TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Kate Prince on Jan 27, 2022

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) has temporarily postponed plans to raze 2,000 acres of hardwoods on state-owned land in White County, Fox17 Nashville reports. TWRA had previously announced it would clear the land, gifted to the state by Bridgestone Americas, to create grassland habitat for the Northern bobwhite quail and keep all profits from the sale of the land’s timber. Earlier this month a private citizen filed a 60-day intent to sue letter if the deforestation plan was not stopped, and a bipartisan group of 34 state legislators condemned the plan in a letter, criticizing the TWRA’s “shameful lack of communication and transparency.” A bipartisan bill was also introduced this week that would require TWRA officials to transfer all proceeds from the sale of the state’s natural resources into Tennessee’s general fund. Following those developments, the TWRA yesterday said it "will be suspending any plans to do any cutting until this situation is resolved."