Man convicted after illegally killing wildlife in protected area

A Tennessee man has been convicted of illegally killing two elk in the state's North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area.

In November of 2023, an informant reported hearing multiple gunshots. A 34-year-old man was identified and found, but he denied killing anything. After investigation, though, it was revealed that he had shot two elk.

Elk hunting in Tennessee is illegal outside of the management area, which requires a permit with limitations of one per person. After reaching a plea agreement, officials confiscated the man's rifle and handgun, his hunting license was revoked for five years, and he was banned from hunting in the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area for three years.

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The animal used to be abundant in Tennessee, as Backcountry Journeys recounted. Humans who targeted elk as prized meat and who found them easier to hunt due to their size had depleted the state's population by the early 1800s. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency decided to reintroduce elk to the state in the late 1990s. There were 201 elk in total released over a period of eight years, and in 2009, Tennessee announced its first-ever elk hunt in almost 150 years.

Now, elk hunting in the state is only legal for a limited number of participants through the annual quota hunt system, per the state's website.

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The elk population in Tennessee is closely monitored, as bringing it back took great effort. Elk are vital to the state's ecosystem as they play a part in seed dispersal, create wallows, and serve as prey for other species. If the ecosystem is disrupted through illegal hunting, wildlife that helps to build human's food supply may become scarce.

"Elk are very popular with the public, be it for wildlife watching, hunting or just knowing they are roaming free on the wildlands provided by intact landscapes," the U.S. Forest Service writes. "Elk are important ecologically and can provide an indicator of how well habitats are functioning."