The executive director of the wildlife resources agency has the power to:

(1) Enforce all laws relating to wildlife, and to go upon any property, outside of buildings, posted or otherwise, in the performance of the executive director’s duties;
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 70-1-305

  • Agency: means the wildlife resources agency. See Tennessee Code 70-1-101
  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Donor: The person who makes a gift.
  • Executive director: means the executive director of the wildlife resources agency. See Tennessee Code 70-1-101
  • Fishing: means any effort made to take, kill, injure, capture, or catch any fish and every act of assistance in any effort. See Tennessee Code 70-1-101
  • Hunting: means chasing, driving, flushing, attracting, pursuing, worrying, following after or on the trail of, searching for, trapping, shooting at, stalking, or lying in wait for, any wildlife, whether or not such wildlife is then or subsequently captured, killed, taken, or wounded and every act of assistance to any other person, but "hunting" does not include stalking, attracting, searching for, or lying in wait for, wildlife by an unarmed person solely for the purpose of watching wildlife or taking pictures of wildlife. See Tennessee Code 70-1-101
  • Lands: includes lands, tenements and hereditaments, and all rights thereto and interests therein, equitable as well as legal. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • Person: means an individual, association, partnership, or corporation. See Tennessee Code 70-1-101
  • Personal property: All property that is not real property.
  • Personal property: includes money, goods, chattels, things in action, and evidences of debt. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Trapping: means taking, killing, and capturing wildlife by the use of any trap, snare, deadfall, or other device commonly used to capture wildlife, and the shooting or killing of wildlife lawfully trapped, and includes all lesser acts such as placing, setting, or staking such traps, snares, deadfalls, and other devices, whether or not such acts result in taking of wildlife, and every attempt to take and every act of assistance to any other person in taking or attempting to take wildlife with traps, snares, deadfalls, or other devices. See Tennessee Code 70-1-101
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
  • Wildlife: means wild vertebrates, mollusks, crustaceans, and fish. See Tennessee Code 70-1-101
(2) Execute all warrants and search warrants for the violation of the laws relating to wildlife;
(3) Serve subpoenas issued for the examination, investigation and trial of all offenses against the law relating to wildlife;
(4) Arrest without warrant any person found in the act of violating any of the provisions of this title;
(5) Offer rewards or payments for information that may aid in the conviction of any offender violating any section, or sections, of this title or any other law relating to wildlife;
(6)

(A) Enforce any other law as directed by the general assembly;
(B) In connection with this duty, in view of the vast expanse of isolated wildlife habitat extant throughout the state, and to facilitate the effective protection of public and private rights and property, particularly in, but not limited to, these isolated areas, the executive director shall, in addition to the authority otherwise conferred by law, be vested with authority to arrest, without warrant or process of any kind, any person committing or attempting to commit a criminal offense in violation of any of the laws of this state if the offense is committed on public lands, rights-of-way or waters under the agency’s management or control through lease, cooperative agreement or otherwise;
(7) Designate employees of the agency, officers of any other state or of the federal government who are full-time wildlife enforcement personnel, to perform the duties and have the powers as prescribed in this section except subdivision (9);
(8) Arrest without warrant any person observed dumping or throwing litter or debris in the lakes, rivers, or on public property in the state;
(9) Accept on behalf of the agency gifts of personal property upon such terms and conditions and for such uses and purposes as may be agreed by the donor of the personal property and the executive director;
(10) Arrest without warrant any person who violates the prohibited uses of waters posted pursuant to § 69-3-107(15). The power granted pursuant to this subdivision (10) does not include the authority to investigate violations of the Water Quality Control Act, compiled in title 69, chapter 3, part 1;
(11) Exercise the powers of the commissioner of environment and conservation, as provided in title 11, chapter 14, part 1, with respect to the administration of the Reelfoot Lake natural area; and
(12) Suspend or reinstate a hunting, fishing or trapping privilege after affording proper due process, pursuant to the terms of any § 70-1-302 agreement involving reciprocal actions relative to wildlife violations.
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