Increased hunting, fishing and boating fees approved in Tennessee

May 14, 2025
By: Dwayne Page

Hunting, fishing and boating in Tennessee will be more expensive for outdoors enthusiasts starting July 1. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is increasing prices for licenses by 28% on average, across the board.

The decision was voted on by the Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission after funding challenges for the state wildlife agency. The agency has cited a Consumer Price Index increase of 32%.

Here are the key details:

Price Increases:Boat registration (vessel renewal) fees will go up by 22%.

Most hunting and fishing license fees will increase by 28%.

Sportsman and Lifetime license fees will increase by 12%.

Structural Changes:
Instead of having supplemental licenses based on device type (gun, archery, muzzleloader), new supplemental licenses will be based on species (deer, elk, bear, turkey, waterfowl).

The trout supplemental license (stamp) will now be included in the base hunting and fishing combination license; no separate stamp needed.

Multiple Wildlife Management Area (WMA) permits have been consolidated into a single WMA permit.
No changes for resident disability licenses or fees for TWRA lakes.

Timing: If you wish to avoid the higher fees, you must renew boats or purchase licenses before July 1, 2025.

Where to Buy: DeKalb County Clerk’s office is an approved location for purchasing hunting and fishing licenses and completing vessel renewals.

A complete list of new fees and permit changes will be posted on the TWRA website prior to July 1, 2025.

“Even coming out of the pandemic, expenses just continued to grow,” said Emily Buck, the TWRA Director of Public Relations. “Our agency we were operating in about a $15 million annual deficit.”

TWRA receives around 70% of its funding through license sales. But, it also asked Governor Bill Lee for an extra boost of $30 million, which was part of the budget proposal. Only $5 million in additional funding was approved.

“While we would have loved to see that $30 million, we fully understand the need for the governor’s office and for the General Assembly to create a budget that is sustainable and works for the state,” Buck said.

“And we will take that $5 million and put it to good use.”

The TWRA said it is struggling to staff officers with a limited budget.

“We’ve held approximately 20 law enforcement positions vacant,” Buck said. “Which means if there is a boating accident on the water, we may be slower to respond. If there’s an accident in the field, we may be slower to respond. Poachers may go uncaught.”

Upcoming license fee changes can be found online. Prices will stay at the current rate until July 1.

Other changes include a new law allowing two visibility colors for hunters: blaze orange and blaze pink. Buck said it’s a nod to Tennessee’s prevalent female hunters and anglers.

In addition, Buck said there are some changes to poaching fines and a new license to go into effect in 2026, which would allow deer baiting.

May 14, 2025
By:

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) Executive Director Donny Green, in DeKalb and Cannon counties, reminds producers to report planted, prevented planted, and failed acres to establish or retain FSA program eligibility.

For planted crops, the following acreage reporting deadlines are applicable for DeKalb and Cannon counties for the 2025 crop year:

July 15: corn, soybeans, cucumbers, okra, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, squash, strawberries, tomatoes, watermelons, cantaloupes, peas, and perennial forage (hay and pasture)

July 31: hemp

Aug. 15: green beans

Dec. 15: fall-seeded small grains (wheat)

The following exceptions apply to the above acreage reporting dates:

If the crop has not been planted by the above acreage reporting date, the acreage must be reported no later than 15 calendar days after planting is completed.

If a producer acquires additional acreage after the above acreage reporting date, the acreage must be reported no later than 30 calendar days after purchase or acquiring the lease. Appropriate documentation must be provided to the county office.

If a perennial forage crop is reported with the intended use of “cover only,” “green manure,” “left standing” or “seed,” the acreage must be reported by July 15, 2025.

Producers must report crop acreage they intended to plant but, due to natural disaster, were prevented from planting. Prevented planting acreage must be reported on form FSA-576, Notice of Loss, no later than 15 calendar days after the final planting date, as established by FSA and the Risk Management Agency. According to Green, the Crop Year 2025 final planting date for corn is May 20, 2025, and the final planting date for soybeans is June 15, 2025.

Producers with failed acres should also use form FSA-576, Notice of Loss, to report failed acres. For losses on crops covered by the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program and crop insurance, producers must file a Notice of Loss within 15 days of the occurrence of the disaster or when losses become apparent. Producers must timely file a Notice of Loss for failed acres on all crops including grasses.

Please visit the DeKalb/Cannon County FSA office or call 615-597-8225 to schedule an appointment to file your crop year 2025 crop acreage report. To find your local FSA office, visit www.farmers.gov .

May 14, 2025
By: Dwayne Page

Working with federal authorities, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department today (Wednesday) assisted in the arrest of a Georgia man in Smithville wanted for Indiana child sex crimes.

47-year-old Michael Andrew Denton of Snapping Shoals Georgia is charged in a fugitive from justice warrant with four counts of child molestation and three counts of child molestation with intercourse. He was booked into the DeKalb County Jail on a $75,000 bond and his court date is May 29. Denton is awaiting extradition to Indiana.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said according to a U.S. Marshal’s media release, “A U.S. Marshal’s Task Force in Tennessee working a collateral lead from the U.S. Marshal’s Service in Indiana today (Wednesday) arrested a man wanted in Indianapolis, Indiana for multiple sex crimes against children. The warrant for Denton’s arrest was issued in the superior court of Marion County, Indiana on May 7, 2025”

“On May 9, the Indianapolis metro police department requested the assistance of the US Marshal’s Service Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force in locating and apprehending Denton. Upon developing information, Denton was residing in the Smithville area. The Great Lakes Fugitive Task Force requested the assistance of the U.S. Marshal’s Middle Tennessee Fugitive Task Force and located Denton at a residence on McMinnville Highway in Smithville. Denton was arrested without incident with the assistance of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department and taken to the DeKalb County jail”.

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