that shows the boundaries and jurisdiction of the state’s WMA’s. Thomas said people could also call TWRA WMA offices if they have any questions.

For more information, visit HERE. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 04/11/2024-6AM)

Related