Saline River News

New Arkansas Waterfowl Research Center Poised for National Impact

New Arkansas Waterfowl Research Center Poised for National Impact

By Kelsey EnglertUniversity of Arkansas at Monticello MONTICELLO, Ark. — A new waterfowl research center that aims to advance waterfowl and wetlands research and transform the industry was announced on Monday during a ceremony at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. The event, co-hosted with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, marked the…

L’Aigle Creek and NRCS host Local Information Expo for Landowners

L’Aigle Creek and NRCS host Local Information Expo for Landowners

Article submitted L’Aigle Creek Conservation Service is hosting a Community Information Expo in conjunction with NRCS – Natural Resources Conservation Service on Tuesday, Oct 28th, to give information to landowners & farmers about financial assistance and other ways they can assist landowners, cattle farmers, chicken farmers & family farmers with regenerative grazing practices etc., as…

Arkansas’s alternative firearms deer hunting season opens Oct. 18

Arkansas’s alternative firearms deer hunting season opens Oct. 18

LITTLE ROCK — Many Natural State deer hunters will head to the woods for the first time on Saturday with a new shooting iron in their hands for the state’s alternative firearms season. Introduced last deer hunting season, the alternative firearms season expands muzzleloading season to include a few new options for hunters to carry.…

Mountain Lion Killed in Hot Spring County Marks Rare Occurrence; Bradley County Encounter in 2014 Still Remembered

Mountain Lion Killed in Hot Spring County Marks Rare Occurrence; Bradley County Encounter in 2014 Still Remembered

SOCIAL HILL, Ark. – A mountain lion struck and killed by a motorist late Wednesday near Social Hill in Hot Spring County marks only the third confirmed mountain lion death in Arkansas since 1975 — and the incident has brought renewed attention to Bradley County’s own rare encounter over a decade ago. In November 2014,…

Warren Native Andy Gibbs Featured on Purely Public Duck Hunting Podcast

Warren Native Andy Gibbs Featured on Purely Public Duck Hunting Podcast

A familiar name to many in Bradley County, longtime Arkansas public land hunter Andy Gibbs recently appeared on the Purely Public Duck Hunting Podcast to share stories of his upbringing, hunting roots, and experiences in the flooded timberlands that have defined much of Arkansas’s duck hunting heritage. The episode, hosted by Chris Kaiser, regional director…

Snowden Waterfowl Center of Excellence announcement set for Oct. 13 at UAM

Snowden Waterfowl Center of Excellence announcement set for Oct. 13 at UAM

MONTICELLO, Ark. – The Snowden Waterfowl Center of Excellence, a new University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture research center, will be celebrated on Oct. 13 at the University of Arkansas at Monticello (UAM). The waterfowl research program will be based at UAM through the Arkansas Forest Resources Center thanks to $7 million in total…

2025 Alligator Season Sets Harvest Record

2025 Alligator Season Sets Harvest Record

Article submitted LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas’s two-weekend alligator season wrapped up in the predawn light Monday morning, and when the last harvested alligator was checked, hunters had tallied 205 alligators, narrowly edging out the previous record of 202 harvested in 2023. According to AGFC Herpetologist Amanda Bryant, hunters surpassed the initial quota of 204 with…

Cause of Death at Sam’s Throne Campground Determined to be Animal Mauling

Cause of Death at Sam’s Throne Campground Determined to be Animal Mauling

Article submitted MT. JUDEA — The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has been notified that the Arkansas State Crime Lab has determined that a death near Sam’s Throne Campground on Arkansas Highway 123 in Newton County was the result of an animal mauling.  The AGFC has been working with the Newton County Sheriff’s Office and…

AGFC expo to engage landowners in boots-on-the-ground conservation 

AGFC expo to engage landowners in boots-on-the-ground conservation 

BENTON — Anyone looking to improve the wildlife habitat or aquatic habitat on their property should make plans to attend the inaugural Natural State Private Lands Expo from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sept. 26 at the Benton Event Center in Saline County.  Since the inception of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Private Lands Habitat Division,…

Help focus the future of trout management in two of Arkansas’s famous fisheries

Help focus the future of trout management in two of Arkansas’s famous fisheries

LITTLE ROCK –  The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is in the process of updating its management plan for trout in the Greers Ferry and Beaver lakes tailwaters and is starting the process with a survey to gauge public perceptions about these two trout fisheries.  The survey is available at www.agfc.com/troutsurvey and will remain open until Sept.…

Ferguson Wins First Annual Duck Calling Contest at Bradley County Fair

Ferguson Wins First Annual Duck Calling Contest at Bradley County Fair

The Bradley County Fair & Livestock Show hosted its first-ever Duck Calling Contest on Saturday, drawing competitors eager to show off their calling skills in front of the community. Beau Ferguson earned first place in the contest, followed by Eric Corker in second place and Jase Cathey in third. Each winner received a custom wooden…

USFWS releases pond counts, population status for North American waterfowl 

USFWS releases pond counts, population status for North American waterfowl 

LITTLE ROCK — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service formally released its annual Waterfowl Population Status report for the 2025 survey year on Tuesday, and hunters may see a familiar tone to last year’s report. According to the report, an estimated 34 million ducks were present in the traditional survey area across Canada and the…

Brunson Bass Busters Kick Off After-School Fishing Club

Brunson Bass Busters Kick Off After-School Fishing Club

WARREN, Ark. – Thomas C. Brunson Elementary has introduced a new after-school program this year—the Brunson Bass Busters Fishing Club. The group, made up of students excited to learn the basics of fishing, will be meeting throughout the year to gain hands-on experience and enjoy time outdoors. Faculty members say the club is designed to…

WMAs offer dove hunters plenty of opportunity around state

WMAs offer dove hunters plenty of opportunity around state

LITTLE ROCK — Fast action and the excitement of wing-shooting during an Arkansas dove season as summer draws to a close are back again this weekend. Nineteen of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s wildlife management areas will offer acreage dedicated to public access dove hunting when the season opens Saturday, Sept. 6.  Another four…