Dardanelle WMA

Zone	County
160	Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Pope, Yell

Zone

County

160

Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Pope, Yell

CWD Zone

Dogs Allowed (during a specific portion of deer season)

Acres: 42,500

2026-27 Closed Seasons

Alligator

2026-27 Crow

Sept. 3, 2026-Feb. 21, 2027. Open Thursdays through Mondays only. No limit.

2026-27 Deer

Deer Archery: Aug. 29-31 (one antlered buck only); Sept. 26-Feb. 28.
Johnson County Waterfowl Rest Area: Aug. 29-31 (one antlered buck only); Sept. 26-Oct. 31 and Feb. 16-28.
Deer Alternative Firearms: Oct. 17-25.
Deer Modern Gun: Nov. 14-Dec. 6 (dogs allowed except on islands) and Dec. 26-28 (no dogs).
Deer Modern Gun Youth Hunts: Nov. 7-8 and Jan. 2-3 (no dogs).
Deer Special Modern Gun Mobility-Impaired Hunt (permit required): Johnson County Waterfowl Rest Area only: Nov. 3-5, As set by Army Corps of Engineers. Three permits for Johnson County WRA (no dogs). Call Army Corps of Engineers, 479-968-5008. Shotguns with slugs or alternative firearms may be used.

WMA Deer Bag Limit: Three deer, no more than two antlered bucks (no antler restrictions), which may include:

Two antlered bucks with archery, alternative firearms or modern gun,
Three antlerless deer with archery.
One antlerless deer with alternative firearms and modern gun combined,
Nonresidents hunting deer with dogs are limited to one deer during the last nine days of the regular modern gun season.

2026-27 Dove

Sept. 5-Oct. 25, 2026 and Dec. 8, 2026-Jan. 15, 2027

Mourning Dove and White-Winged Dove
Daily Limit – 15, possession Limit – 45

Eurasian Collared-Dove
No daily or possession limit
Eurasian Collared Doves must remain fully feathered in the field and while being transported from the field.

Dove Notes: The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission prepares a few fields each year for the opening weekend of dove season so the public has a place to enjoy this exciting form of wingshooting. Dove fields on WMAs are available on a first-come, first-served basis. WMA acreage put into dove fields is relatively small because most hunters only pursue doves the first few days of the season. However, after opening weekend of dove season, many wildlife species feed in the fields, particularly those that were top sown with winter wheat.

2026-27 Quail

Nov. 1, 2026-Feb. 7, 2027. Daily limit – 6

2026-27 Rabbit

Sept. 1, 2026-Feb. 28, 2027. Daily limit – 8

2026-27 Squirrel

May 15, 2026-Feb. 28, 2027. Dogs allowed. Daily limit – 12

2026 Bear

Bear Archery: Sept. 9-Nov. 30.
Bear Alternative Firearms: Oct. 17-25.
Bear Modern Gun: Nov. 14-30.
Bear Modern Gun Youth Hunt: Nov. 7-8.
Bear Modern Gun Mobility-Impaired Hunt (permit holders only):Johnson County Waterfowl Rest Area only: Nov. 3-5. Three permits for Johnson County WRA (no dogs). Call Army Corps of Engineers, 479-968-5008. Shotguns with slugs or alternative firearms may be used.

2027 Turkey

Youth Hunt: April 10-11. One legal turkey.
Firearms Hunt: April 19-May 9. One legal turkey.

2025-26 Waterfowl

Waterfowl Notes:

Waterfowl hunting is not allowed on that part of Big Spadra and Little Spadra creeks north of the railroad, east of Crawford Street, south of
I-40 and west of Arkansas Highway 103.
Waterfowl hunting is allowed 30 minutes before sunrise until sunset during the waterfowl season. Waterfowl hunting ends at noon on the McKennon Bottoms and the Potter’s Pothole Units, although hunting is allowed 30 minutes before sunrise until sunset Jan. 31 and during the Special Youth Waterfowl
Hunts and Veterans/Active-Duty Military Hunts (Feb. 7-8).
Carbon City, Horsehead Creek and Johnson County Waterfowl Rest Areas are closed to all access Nov. 1-Feb. 15.
Dogs and firearms or trapping devices are not allowed on Johnson County Waterfowl Rest Area. Access on Johnson County WRA on Nov. 4-6 is limited to
Mobility-Impaired Permit Gun Deer permit holders.
Additional Corps of Engineers regulations apply. Contact COE, P.O. Box 1087, Russellville, AR 72801, 479-968-5008

Area Notes

Free georeferenced maps are available for this WMA and others at https://apps.agfc.com/maps/. These maps are frequently updated and include features such as parking, types of road and land boundaries.
The WMA boundary includes lands within the Corps of Engineers boundary, including islands and shoreline acreage.
Additional Corps of Engineers regulations apply. Contact Corps of Engineers, 479-968-5008.
Dogs, hunting or trapping equipment are not allowed on Johnson County Waterfowl Rest Area, except as noted above.
Horsehead Creek, Johnson County and and Bob Young Carbon City WRAs are closed to access Nov. 1-Feb. 15 (Johnson County WRA open for mobility-impaired permit hunt).

Ownership

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Phone

833-356-0871