In rare show of bipartisanship, 34 Tennessee lawmakers slam TWRA plans to clearcut

A bipartisan group of state lawmakers on Tuesday urged Tennessee wildlife officials to immediately halt all plans to clearcut 2,000 acres of hardwood trees at the publicly-owned Bridgestone Firestone Centennial Wilderness Area in White County.

Calling the plan damaging to the environment and the local economy, and criticizing the state’s Wildlife Resources Agency for breaching its duty to the public and a “shameful lack of communication and transparency,” the letter from 34 Republican and Democratic legislators said their concerns thus far have been “met with deaf ears.”

“The TWRA is breaching its duty to protect natural wildlife in Tennessee,” the letter to TWRA’s executive director, Bobby Wilson, said. “Citizens of Tennessee assert their will onto the government, not the other way around. There is a shameful lack of communication and transparency with this plan and the TWRA has offered little to no assistance to taxpayers.”

The letter is a rare display of bipartisanship in Tennessee’s often-fractious legislative body, signed by Rep. Paul Sherrell, a Republican who represents the area in White County where the wilderness area is located and Rep. John Ragan, the Oak-Ridge Republican who chairs the Government Operations Committee along with Nashville Democrats, Sen. Heidi Campbell and Rep. John Ray Clemmons.

Read more: https://tennesseelookout.com/2022/01/25/in-rare-show-of-bipartisanship-tennessee-lawmakers-slam-twra-plans-to-clearcut/