Below is a news release from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
1/11/2022 update:
The reward is now $5,500, which includes a $2,000 commitment from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
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A $4,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the conviction of the person(s) responsible for an elk poached on the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area in the Valley Creek area of Claiborne County.
Around lunchtime on Friday, Dec. 31, 2021, a local hunter reported finding a 5×5 bull elk that had been shot in the Valley Creek area of the Ed Carter Unit of NCWMA, formerly known as the Tackett Creek Unit. The elk was found dead just north of the graveyard off Valley Creek Rd., which runs through the eastern portion of the WMA (see map below). TWRA Wildlife Officer Brenden Marlow and Elk Program Coordinator Brad Miller responded to the scene and located the dead elk lying in an old coal mine road. The carcass was taken to the UT College of Veterinary Medicine where a necropsy confirmed the animal had been shot and a bullet was recovered.
The Pine Mountain Long Beards Chapter of the NWTF, Campbell Outdoor Recreation Association and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation are offering a $4,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the person(s) responsible for the death of the poached elk.
If anyone has information about the case, please contact Wildlife Officers Brenden Marlow (615) 571-4792 or Michael Cavins (865) 318-3349, or the TWRA poaching hotline at 1(800) 831-1174.
All caller information will remain anonymous.
(Photo & map credit: Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency)