The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has postponed the scheduled January 11 dedication of the new 74,000-acre Cumberland Forest area in Anderson, Scott and Campbell counties.
The TWRA made the decision to postpone dedication of the Cumberland Forest area and the release of additional elk into the Upper Cumberland area until later this winter due to a delay in obtaining results from some health surveillance tests.
“Some unexpected problems arose with medical clearances for the elk release planned in conjunction with the dedication,” TWRA Executive Director Gary Myers explained. “Since the elk release had already generated considerable public interest, the agency felt that the dedication should be postponed until such time as the proper clearances were obtained.”
The dedication plan included the release of elk obtained from the herd at Kentucky’s Land Between the Lakes. While all existing testing and surveillance data indicates the LBL elk herd to be healthy, wildlife managers wanted to wait on new data collected recently from approximately 60 deer located near the elk facility at LBL. It is expected that this data will further verify the health status of the elk to be moved to Tennessee.
With the confirmation of health data, the agency plans to reschedule the dedication and release for sometime in late February.
The Cumberland Forest area, once owned by International Paper, is in the process of being purchased by the TWRA in a historic partnership involving several major partners, including the Conservation Fund.

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