16 WMAs designated for increased deer management

— Recently, 16 Arkansas Game and Fish Commission-owned wildlife management areas around the state were designated as the Sweet Sixteen. The program’s purpose is to provide a more diverse hunting opportunity within Arkansas. The 16 areas are throughout the state and were selected based on location and deer-management potential.

AGFC deer biologist Cory Gray said a free permit will be required on the 16 WMAs.

“In order to capture hunter use information on the WMAs, a free Sweet Sixteen Area Use Permit is required prior to any hunting activities,” Gray said. “These permits will be available by Sept. 15 and can be found only on our (AGFC) website. Hunters will visit our website, enter their contact information, select the WMAs they plan to hunt, and then print their free use permit,” he said.

Gray explained that deer management will focus on both the bucks and does, and target deer populations will correspond with available habitat present.

“Females will be managed to ensure a productive, balanced deer herd,” he said. “The number of fawns recruited into the population annually is a crucial component in deer management.”

Gray said that in buck management, there are several ways to reach a desired outcome: limit hunter days, limit harvest methods, reduce bag limits or apply antler restrictions.

“The first three are the easiest, and certainly the most simple; however, antler restrictions have proven to be the most effective at shifting buck-harvest pressure into target age classes,” Gray said. “Using these methods, biologists are able to develop antler-restriction criteria that will focus the harvest on age-specific bucks. This type of management will be incorporated into the Sweet Sixteen where peak buck harvest will consist of 3 1/2-year-olds and older.”

Each of the Sweet Sixteen will have a management plan outlining deer-management activities. This plan will be incorporated into the area’s master plan that details all management on the property. Plans will outline harvest objectives, management strategies and monitoring.

Data will be gathered to ensure that initiated management strategies are successfully working, Gray said.

“Biologists will collect a wide range of data from each of the Sweet Sixteen, including harvest totals; biological indices from harvest deer; thermal-imagery surveys to provide deer-density estimates; browse surveys to determine plant-species diversity, abundance and deer utilization; and summer disease monitoring to ensure parasite loads are within acceptable levels,” he said.“All data collected will be analyzed to monitor management practices. Management strategies can be modified depending on data analysis results.”

Harvest data and biological indices will be collected annually, but other forms of monitoring (thermal imagery, browse surveys and summer disease monitoring) will be collected on a three-year rotation. This schedule will result in a full comprehensive data collection from each WMA every third year. The Sweet Sixteen WMAs and their monitoring rotations are: Year 1◊Ed Gordon Point Remove WMA◊Hope Upland WMA◊Mike Freeze Wattensaw WMA◊Moro Big Pine Natural Area WMA◊Bayou Meto WMA Year 2◊Freddie Black Choctaw Island Deer Research WMA◊Harold E. Alexander Spring River WMA◊Shirey Bay Rainey Brake WMA◊Dr. Lester Sitzes, III Bois D’Arc WMA◊Sheffield Nelson Dagmar WMA Year 3◊Rick Evans Grandview Prairie WMA◊Scott Henderson Gulf Mountain WMA◊Trusten Holder WMA◊Henry Gray Hurricane Lake WMA◊Dave Donaldson Black River WMA◊McIlroy Madison County WMA

River Valley Ozark, Pages 137 on 07/22/2012

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