Farm pond workshop at Fort Smith nature center, Sept. 6

Aug. 30, 2017

Randy Zellers

Assistant Chief of Communications

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will hold a special workshop for landowners on how to manage their farm ponds for fish at a free workshop at the Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center from 7 to 9 p.m., Sept. 6.

“We receive quite a few calls each year about how people can manage their ponds to improve the fishing,” said Frank Leone, regional fisheries supervisor for the AGFC. “This workshop will enable us to reach out to people who may have questions but don’t want to call and ask.”

Leone says the workshop will consist of a PowerPoint presentation and question-and-answer section to help people get the most out of their property. Topics will include fish population management, stocking programs and an overview of pond ecosystems to help landowners understand the workings behind the management techniques. All attendees also will receive a packet of essential materials to read and gather more information farm pond management.

“Ultimately, we want more people to be happy with their ponds and enjoy fishing,” Leone said. 

While biologists stay very busy attending to habitat and monitoring work on Arkansas’s large reservoirs, Leone says no job is really too small when it comes to fisheries management. 

“We occasionally get requests from landowners to come out and help assess their ponds,” Leone said. “We try to fit these requests in where we can, do some short evaluations with shoreline seining and write up a short management plan the pond owner can follow to make their pond more productive for the type of fish they are wanting to catch.”

The workshop is free, and no registration is required. Visit www.rivervalleynaturecenter.com for more information and to plan your visit to the center.