‘River to Ridge’ is a fresh guide to adventure

LITTLE ROCK — A new book from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission – “River to Ridge: Arkansas’s Wildlife Management Areas” – includes the history, characteristics and surprising details about 118 of the agency’s 138 WMAs.

It may be purchased for $20 at Little Rock AGFC headquarters, 2 Natural Resources Drive. It’s also available online at www.agfc.com/rivertoridge for $20 plus $7 shipping. It will be available soon at AGFC offices and nature centers across the state.

The 470-page, 3-pound book has been in the works for five years, although the idea for such a publication goes back to the late 1990s. AGFC Watchable Wildlife Coordinator Kirsten Bartlow and Jeff Williams, editor of Arkansas Wildlife magazine, began compiling information for a book that was more a guide to adventure than a simple listing of facts about WMAs.

Hunters and anglers are familiar with WMAs but others who enjoy the outdoors – birders, hikers, paddlers, photographers and campers, for instance – might not realize the opportunities these special places hold. And they might not see the connections between WMAs and other interesting spots. Take Petit Jean River WMA as an example. Anyone who visits that WMA probably would enjoy Petit Jean State Park or Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge, both of which are nearby.

That’s why AGFC nature centers, fish hatcheries, shooting ranges, Important Bird Areas and Arkansas Water Trails receive their share of ink in the book, along with National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Army Corps of Engineers sites, plus national forests. Two-thirds of Arkansas’s state parks are described in the book.

“River to Ridge” is organized by seven natural ecoregions within the state – Arkansas Valley, Boston Mountains, Crowley’s Ridge, Mississippi Alluvial Plain, Ouachita Mountains, Ozark Highlands and the West Gulf Coastal Plain.

The book is illustrated with 490 photos, many of them taken by AGFC photographer Mike Wintroath and the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism. It was all beautifully designed by Jeanne Zaffarano, a graphic artist in the AGFC’s Communications Division. Nine writers contributed to the book, which was edited by Bartlow and Williams.

Order your copy today at www.agfc.com/rivertoridge.

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