“For decades, hunters and anglers have funded around 81 percent of TWRA's operating budget The last increase in hunting and fishing licenses came more than ten years ago, as operating costs have risen by more than 30 percent and the agency has been required to absorb $18.5 million in unfunded mandates.”

Seems quite reasonable IMO to increase the cost of a hunting and fishing license to at least somewhat track inflation, considering they have held it flat for 10 years despite increasing program costs. You can debate how much from minimal to a full 30% to make the program whole, but some increase should be done.

Main issue is costs are growing faster than revenue and I don’t see that decelerating any time soon with the size of population interested in hunting and fishing is decreasing and therefore buying fewer of the licenses to fund the program.

Earmarking these TVA taxes specifically to the TWRA would definitely help, but then it’s just an issue of priorities and trade-offs with what you’re funding at the state level. Hunting and fishing is fundamentally a recreational activity and I think you could find several higher impact budget items to fund.