Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge Proceeds with Drawdown, Urging Users to be Vigilant
July 19, 2017
Efforts are underway to manipulate water levels within the Felsenthal pool to 64 MSL, dropping it one foot lower than the normal level of 65 MSL. Management practices by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, such as the use of drawdowns in wetland habitats, promote the germination of native plants and provides great benefits to migrating and resident shorebirds and waterfowl. The drawdown, conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is expected to expose up to 4,000 acres of mudflats and scrub/shrub habitat within the Felsenthal NWR boundary creating variably shallow conditions in some frequented areas. Users should use caution when traversing the waterways and stay vigilant as water levels may fluctuate.
Public input meeting scheduled for trout management on White and North Fork Rivers
July 19, 2017
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will host a special public workshop from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., August 3 at the Vada Sheid Community Development Center in Convention Center Rooms A and B to begin reviewing the trout management plans for the Bull Shoals and Norfork tailwaters. The center is located on the Arkansas State University Mountain Home campus.
Prairie Creek Weigh-in Facility Officially Opens
July 12, 2017
The official dedication ceremony for the new weigh-in facility at the Prairie Creek Access on Beaver Lake was held last week. The entire project was a partnership between local anglers and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. According to Jon Stein, AGFC fisheries biologist for northwest Arkansas, brush piles were created and placed in Beaver Lake from the trees removed for the weigh-in center. Anglers from the Bear Creek Bass Club joined AGFC staff to add the extra habitat to the water after clearing the area in preparation for construction of the facility.
Henderson State University Joins Quail Restoration Effort
July 12, 2017
Henderson State University’s Simonson Biological Field Station made points with anglers earlier this year by conducting a large brush-pile project with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Black Bass Program, but where those trees came from may be an even greater story for conservation in Arkansas. Biologists and educators with Henderson State, the AGFC and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have worked together on the project, not only to benefit fish, but also create open habitat, suitable for northern bobwhite and other wildlife on the 200 acres surrounding the field station on the shore of DeGray Lake.
Bowfisherman Claims Two State Records in One Night
July 12, 2017
Most anglers will fish for a lifetime and never catch a fish large enough to claim a state record catch, but one bowfisherman managed to arrow two records in the same outing.
Largest Cane-pole Fishing Event in Arkansas Thursday at MacArthur Park Pond
July 12, 2017
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the City of Little Rock will host up to 1,500 young anglers fishing with cane poles from 8:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m., Thursday, July 13, at MacArthur Park Pond in Little Rock for the 32nd annual Cane Pole Fishing Event.
Stan Jones Appointed to Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
July 11, 2017
Governor Asa Hutchinson appointed Stan Jones of Walnut Ridge to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission today at the AGFC’s Witt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center in the River Market District of downtown Little Rock.