Attention landowners and hunting enthusiasts: the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) is currently looking for fields to lease for the 2024 dove season, an opportunity that not only supports local sportsmanship but could also provide landowners with up to $4,000 in extra income. Scheduled to commence at noon on Sunday, Sept. 1, the first segment of dove season is set to provide ample public hunting opportunities with leased land playing a vital role in the season's success.
According to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, to qualify for the program, landowners must have their fields available for public hunting on at least three priority hunt dates throughout September lease rates can go as high as $75 per acre with a cap at 40 acres, and fields that are top sown with wheat qualify for an additional $25 per acre. Intending participants have a narrow window of opportunity; they must get their fields signed up in August.
Since its inception in the late 1980s, the leased dove field program has significantly contributed to Tennessee's hunting heritage, enhancing the sporting landscape by providing accessible, high-quality hunting locales. As an also-ran, TWRA maintains various public dove fields in wildlife management areas in its four regional locations, comprehensive details of which are readily available on the TWRA website.
Mourning doves hold their place in the American consciousness as both a symbol of peace and a game bird ubiquitous in its range, and hunters cherish them. As per the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, more mourning doves are harvested than any other migratory bird species in a vast majority of the continental United States, in Tennessee alone, the estimated 22,000 hunters annually harvest about 326,000 of these birds which is a testament to their popularity and the sport's prevalence.
For landowners ready to contribute to this long-standing tradition by leasing their fields, contact information can be found at the TWRA regional offices: Region I (West Tennessee) at 731-423-5725 or toll-free at 800-372-3928; Region II (Middle Tennessee) at 615-781-6622 or toll-free at 800-624-7406; Region III (Upper Cumberland) at 931-484-9571 or toll-free at 833-402-4698; and Region IV (East Tennessee) at 423-587-7037 or 800-332-0900. With offices open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (local time), TWRA representatives are ready to provide information and assist with the leasing process.
