Dave Donaldson sees improved infrastructure for ducks
Oct. 21, 2020
POCAHONTAS — Dave Donaldson Black River WMA near Pocahontas embodies the public green timber duck hunting Arkansas is known for. And with the help of a current project slated at $1 million, it will be even more attractive to migrating waterfowl in years to come.
Clean up the decoys to help prevent the spread of invasive species
Oct. 14, 2020
LITTLE ROCK – With fall colors beginning to show, many duck clubs and duck hunters are busy organizing, packing, repacking and reorganizing their gear while they wait with anticipation. Some avid hunters also are beginning to plan a few early scouting trips to check out new locations before the season. Biologists with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission urge all hunters and anglers alike to take the extra time to clean all their equipment of mud and vegetation before bringing it to the wetlands.
Bird banding laboratory celebrates 100 years of science
Oct. 7, 2020
LITTLE ROCK — There’s something about the thrill of harvesting mallards in a greentree reservoir that has put it at the top of many waterfowl hunters’ bucket lists. If one of those birds is sporting a band on its leg, that small piece of aluminum is likely to go into a keepsake box to be handed down to children with stories of Arkansas’s famous flooded timber. But bird bands are much more than mementos or status symbols; they’re one of the first “citizen science” projects ever developed for conservation.
Zachary finds his place at diverse Ed Gordon/Point Remove WMA
Sept. 30, 2020
One of the most diverse regions in all of Arkansas for wildlife is the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Region 7, a vast area of land in the Ozark Highlands and Arkansas River Valley that includes two major wildlife management areas, Ed Gordon/Point Remove WMA and Galla Creek WMA. Alex Zachary is a veteran biologist in Region 7 on Ed Gordon and Galla Creek WMAs. Zachary, who turned 33 late in the summer, began work with the AGFC there in November 2011 as a technician and moved up to his current role as biologist in 2014.
Old decoys spark new interest in outdoors
Sept. 2, 2020
PINE BLUFF — It happens every September. Duck hunters across the country begin to feel the need to dig through their gear and make plans for opening day. Sporting goods stores begin moving waterfowl-hunting equipment from storage to their shelves, and hunters are bombarded with the latest realistic decoys promised to make their next season a success. But what happens to the old decoys left behind in the garage? Eric Maynard, assistant chief of education for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, has a solution to the situation — the AGFC decoy adoption center.
Bokker deals with the ups and downs of water at Raft Creek
Aug. 21, 2020
GEORGETOWN – It’s been an interesting summer around the Steve N. Wilson Raft Creek Bottoms Wildlife Management Area. In June, with the White and Cache rivers running over their banks, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission habitat biologist Jacob Bokker and his crew couldn’t get into the oversaturated bottoms to get to their moist-soil preparation for the upcoming waterfowl season.
Special Canada goose hunting season opens Sept. 1
Aug. 19, 2020
LITTLE ROCK – With the Sept. 5 opening day of dove season only a few weeks away, it’s hard to think about this being a good time to chase waterfowl, but hunters looking for early Canada goose action will be able to break out the decoys and chase localCanada geese earlier than even dove hunters this year.