By The Archery Wire

Safety and security evaluations by the U.S. Department of Energy have led to the cancellation of an archery deer hunt scheduled for Oct. 20-21 at the Oak Ridge Wildlife Management Area (WMA), according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.

TWRA mailed letters last week to the 450 hunters drawn for the special quota bowhunt.

The cancellation comes as a result of a security breach that occurred in July at the Y-12 facility and the ongoing safety and security evaluation on the Oak Ridge Reservation. The cancellation applies only to the October bowhunts. The November and December 2012 Oak Ridge deer hunts will continue as scheduled.

Fees will be refunded to all impacted hunters who paid an application fee for the quota hunt and award the impacted individual one additional priority point to his/her total. The additional priority point will be added to any priority point held prior to the 2012 WMA Quota Hunt Drawing.

For any additional questions concerning the cancellation, contact the Oak Ridge Reservation Wildlife Management Coordinator at (865) 241-9421 or the TWRA Region III Office at (931) 484-9571 during regular business hours. In addition, the TWRA can be contacted at the Oak Ridge Check Station on Saturday, Oct. 6 from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. (EDT) at (865) 576-2380. For questions regarding the priority point total and/or permit fee refund, contact the TWRA Quota Hunt office at (615) 781-6621.