Dave Donaldson Black River WMA
| Zone | County |
|---|---|
| 170 | Clay, Greene, Randolph |
Mobility-Impaired Access
Flood Prone Region
Waterfowl Season Access Restrictions
15-Inch Inside Spread or 18-Inch Main Beam Rule
Valid Hunting or Fishing License or a WMA/Lake Conservation Permit is Required for All Users
Acres: 25,482
2026-27 Closed Seasons
- Deer alternative firearms
- Bear
- 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.
Deer Modern Gun (permit required): Nov. 14-18.
Deer Modern Gun Youth Hunt (permit required): Nov. 7-8 and Jan. 2-3.
WMA Deer Bag Limit: Three deer, no more than two antlered bucks (15/18 Rule applies), which may include:
- Two antlered bucks with archery,
- Three antlerless deer with archery,
- One antlered buck and one antlerless deer with modern gun permit,
- During youth hunt, youths may take two deer, one antlered buck (no antler restrictions) and one antlerless deer.
2026-27 Dove
Sept. 5-6 (permit required, Brookings Field). Sept. 7-Oct. 25 and Dec. 8-Jan. 15 (open hunting).
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
2027 Turkey
Turkey Youth Hunt: April 10-11. One legal turkey.
Firearms Hunt: April 19-27. One legal turkey.
2025-26 Waterfowl
- 2025-26 Arkansas Waterfowl Hunting Guidebook
- 2025-26 Statewide Waterfowl Season Dates and Bag Limits
- 2025-26 General WMA Regulations
Waterfowl Notes:
- Waterfowl hunters must be off water by noon.
- No boats allowed Nov. 15-21, Dec. 2-9 and Dec. 24-26.
Exception – Boats allowed on the following waters:- Black River
- Little River
- Winchester Canal (designated by signs)
- Reyno Canal (designated by signs)
- Closed to all access (except in designated campsites, parking areas, boat launch ramps and boat staging areas) from 2-4 a.m. Nov. 22-Jan. 31 and Feb. 7-8. Boats may only be launched in boat staging areas after 2 a.m. and must remain occupied between 2-4 a.m.
- No boats allowed from noon to 4 a.m. Nov. 22-Dec. 1, Dec. 10-23 and Dec. 27-Jan. 30.
Exception 1 – Boats allowed within the Black River.
Exception 2 – Boats allowed from noon until 6:30 p.m. Jan. 31 and Feb. 7-8.
Exception 3 – Boats allowed from noon until 6:30 p.m. on the following waters:- Black River
- Little River
- Winchester Canal (designated by signs)
- Reyno Canal (designated by signs)
- Lake Ashbaugh is closed to all hunting except early teal season. Fishing and nonhunting activities are allowed.
- Hubble Lake is closed to all hunting except early teal season. Fishing and nonhunting activities are allowed.
- Winchester Waterfowl Rest Area and the Brookings moist-soil units are open to deer modern gun youth hunt permit holders only Nov. 1-2.
- Decoys may be left overnight in slough boats. Slough boats may be left overnight at designated locations.
About the Name
The Black River WMA was originally named after the Black River that flows through the area. After his retirement in 1977, Dave Donaldson, an employee of the Game and Fish Commission for over 30 years was honored by the renaming of the area.
Access
Main access points may be reached by going north on Highway 90 about 2 miles from Deleplaine. Turn left on Highway 280, then north about 4 miles to a stop sign, turn left and this will take you to the Brookings access on Black River. From Brookings, go east on highway 280 toward the town of Peach Orchard about 1 mile and turn left on a secondary blacktop road, go about 1 mile to the Hubble Bridge access on Little River. From Corning go south on Highway 67 to Reyno and watch for the Datto access. Lake Ashbaugh may be reached from highway 304.
Age
Acquisition began in 1957.
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 Winchester WRA and Brookings moist-soil units are closed to access Nov. 1-Feb. 15 except during Deer Modern Gun Permit and Youth Hunts.
- Lake Ashbaugh and Hubble Lake are closed to all hunting except early teal season (Sept. 19-27).
- Slough boats may be left overnight at select location during duck season.
Camping
Although there is little interest in overnight camping on Black River, camping is permitted in designated campsites. These are marked on area maps that are available at the area headquarters, or from commission employees and regional commission offices. These are primitive areas and no modern facilities are available. Mosquitoes, biting flies and poison ivy are extremely common and campers should be prepared for them.
Description
Hardwood forests comprise several tree species. The dominant species are nuttall oak, overcup oak, pin oak and water oak. Bald cypress, tupelo and willow may be found along the sloughs that form a network of waterways on the area. The major streams are Black River and Little River.
Hunting Opportunities
Waterfowl hunting accounts for the vast majority of recreational use days on the WMA. Squirrel populations are highly cyclic, depending on the abundance of acorns. Hunter success is good in most seasons, although participation is primarily limited to the opening days of the fall season. The area supports a thriving deer population. Hunting is limited to archery and limited permit muzzleloader hunting. Trappers also find a good population of furbearers on the area. Beaver, muskrat, mink and raccoon are fairly plentiful.
Location
The area is 10 miles south of Corning, 10 miles east of Pocahontas, 20 miles west of Paragould and 15 miles north of Walnut Ridge.
Management Practices
Specialized farming on about 200 acres of agricultural land and seasonal flooding of about 7,000 acres of green timber to attract waterfowl is done yearly. Selective thinning of trees is done to stimulate the growth of new timber, to provide a diverse habitat type and to remove unhealthy or unproductive trees from the forest. The Brookings Moist Soil Unit was developed in 1998 to provided wintering habitat for ducks and other migratory birds. This 200-acre site is managed to produce native vegetation and invertebrates, which are essential elements to the health of ducks. Furbearers, deer, wild turkeys and shorebirds also benefit from moist soil management practices.
Ownership
The AGFC owns about 25,000 acres in Clay, Randolph and Green counties.
Phone
833-200-5199
Purpose
The majority of the area was purchased to preserve bottomland habitat and provide top-quality waterfowl hunting. Black River represents a significant portion of the remaining bottomland hardwood habitat in eastern Arkansas and provides critical wintering habitat to thousands of migratory birds. The area also provides critical habitat to many species of Neotropical migrants. This area includes some of the finest greentree reservoir duck habitat in Arkansas.
Recreation Other Than Hunting
Along with Lake Ashbaugh there is excellent fishing on the Black and Little Rivers. The main species to fish for in the river are catfish, crappie and largemouth bass. Bald and golden eagles have wintered around Lake Ashbaugh since its completion in the late 1970s. Numerous eagles can usually be sighted on or around the lake on any given day from November through February.
Restaurants and Other Facilities
Overnight, lodging is available in Corning, Paragould, Pocahontas and Walnut Ridge.
Safety
The most significant hazards to area users are undoubtedly boating and water safety related. The fact that almost all waterfowl hunting access requires boating, results in heavy “rush hour traffic” prior to the opening of shooting hours daily.