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Central Cumberland Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program Project

The Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program responds to the threat feral swine pose to American agriculture, landscapes and human and livestock health.

Project Area

In Tennessee, feral swine occur primarily on the Cumberland Plateau and in the Appalachian Mountains along the Tennessee/North Carolina border. Scattered populations are also found along the Mississippi River and at Land Between the Lakes. The proposed Project Area will address the populations on the Cumberland Plateau, specifically four counties along the Plateau- Bledsoe, Putnam, Van Buren, and White. These four counties are located centrally on the Plateau and represent roughly the western and southern edges of feral swine range on the Plateau.

All four counties have more than 50% of lands in forest: Bledsoe-64%, Putnam-58%, Van Buren-72%, White-52%. According to the latest available statistics, there are 2,446 farms covering 322,613 acres in the four counties. 52% of those farms produce cattle and 54% of those farms produce 67,160 acres of forage for cattle.

Map(s) 

Map of eastern Tennessee showing which counties the Cumberland feral swine project is in: Putnam, WHite, Van Buren, and Bledsoe.
Map of eastern Tennessee showing which counties the Cumberland feral swine project is in: Putnam, White, Van Buren, and Bledsoe.

Anticipated Partner Activities

Expected partner activities may include but are not limited to:

  • assess damage at the beginning of the project period and at the conclusion in order to ascertain success of the project.
  • obtain data on a subset of properties as part of damage comparison models between project participants and non-participants.
  • acquire trapping equipment and supplies for use in feral swine removal activities.
  • conduct educational activities to assist APHIS WS enrolling participants in the project.

APHIS will be considered the subject matter experts for implementing feral swine removal and damage reduction activities. Partners will need to collaborate with APHIS personnel when removal activities are requested by participating landowners. All projects will be a collaborative and coordinated effort between the selected partner, NRCS, and APHIS. It is required that APHIS maintains operational control of feral swine management activities.

Monitoring/Evaluation Requirements of Partner

For this project, partners are expected to monitor project progress both before and after feral swine removal.

Partners are required to collect standardized information for trapping operations in accordance with APHIS procedures. Examples of data collected include trap location, number of pigs trapped, location of nearby resources, etc.

Training Expectations

Education will be essential aspects of the project to ensure landowners are educated on the need for removing feral swine, approved techniques, and methods for controlling feral swine populations. Partners are expected to assist with training and educational activities.

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