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A word on the TWRA Whistleblower Claims

DoubleRidge said:
I've heard this before and I know several agree that its about the money and certainly anytime the government is involved "the money" comes into the conversation.

But in the case of CWD....TWRA is paying for all the testing and listening to several folks on here...the guidelines are not necessarily drawing more people towards hunting but pushing more folks away....and for sure if they achieve their goal and reduce deer numbers greatly...you can bet over time less people will be hunting....all this combined would equal less income generated...not more?
But maybe I'm missing something?
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No, you and I are paying for the testing in fees and taxes given to TWRA by the state
 
mike243 said:
Tn doesn't give $ to twra other than a little collected on ammo, please tell me what $ is being given please. You sound like you have some sources,
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Where does CWD money come from? Well, the Feds through the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson acts. This is money they would normally not get unless an approved program was needed, like battling CWD.
www.nrahlf.org

Federal Funding Approved to Battle Chronic Wasting Disease

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, will aid CWD research and management.
www.nrahlf.org www.nrahlf.org
 
Thats federal $$ not $$ from Tn pocket, as far as I know twra takes no $ for the state to run the programs, the Tn politicians would like to get their hands on the $$ from twra and at some point might find a way. I think sportsman will suffer when that happens
 
Omega said:
Where does CWD money come from? Well, the Feds through the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson acts. This is money they would normally not get unless an approved program was needed, like battling CWD.
www.nrahlf.org

Federal Funding Approved to Battle Chronic Wasting Disease

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, will aid CWD research and management.
www.nrahlf.org www.nrahlf.org
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Where does PR come from? Excise tax on hunting supplies (read: your wallet, not the feds). FWS distributes it to the states. States only get so much PR and have to match it with state or private dollars to use it.
 
mike243 said:
Thats federal $$ not $$ from Tn pocket, as far as I know twra takes no $ for the state to run the programs, the Tn politicians would like to get their hands on the $$ from twra and at some point might find a way. I think sportsman will suffer when that happens
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MickThompson said:
Where does PR come from? Excise tax on hunting supplies (read: your wallet, not the feds). FWS distributes it to the states. States only get so much PR and have to match it with state or private dollars to use it.
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Right, but the fact is, TWRA gets more money now that CWD is a thing in TN, the worse it is, the more it qualifies for PR funds.
 
After reading this thread i find it interesting that there are people who still think that Ames may have had a hand in bringing CWD to Tennessee... I think that mindset just shows a lack of understanding of what goes on at Ames.
 
DoubleRidge said:
But in this case TWRA, who is funded by license sales,
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I fully understand your point about the money. To a certain extent I agree but I do not agree with those that believe (not saying you) that this is JUST about the money. Even though this showed up in the 60's, we are still learning about it and figuring out what works and what doesn't. Heck, we don't even know how or if it is serious to humans yet. When asked about all his failures in making a light bulb, Thomas Edison said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." We're still figuring out what doesn't work.

BTW, if you look at the TWRA website, it says "the TWRA is funded largely through the monies generated by licenses and permits purchased by hunters, anglers, and other outdoor enthusiasts." The operable word is largely. Direct taxpayer monies are used for the rest. And if you think about it, licenses and fees are like a self imposed tax by those who participate in the activity - a user tax so to speak.
 
Omega said:
Where does CWD money come from? Well, the Feds through the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson acts. This is money they would normally not get unless an approved program was needed, like battling CWD.
www.nrahlf.org

Federal Funding Approved to Battle Chronic Wasting Disease

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, will aid CWD research and management.
www.nrahlf.org www.nrahlf.org
Click to expand...
(Omega...no comment below is directly pointed at you...just referencing the article you posted)

The previous article posted kinda says what some are trying to point out:

"This disease is not only crippling to the animals who contract it, but it's also crippling to state and tribal agencies trying to monitor the disease and implement management actions to slow the spread and keep prevalence low. The management portion of this funding source is critical to help agencies minimize the use of existing conservation dollars to study and battle this disease".

So the money from both Acts mentioned in the article seem to be more of an assistance program to cover the cost burden of CWD testing, management, etc.

When we are discussing CWD in TN and someone says "its all about money" or "just follow the money" it is almost to insinuate that TWRA is benefiting from CWD, wanting to expand units to other counties, wanting more fear and more testing because they are financially gaining from CWD in some way?

Makes no sense? Follow the money and it sadly appears that money which could be used for other conservation projects is being used to manage CWD....which is frustrating.

Has the agency made some mistakes? Sure they have...I'm worried some mistakes have been made that cant be undone...and in the long run...as less and less people are hunting...there will be less money to follow. I dont see what TWRA has to gain from CWD...especially with the current management plan thats in place.
 
Ski said:
Me either. Just doesn't make any sense. My feelings are that there is no large scale nefarious intended scheme, no wool being pulled over license holders' eyes. Gross incompetence perhaps with a series of conseqentially bad decisions, but not nefarious in intent. Just my own personal thoughts though because we don't really know yet.
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Hanlon's razor is an adage or rule of thumb that states: "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."
 
RedDawg said:
I fully understand your point about the money. To a certain extent I agree but I do not agree with those that believe (not saying you) that this is JUST about the money. Even though this showed up in the 60's, we are still learning about it and figuring out what works and what doesn't. Heck, we don't even know how or if it is serious to humans yet. When asked about all his failures in making a light bulb, Thomas Edison said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." We're still figuring out what doesn't work.

BTW, if you look at the TWRA website, it says "the TWRA is funded largely through the monies generated by licenses and permits purchased by hunters, anglers, and other outdoor enthusiasts." The operable word is largely. Direct taxpayer monies are used for the rest. And if you think about it, licenses and fees are like a self imposed tax by those who participate in the activity - a user tax so to speak.
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Incorrect on TWRA receiving direct taxpayer dollars for the rest.

The boating program receives a small amount from the fuel tax at marinas.

TWRA receives a small amount of the real estate transfer tax earmarked for wetlands purchases.

But, they receive nothing in general fund appropriations.
 
scn said:
Incorrect on TWRA receiving direct taxpayer dollars for the rest.

The boating program receives a small amount from the fuel tax at marinas.

TWRA receives a small amount of the real estate transfer tax earmarked for wetlands purchases.

But, they receive nothing in general fund appropriations.
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Simply searching the Tennessee budget documents and bills passed in recent years indicates monies from the General Fund. I won't itemize all of them that I found in 5 minutes but here are a couple just to show that they do receive monies from the General Fund. But the point is that whatever they spend comes from YOU through some mechanism. It is irrelevant to argue the semantics of the mechanism.

Published in Senate Bill 912 for FY 2020, "Item 37. To the Wildlife Resources Agency from the general fund for any difference between the actual charges to the agency under the indirect cost allocation plan and the amount the TWRA can justify and continue to receive federal funds."

SB1532 in FY22-23 "Item 1. General Fund and Education Fund Appropriations. The following appropriations are from the general fund and education fund, as applicable." "144. TWRA - General Fund Subsidy - TNWildlife Federation Hunters for the Hungry $150,000"

And there are lots of others. But let's move on.
 

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