LITTLE ROCK — Excellent weather and receptive birds welcomed Arkansas’s youth hunters last weekend, and the young guns did not disappoint. According to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s online checking system, hunters aged 6-15 harvested 1,068 turkeys during last weekend’s two-day youth hunt, the first time the harvest has exceeded 1,000 since 2016. The…
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Celebrating the animals that call Bradley County home this National Wildlife Week 2023
WARREN, Ark. – This week, the nation is celebrating National Wildlife Week, an annual event dedicated to raising awareness about wildlife conservation efforts and the importance of protecting our natural habitats. This year’s theme is “Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation,” highlighting the critical role that partnerships play in preserving our country’s wildlife and natural resources. From…
Turn spring break into a nature break this year with the AGFC
LITTLE ROCK — Each year thousands of parents across The Natural State spend the last week or two of March racking their brains trying to find fun family activities they can enjoy with their children while they’re out of school for spring break. Instead of wasting away the kids’ days off from school, take advantage…
Arkansas Wildlife Federation contest connects youth to the outdoors through art
LITTLE ROCK – Once again, the Arkansas Wildlife Federation and Creative Ideas have come together to promote wildlife education through the arts in the annual Wildlife of Arkansas Student Art Contest. For the 2023 contest, students from kindergarten through 12th grade will submit artwork online through a portal on the AWF website, www.arwild.org. Top photo:…
River otters offer antics for winter wildlife watchers
LITTLE ROCK — Conservation comeback stories often focus on the amazing return of white-tailed deer, the black bear in Arkansas and other game species, but one of The Natural State’s most charismatic critters also came back as a result of proper game management and habitat conservation. Once nearly wiped clean from Arkansas’s streams, the river…
First-time archer proves it’s never too late to start
PINE BLUFF — Finding a place to start hunting if one doesn’t have family or friends who enjoy an outdoors lifestyle can be intimidating. Thanks to a new program through the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Gov. Mike Huckabee Delta Rivers Nature Center, six “adult onset” hunters overcame that hurdle and joined the ranks of…
More rain should spread out waterfowl as season winds down
LITTLE ROCK – Heavy rainfall passing through Arkansas on Wednesday should put flood more waterfowl hunting areas as the duck season hits its final stretch with 14 days to go. Mild springlike temperatures since Sunday could have ducks thinking it’s time to migrate north. This weather pattern comes just as Arkansas Game and Fish Commission…
Upward mallard trend continues in midwinter survey
LITTLE ROCK – The best mallard numbers seen in Arkansas in recent years from last month’s aerial survey estimate continued with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s annual midwinter waterfowl survey released this week. The number of mallards in the Delta region of Arkansas hit a four-year high during aerial observations conducted in December, and that…
‘Can you?’ vs. ‘Should you?’
The Arkansas Wildlife Podcast crew discusses the balance of hunting ethics, fair chase and modern techology in the outdoors. On this week’s episode of the Arkansas Wildlife Podcast Trey Reid is sitting down with Director of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Austin Booth, Deputy Director Ben Batten, and Editor of the Arkansas Wildlife Magazine…
Big Squirrel Challenge returns to Arkansas
LITTLE ROCK — Deer seasons may be winding down in Arkansas, but don’t put away the hunting gear just yet. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is hosting the second annual Big Squirrel Challenge statewide Jan. 13-14. Eric Maynard, assistant chief of education for the AGFC, says the event is a great way to keep…
With deep freeze over, hunters have uninterrupted hunting
LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas waterfowl hunters endured a deep freeze leading into last weekend, and now temperatures will take an upward trend as the state’s 60-day season has reached its midpoint. There are no more splits left in the season as it runs uninterrupted through Jan. 31. Long-range weather forecasts indicate temperatures ranging as high as 68…
AGFC, partners offer new experience for birding community
LITTLE ROCK — Birders and other wildlife-watching enthusiasts have a great new way to participate in outdoor recreation, thanks to the creation of a special Natural State-specific online gateway to Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology’s eBird birdwatching system. According to Karen Rowe, AGFC nongame bird program coordinator, the eBird tool has been available for years, but…
Cool water changes complexion of bass, other sport fish
TEXARKANA — According to Dylan Hann, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission fisheries supervisor for southwest Arkansas, some anglers have called with reports of red dots on the skin of some bass they’ve caught. He stresses that there’s no cause for alarm. “We have seen some bass with these spots ourselves during routine sampling on Dierks…
AGFC asks hunters to report signs of avian influenza
LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is asking waterfowl hunters heading to the field this weekend to remain vigilant for any concentrations of sick or dead birds they find in the wild that may be the result of avian influenza. The risk of humans contracting the disease remains low, but hunters can…
Arkansas youth hunters take more than 9,000 deer in two-day hunt
LITTLE ROCK — According to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s online harvest totals, hunters aged 6 to 15 checked 9,153 deer during last weekend’s annual youth modern gun deer hunt. Ralph Meeker, AGFC deer program coordinator, says the first youth weekend typically results in a harvest between 8,000 and 11,000 deer statewide. “This year’s…
Celebrate ‘Troutsgiving’ with the AGFC
LITTLE ROCK — Stores and shopping centers may try to coax everyone with low prices for Black Friday the day after Thanksgiving, but the AGFC has an even better opportunity to enjoy some fast action, and it will only cost you the price of a fishing license and trout stamp. AGFC hatcheries and the Family…
AGFC sets table for future Monticello monsters
MONTICELLO — Hatchery staff and biologists from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service worked together to load more than one-quarter of a million forage fish into the rising waters of Lake Monticello in October. Approximately 180,000 fathead minnows, 111,900 golden shiners, 78,840 bluegill, and 82,056 redear sunfish were stocked.…
Special week provides chance to better understand, appreciate bats
LITTLE ROCK – Bat Week, an annual international celebration of the role of bats in nature, runs all this week and, naturally, through Halloween, Oct. 31. It also affords the opportunity for Arkansans not only to think about these creatures and their role in our outdoors, but what people can do to reverse some dangers…
Celebrate conservation with the AGFC at the Wetlands and Wildlife Festival
PINE BLUFF — The Gov. Mike Huckabee Delta Rivers Nature Center will again host its annual Wetlands and Wildlife Festival from noon to 5 p.m., Oct. 29. This family-friendly celebration of conservation is a great way to enjoy an afternoon with family and friends learning about all the outdoors has to offer. Formerly called “Boo…
Two new wildlife officers assigned to Bradley County
LITTLE ROCK – Some new faces will be joining the ranks of Arkansas Game and Fish Commission wildlife officers this fall. The latest class of wildlife officer cadets celebrated graduation from the AGFC’s training program Friday at The Church at Rock Creek. The process to become a wildlife officer began May 16 when 21 individuals…
Collared bear, deer ok to harvest
LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas hunters hitting the woods may notice a few deer and bears sporting some new neckwear this fall, but that shouldn’t deter anyone from legally taking that animal. “The collars are part of ongoing research taking place in certain portions of the state,” Cory Gray, AGFC chief of research, said. “In Northwest…