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. 21.

Christy Graham, AGFC trout program coordinator, said. “This survey will enable us to gather information from a large base of our constituents before we begin the process of making modifications to these two existing trout plans.”

Graham stresses that the survey should not be considered it any sort of vote or final decision on regulations or procedures. Instead, it will be used to gauge satisfaction and knowledge of these two fisheries and the AGFC’s efforts to improve them.

“We absolutely want to increase the level of public involvement in the plan, but we won’t be asking any specific questions about how a person feels about this regulation or that stocking amount,” Graham said. “We’re looking more at satisfaction levels with things like numbers of fish, size of fish, access points and other aspects of fishing. It really will align well with the Statewide Trout Management Plan’s goals.”

The Greers Ferry Tailwater Management Plan was last updated in 2017 and relied heavily on a stakeholder advisory group’s input and a telephone survey, much like the previous plan instituted in 2008. The rainbow trout fishery is managed through stocking and harvest regulations, but the fishery is the only location in Arkansas where brown trout successfully reproduce enough to create a viable fishery without the need for additional stockings.

The Beaver Tailwater Management Plan was last updated in 2011. It was also developed with the aid of public workshops, but it did not include any survey work.

“We want anyone who has input to offer into our trout fisheries to be involved in the revision of these two plans, and have opened up the commenting opportunity to anyone who wishes to take the survey,” Graham said. “Once we gather our findings from the survey, biologists will evaluate the status of public perceptions on the tailwaters, combine that with the data from many scientific studies, including some groundbreaking research by the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, and formulate a plan to move forward and maintain these two Arkansas trout fisheries as the bucket-list destinations they are.”

Visit www.agfc.com/troutsurvey to take the survey and learn more about trout management in Arkansas.

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CUTLINES:

FLYER
The AGFC is conducting a survey until Sept. 21 for trout anglers who fish the Beaver and Greers Ferry tailwaters. AGFC photo.

ANGLER WITH RAINBOW TROUT
AGFC trout managers want to know how anglers feel about the size and number of trout in Arkansas, as well as the access and accommodations to enjoy trout fishing here. AGFC photo.