Hunting News

4,706 acres added to expand public hunting opportunities

4,706 acres added to expand public hunting opportunities

By Arkansas Game and Fish Commission

Beginning with the 2023-24 hunting seasons, AGFC will add 4,706 acres of public hunting land in The Natural State. With a partnership between AGFC and Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, two new WMAs have been formed: Goat’s Beard Bluff Natural Area and Sugarloaf Mountains-Midland Peak Natural Area.

Goat’s Beard Bluff Natural Area encompasses 540 acres in Saline County along the Alum Fork of the Saline River. It is at the transition zone between the Ouachita Mountains and the Gulf Coastal Plain and is inhabited by both upland Ouachita Highland species and lowland Gulf Coastal Plain species.

Sugarloaf Mountains-Midland Peak Natural Area totals 1,191 acres in Sebastian County. The Sugarloaf Mountains are an isolated pair of high, conjoined ridges straddling the border between Arkansas and Oklahoma south of Fort Smith. They represent an isolated portion of the Scattered High Ridges and Mountains ecoregion of the Arkansas River Valley, and the area historically supported large areas of prairie, savanna and open woodland habitat.

Another partnership with the Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry added another hunting opportunity to the AGFC’s WMA system. The Hot Springs State Forest comprises 2,975 acres on the outskirts of Hot Springs National Park, and the new agreement with the AGFC will make that land accessible to hunters pursuing deer and other upland game in central Arkansas.

In other business during the recent Commission meeting, regulations were adopted to create a Nonresident Deer Dog Hunter Permit, which will be required for anyone from out of state to use dogs to pursue deer where legal in Arkansas.

The Commission also restructured and raised nonresident hunting license fees as follows:
Nonresident Annual Hunting License – $410; Nonresident 5-Day Hunting License – $225; Nonresident 3-Day Deer Hunting License – $175; Nonresident 1-Day Deer Hunting License – $100; Nonresident Annual Small Game Hunting License – $110 (no change); Nonresident 5-Day Small Game Hunting License – $80; Nonresident Trappers Permit – $125 (no change);

Nonresident Bear Permit (must accompany valid big game license) – $300; Nonresident Turkey Permit (must accompany valid big game license) – $100; Nonresident Elk Permit (must accompany valid big game license) – $300; Nonresident Alligator Permit (must accompany valid big game license) – $300; Arkansas Nonresident Waterfowl Stamp (must accompany valid small game or big game license) – $50; Nonresident 5-Day WMA Waterfowl Hunting Permit (Must accompany valid small game or big game license and Arkansas Nonresident Waterfowl Stamp) – $40.

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