A new Disabled Veteran Lifetime Combination License to be available at a reduced rate for resident military veterans was passed unanimously by the Game and Fish Commission at its June meeting.
The new license will cost $52.50 and will give full hunting and fishing privileges to any disabled veteran who has a service-connected disability rating of 70 percent or higher or a service-connected disability rating of 50 percent or higher and is a recipient of the Purple Heart medal.
This license does not replace previous disabled veterans licenses offered by the AGFC that required a veteran to be 100 percent disabled to qualify. Those licenses still are available at their previous cost. This new license simply enables more disabled veterans to qualify for reduced rates.
The new license will extend these reduced rates for hunting and fishing privileges to more than 14,000 disabled veterans in Arkansas, according to AGFC Director Pat Fitts.
The Commission also created a single 5-day Nonresident Waterfowl Hunting Permit that would be valid on all AGFC WMAs in response to public comments received last waterfowl season. Previously, a nonresident waterfowl hunter on many of the AGFC’s WMAs was required to purchase a separate permit for each WMA they hunted. The new universal permit enables hunters to move to different WMAs within the 5-day window when the permit is valid.
Public comment also fueled the Commission proposal to extend more opportunity to hunt furbearers throughout the year.
Commissioners heard the first reading of new regulation changes for private land that, if passed, will relax the limitations on landowners to eliminate coyotes, raccoons and other species known to be predators of turkeys, quail and other ground-nesting birds and their nests.
According to the proposals, coyote, raccoon, opossum and striped skunk hunting will be open year-round on private land. There will be no daily or possession limits to any of these species, and wanton waste regulations will no longer apply to raccoon and opossum for landowners wishing to eliminate these nest predators from their property.
The proposals also include the creation of a free Predator Control Permit which would enable landowners or leaseholders to shoot any furbearer species day or night without a hunting license.
The Commission is expected to vote on these proposed regulations changes on a special conference call July 25. The proposed regulations changes will be available for comment for the next 30 days.