Waterfowl permit applications for WRICE, WMAs start Thursday

LITTLE ROCK — The time for public land waterfowl hunters to make plans for exclusive hunts on opening weekend in Arkansas starts Thursday, Nov. 13. That’s when the application process begins for opening weekend permits on the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Waterfowl Rice Incentive Conservation Enhancement Program’s fields and the agency’s permit-hunt-only wildlife management areas.

Applicants can start applying on the AGFC’s website at 3 p.m. Thursday, with the first weekend’s application period ending at 11:59 p.m. Sunday. Permit winners will be notified Monday (those who were unsuccessful will also receive an email) and provided instructions and directions for their hunts on the opening day of waterfowl hunting season, Saturday, Nov. 22. The application period covers hunts for the following week, including certain youth and mobility-impaired hunts in WMAs on weekdays.

WRICE permits will allow a hunter and a total party of four to hunt the entire opening weekend from 30 minutes before sunrise to sunset. WMA online permits, which are for either Saturday or Sunday, are required for hunting at Steve N. Wilson Raft Creek Bottoms near Searcy, the Red Cut Slough tract of Cypress Bayou near Beebe, and designated permit spots in Frog Bayou WMA near Alma (Frog Bayou has open areas to hunt that don’t require an online permit, but will still require a free Open Hunting Unit Permit available at agfc.com.license). Hunters will either apply for Saturday or Sunday permit hunting in the permit-only WMAs, and hunting ends at noon.
Youth hunters (15 and younger) are required to have a customer identification number to apply for permits to the youth blinds in Raft Creek Bottoms, Sheffield Nelson Dagmar Conway George Tracts and Freddie Black Choctaw Island West Unit WMAs. Raft Creek’s youth blind, as well as a mobility-impaired access blind and permit-hunting access to  Raft Creek’s Magellan Tract, is also available only through the online application site for hunting on Tuesdays and Thursdays. A youth may be accompanied by an adult mentor and two other youths, or one other youth and another adult mentor. All may hunt; adults must have a license, HIP registration and state and federal duck stamps.

Dagmar’s three Conway George hunting areas are open to permit hunting for all ages on Wednesday, with parties of up to four allowed. Those hoping to hunt there on Nov. 26, the day before Thanksgiving, will need to apply during this first application period.

Hunting at Raft Creek, Red Cut Slough and Frog Bayou will not require online application for Tuesday and Thursday hunts (those WMAs are closed to hunting on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays). However, hunters are required to obtain self-serve permits at the parking areas at those WMAs. Hunters are not restricted to designated locations on weekdays, but anyone entering flooded areas must have a signed Daily Use Permit for the WMA. The top portion of the permit must be completed and deposited in the collection box before the hunt. The bottom portion must be carried while hunting, then completed and returned to the collection box at the end of the hunt.

The AGFC’s Waterfowl Rice Incentive Conservation Enhancement Program has provided a boost for migrating ducks and geese in the past six years, and it’s also offered a hunting opportunity for waterfowlers seeking a privately owned rice field hunt through the AGFC’s permit system. The program is funded by the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program in the 2018 Farm Bill.
According to David Graves, coordinator for the WRICE Program through the AGFC’s Private Lands Habitat Division, 50 fields have been lined up for the program in 2025-26, with 48 fields featuring harvested rice and two other fields on Wetland Reserve Easement property.

“We will have 3,330 acres of rice fields and 258 acres of contracted WRE ground,” Graves said. “The majority of the fields will be in the east-central Delta region of the state.

Most WRICE fields will be found in Monroe County, with 26 scattered throughout. Jefferson County, another popular destination for waterfowlers with its proximity to George H. Dunklin Bayou Meto WMA, has eight fields. The other counties with fields and the expected number of fields in each are: Chicot, 1; Clay, 2; Drew, 1; Faulkner, 2; Franklin, 1; Greene, 2; Lee, 2; Prairie, 1; and White, 4.
There is a $5 fee to apply for all permits. Visit www.agfc.com/hunting/waterfowl/special-waterfowl-permit-hunts/ for more information.

Also, the 2025-26 Arkansas Waterfowl Guidebook has information on waterfowl hunting and where to hunt. Pick up a copy at most sporting goods stores and outdoors retailers, and where you buy a license in person. You can also read the guidebook online by clicking here. 

Top Photo
A WRICE permit allows a winning applicant to hunt a private Arkansas rice field for the weekend with up to three other hunters. 

Second photo
Steve N. Wilson Raft Creek Bottoms requires an online permit for hunting on weekends, but hunters can pick up a self-serve permit at the parking lots on Tuesdays and Thursdays.