Todd Shields
To manage hunting traffic at St. Francis Sunken Lands Wildlife Management Area, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission proposed a permit-only system for the lower portion of the WMA at its monthly committee meetings Wednesday at Little Rock.
The debate over the proposed regulation lasted about an hour. It passed 6-1, with Phillip Tappan of Little Rock dissenting. It’s the first split vote within the commission in years. Tappan did not oppose the idea as a whole or the reasoning behind it. He argued for a slightly different format.
Having passed out of committee, the proposal will be subject to a 30-day comment period, after which the commission will vote to approve or reject the proposal in August.
Randy Zellers, assistant chief of communications for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, said the proposal would establish permit-only waterfowl hunting on about 1,000-acres of tupelo and cypress forest along the St. Francis River. The 4.6-mile section is on the southernmost part of the WMA, which is more than 30 miles long. If the commission approves the regulation as currently worded, the permits will be awarded weekly through a random, online drawing. The format is similar to the one used at Steve N. Wilson Raft Creek WMA.
Doug Schoenrock, the Game and Fish Commission’s director, said the proposed regulation will create 20-25 public “markers” or hunting spots. A successful applicant may bring as many as three companions, with a maximum of four in a hunting party. A permit will be good for one day only. Schoenrock said this will eliminate one group of hunters monopolizing a hunting spot for multiple days.
There will also be a 150-yard buffer between the markers to avoid conflicts. Private landowners will not be required to have a permit to hunt on private land adjoining the WMA.
The most vigorous debate centered on whether hunting should be allowed for seven days or four days. Tappan advocated reserving four days per week for hunting and suspending hunting for three days to allow ducks to rest. The other six commissioners demurred, saying they did not want to reduce hunting opportunity. Tappan felt strongly enough about creating a rest period for ducks that he voted against the proposal.
Zellers said commissioners want to know if hunters prefer having rest days each week — Monday, Wednesday and Friday, which he said is consistent with other waterfowl hunting areas where hunting is allocated by permits only.
“Permits will be for marked locations within the unit.” Zellers said. “Permit winners will be able to bring three hunting companions on their designated hunt day. Permit winners and their guests must remain on public land within 150 yards of their designated location. The exact number of locations has not been finalized, but will be based on safety and consideration to distance from area boundaries and private land. Traditionally popular locations within the unit will be prioritized for inclusion in the draw.”
Hunters will be able to apply for a single day of the weekend, from Thursday through Sunday two weeks before the week they are applying for.
Knowing the agency’s tumultuous history with hunters in this area, commissioners were extremely cautious about the precise wording of this regulation. In 2012, the commission enraged local hunters in this area when it outlawed private duck blinds in the St. Francis Sunken Lands WMA. Private duck blinds had been long established when the commission, then under the leadership of the late director Loren Hitchcock, banned private property on the state-owned WMA. The action prompted multiple hearings within the Arkansas legislature.
The southernmost portion of the WMA is very popular for its excellent duck hunting. Overcrowding is a chronic issue, Schoenrock said. Separating hunters and allocating opportunity through a randomly-drawn permit system will alleviate overcrowding and provide a more enjoyable hunting experience.
“We’re making it safer and providing more opportunity for people to use it,” Schoenrock said. “The place has been like a Walmart parking lot. We’re talking about 4.6 miles of river on a 30-plus mile WMA. The rest of the WMA will be open seven days a week with no draw on a navigable waterway.”
Brad Carner, the AGFC’s deputy director, said the drawings will be held weekly, and the first application period will open two weeks before duck season. The drawings will be conducted on Monday mornings, and applicants will be notified by email about the status of their applications.
Despite concerns expressed by some non-hunters and non-anglers, the commission did not discuss its new regulation that requires non-hunters and non-anglers to purchase a $10.50 permit to use wildlife management areas. Zellers said purchases of the new permit will not increase the commission’s apportionment of federal aid dollars.
“If non-hunters and non-anglers want to contribute to the mission, they would help us more if they buy a fishing license for the same price,” Zellers said.
Fishing licenses and hunting licenses contribute to the formula upon which the federal government apportions federal aid dollars for fish and wildlife conservation.
Also, the commission did not discuss a new regulation that eliminated Special Use Area designations from portions of Camp Robinson WMA and Perry Mikles Blue Mountain WMA. These areas were previously reserved for bird dog field trials. Even when field trials were not being held, the public was not allowed to hunt on the SUAs, which totaled about 9,000 acres.
Zellers said the former SUAs are now subject to the standard wildlife habitat management practices, the most important of which is prescribed burning. Zellers said prescribed burning must be conducted in a narrow time window, and bird dog field trials often conflict with the agency’s prescribed burning schedule.
Zellers said that field trials may still be held at Camp Robinson and Blue Mountain WMAs, but that the commission will no longer manage the areas around field trial activities.
