EL DORADO – Those who love the outdoors are invited to the 23rd Annual SouthArk Outdoor Expo, hosted by the South Arkansas Community College Foundation from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sept. 10 at the El Dorado Conference Center. In addition to hands-on exhibits and outdoors-oriented activities for the whole family, organizers have packed the event with…
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Public meetings scheduled for deer health information
LITTLE ROCK – The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will host three meetings in the next month to discuss Arkansas’s deer herd and changes to local deer hunting regulations for portions of the state where chronic wasting disease was detected during the 2021-22 deer season. Open-house meetings will be held at the Pocahontas Community Center…
Attract doves to your field for opening day, but be mindful of baiting laws
LITTLE ROCK – Dove season opens September 3. Coincidentally, that happens to be the first Saturday of college football for most of the country. Just like football, an opening day blunder can set the tone for the season. Check fields for any evidence of baiting before hunting, so your midday dove-field tailgate party is full…
Bradley County showcasing 36 acres for dove hunt
Be sure to apply for one of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s 11 permit-based dove fields by Aug. 15 if you’re looking for a fun way to kick off hunting season this Labor Day Weekend. Applications are available at the AGFC’s licensing site https://ar-web.s3licensing.com under the “Special Hunt Applications” tab. Four of these AGFC’s managed fields…
2022-23 Arkansas Hunting Guidebook available online
The latest edition of the Arkansas Hunting Guidebook is at the printer and will begin to appear in sporting goods stores throughout the state this month. You don’t have to wait to catch up on this year’s regulations. A downloadable version of the guidebook is available now at agfc.com for people who want to take a sneak…
AGFC looking for partners in groundbreaking bear research
Myron Means, large carnivore program coordinator for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is looking for leads into likely research candidates to wear GPS collars during Arkansas’s inaugural bear season in south Arkansas this year. As part of the research that goes into monitoring hunting seasons for bear, Means and many of the AGFC’s field…
Practice conservation with crab-stuffed striped bass
ROGERS — Catch-and-release might be the mantra of the modern angler, but when it comes to summer fishing, keeping a few for the grill or fryer can actually be more beneficial than catching and releasing fish all day on the water. Juan Granados of Hooked on Fishing Guide Service on Beaver Lake, may just have…
AGFC to host open-house forums for bass angler input
LITTLE ROCK – Anglers interested in improving Arkansas’s bass fishing are invited to provide input on the state’s latest Reservoir Black Bass Management Plan at a series of open-house events the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will hold in August and September. Eleven public forums will be held in locations throughout Arkansas to ensure anglers…
Cole Williams earns gold at 4-H State Shooting Sports Junior Championships
For the first time since 2019, the Arkansas 4-H State Shooting Sports Junior Championships were held July 13 through July 15, 2022 at the C.A. Vines Arkansas 4-H Center in Little Rock. Participants from counties across Arkansas were able to compete in shotgun, .177 air pistol, archery, .177 air rifle, .22 rifle and hunting skills.…
Certified arborist training, exam to be offered August 25 in Fayetteville
FAYETTEVILLE — The Arkansas Urban Forestry Council will offer an in-person training for anyone interested in becoming a certified arborist or getting advanced training in arboriculture on Aug. 25 in Fayetteville. The training will take place 8:15 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Washington County office of the Cooperative Extension Service, part of the University of Arkansas…
Moro Bay State Park’s Paul Butler presents Library program to summer reading students
Park Ranger Paul Butler from Moro Bay State Park was the presenter for Mrs. Christy’s group, ages three to six this week during the Warren Branch Library’s summer reading program. He brought Arby the Alligator and all the kids got the opportunity to pet him. They learned some really cool facts like that the top…
Lake Monticello’s refill progressing
Kristofor Nault, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s supervisor for its Fisheries district office in Monticello, reports that the renovated Lake Monticello is refilling, slowly but surely. The aerial image he sent along also shows that more than a quarter of the surface bed is now covered in water after the draining of Lake Monticello…
Remember the 3 R’s when boating on a river
LITTLE ROCK – The heat of summer often leads anglers to large rivers and the promise of large catfish and an extended period of fish activity thanks to current keeping surface water moving and slightly cooler than in backwaters and reservoirs. But traveling on a river like the Arkansas can be a daunting task for…
AGFC suggests ways timber firms, lease holders can take action to boost wildlife
LITTLE ROCK – Timber companies play an important role in Arkansas’s economy, and the partnerships established between the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and these firms positively affect fish and wildlife species on the lands that they own and manage. It is important to remember that managing properties for timber production or for fish and…
Renew your hunting license and continue supporting wildlife conservation
LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas annual hunting licenses expire June 30 each year. If you have not yet renewed your license, all it takes is a few minutes to make sure you’re ready for another year in Arkansas’s great outdoors. A hunting license is more than your ticket to another great year chasing deer, ducks, squirrel…
Operation Dry Water promotes increased safety during extended holiday weekend
HOT SPRINGS — With Independence Day falling on a Monday this year, many people are taking full advantage of an extended stay at their favorite lakeside retreat. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is asking that everyone enjoying the revelry be aware of the dangers brought about by drinking while aboard a boat. To help…
Arkansas’s Buffalo National River celebrates 50th anniversary as part of the National Park Service
With more than 800,000 visitors a year, the Buffalo National River is one of the leading tourist destinations in Arkansas. This year, the Buffalo National River celebrates its 50th anniversary as a unit of the National Park Service. Former Congressman John Paul Hammerschmidt and former Senators J. William Fulbright and John L. McClellan introduced the…
House of Representatives passes Recovering America’s Wildlife Act
LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Director Austin Booth applauded the passage of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act on Tuesday by the U.S. House of Representatives. Booth compared HR 2773 as the modern-day equivalent of the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson Acts. These two pieces of legislation have funded the conservation efforts that fueled the…
Subscribe to Arkansas Wildlife, receive 2022-23 calendar
It’s always a good time to subscribe to Arkansas Wildlife, the bimonthly magazine produced by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, although this may be the best time of year. The July-August issue of the magazine is the calendar edition, full of information about the Arkansas outdoors such as hunting dates and sunrise/sunset times, and…
Turtles taking to the streets; don’t box them in
Turtles are on the move all over Arkansas, and many can be found alongside roads in rural and suburban areas thanks to a wet, relatively cool spring that created excellent foraging areas in ditches and grassy areas beside the hustle of daily traffic. Many turtles are finishing up their annual breeding and egg-laying cycles, which…
Apply for a 2022 Arkansas alligator hunt permit
Applications for the 2022 Arkansas alligator season are available at www.agfc.com from 8 a.m., June 15 through midnight, June 30. Anyone interested in pursuing alligators on public land in Arkansas must apply for one of the six hunting locations within two of Arkansas’s three open Alligator Management Zones. The 2022 alligator permit draw will have…