About the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) is an organization of more than 600 professionals dedicated to the preservation, conservation and enhancement of Tennessee's fish and wildlife.

The agency was housed under various state departments until 1949 when it became a separate state agency known as the Tennessee Game and Fish Commission.

Reorganized in 1974, the modern Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is funded primarily by sportsmen and plays a major role touching many aspects of everyday life.
The agency's operations are directed by a 13-member commission of private citizens appointed by the governor, the Speaker of the House, and the Speaker of the Senate.

Tennessee's Wild Side TV Show

The TWRA's Emmy Award winning television show is a half-hour, magazine format outdoors program for the whole family. It airs on Public Broadcasting Service stations across Tennessee and Kentucky. It features stories not only for the avid hunter and angler, but a wide variety of other family friendly outdoor activities.

Janet Ivey & Bill Cody
Host of Tennessee's Wildside

A native Tennessean, Janet Ivey is no stranger to Public TV. Janet has hosted Tennessee’s Wild Side since its inception in 2000. Her Emmy award winning program, Janet’s Planet, also carried on public TV, continues to attract young viewers, many of which tune in to Tennessee’s Wild Side. After receiving her bachelor of music degree in Commercial Music with a vocal performance major and a theater minor from Belmont University in 1989, Janet hit the performance trail. Studying with the Tennessee Repertory Theatre, Janet performed in Romeo and Juliet, My Fair Lady and Christmas Memories, among other stage productions. She continues to act in many television and radio commercials and loves to explore the places showcased on Tennessee’s Wild Side.

Bill Cody has hosted Tennessee’s Wild Side from day one in 2000. His fascination with broadcasting began in radio. During his childhood in Lebanon, Kentucky, the son of a Baptist minister, Bill would visit the local station to drop off tapes of that week’s Sunday service. He eventually hung around enough to be “adopted” by the disc jockeys, who taught him the ropes and eventually put the frightened teenager on the air. Bill hosts his popular morning show on the Nashville’s legendary WSM-AM 650, the host station of the Grand Ole Opry. He’s also a regular on the national cable channel Great American Country, (GAC) where he can be seen interviewing many of the top country music artists of yesterday and today. Bill hunts, fishes and the natural beauty Tennessee has to offer.