The USDA Forest Service has announced that spring turkey quota hunt applications for Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area (LBL) are now available online through Tuesday, Feb. 28. The quota application system provides applicants the opportunity to hunt earlier in the season with less hunting pressure.
Applications and detailed information about the hunts are available at www.landbetweenthelakes.us/hunting. The quota hunt application fee is $10 and preference points will be carried over from previous years. Applicants can check the quota application website at the end of March to see if they were drawn.
Four quota hunts in both the Kentucky and Tennessee portions of LBL require prior application. The non-quota turkey hunting season does not require prior application and runs for 21 days, from April 17-May 7.
Adult quota hunts will be held April 11-12 and 15-16. Youth quota hunts will be held April 1-2 and 8-9, with youth permitted to hunt both weekends. Hunting is not permitted between the dates of the quota hunts.
The appropriate state hunting license, turkey permit, hunter safety card, and LBL quota hunt permit (if applicable) and hunter use permit are required and must be carried in either print or digital form while hunting. All hunters ages 16 and older must possess a LBL hunter use permit, which can be purchased onlineor at the Golden Pond Visitor Center. Hunter use permits are $25 and valid for one year from date of purchase.
Hunters should refer to the Motorized Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) when scouting and hunting on LBL as licensed motorized vehicles are only permitted on roads identified on the MVUM. The MVUM as well as hunt area maps are available online.
More information on turkey hunting, including rules, regulations, and bag limits, can be located online on the 2023 Land Between the Lakes Turkey Hunting Fact Sheet. To learn more about LBL, visit www.landbetweenthelakes.us or call 800-525-7077 or 270-924-2000.
