News Release

Illegal Hunting Activity in Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Par

Date: July 17, 2024
Contact: Justin Young, 706-866-9241, ext. 142

Fort Oglethorpe, GA: Hunting and trapping date back to the indigenous peoples who first inhabited the local area, and even to this day, people venture to private and public lands to harvest small and big game. The US Forest Service allows hunting on 650,000 acres in 10 TN counties, TVA provides 175,000 acres, and TWRA makes over 7,000 acres available to the public for hunting. However, not all public land is open to hunting. Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park is closed to all hunting and trapping.

On April 16, 2024, William Edward Lough of Trenton, Georgia, and Jonathan Daniel Plaster of Rossville, Georgia, plead guilty in federal court to the illegal taking of wildlife. Both men were issued fines by U.S. Magistrate Judge Steger. The investigation spanned several years and involved multiple interviews, hours of surveillance, and a search warrant to solve the case.

Both men were involved in the illegal hunting and taking of 2 white-tailed deer that were transported from Tennessee into Georgia. The original prohibited acts in the incident included charges from both state and federal officers which consisted of hunting in a closed area, hunting without a license, falsifying records, violating the Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) Restriction, firearm possession by a prohibited person, providing a false statement, and destruction of a natural area.

In recent years, the Lookout Valley, Tennessee, portion of the national military park has seen an increase in illegal hunting activity. The area surrounding Lookout Creek has seen the most illegal activity.

If you are in any portion of the national military park and see or hear illegal hunting activity, please call 911 and inform them of your location. On-duty law enforcement rangers will be dispatched to that area.