OPINION

OPINION | REX NELSON: The conservation kings


In 1911, with wild game populations declining rapidly across the country due to market hunting, Arkansas was one of just seven states with no conservation agency. In the halls of state government at Little Rock, legislators began discussing the creation of such an agency. Heated debates took place during the next four years.

Finally, in March 1915, Gov. George Washington Hays signed an act creating what's now the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. There initially were five commissioners (there are now seven), and the agency was funded with revenue from fines and license fees. D.G. Beauchamp of Paragould was the first chairman.

"The first 30 years were tumultuous," Jeff Williams writes for the Central Arkansas Library System's Encyclopedia of Arkansas. "The agency required flexible regulations that could change with wildlife and habitat programs. Amendment 35 broke the agency's direct connection with the Legislature when it was passed by popular vote in 1944. The amendment removed AGFC from the whims of changing gubernatorial administrations and the Legislature."

By removing political pressure, regulations could be enforced. Before Amendment 35, wardens could inspect hunters and anglers for illegally taken fish and game, but they didn't have the authority to arrest poachers or issue citations. After passage of the constitutional amendment, those officers could write citations and make arrests.

Another milestone in AGFC history came in 1996 with passage of Amendment 75, which levied a statewide sales tax of one-eighth cent for conservation and state parks. AGFC receives 45 percent of the revenues. I'm proud that it was among the first big projects on which I worked after joining the staff of Gov. Mike Huckabee on his first day in office in July 1996.

Now, more than a quarter of a century after passage of Amendment 75, I'm sharing lunch with the AGFC's young director, Austin Booth, and its newest commissioner, longtime friend Philip Tappan. It's fitting that we're eating fish while discussing game and fish matters.

Booth was just 34 when he was hired as the agency's 19th director in May 2021. The Scott native, who grew up hunting and fishing, attended high school at Little Rock Catholic and then received his college degree from The Citadel, a famous military school in Charleston, S.C. Booth later received a law degree from the University of South Carolina.

Booth served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2011-19. When he was hired a year ago, he was chief of staff for the state Department of Veterans Affairs.

It was time for someone from outside the agency with fresh ideas. It also was time for someone young and full of energy. Never has the AGFC mission been more important. The state's ability to attract and retain talented people will rest in part on protecting and enhancing Arkansas' outdoor recreational attributes. Those attributes can give Arkansas the edge in recruiting talent.

Booth understands how important the thousands of acres owned by AGFC are to the future of the state. He also understands the need to work far more closely than in the past with agencies such as the state Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, state Department of Commerce and state Department of Agriculture.

Booth realizes that AGFC lands aren't just for hunters and fishermen. There are hikers, birdwatchers and others who must feel welcome, especially during months with no hunting seasons.

"Other than my faith, family and the Marine Corps, nothing has impacted my life more than the Arkansas outdoors," he tells me during lunch at Soul Fish in downtown Little Rock. "You don't have to know a lot about conservation to realize that it takes tremendous effort to protect what we have. I don't want to be the director who talks to kids about the good ol' days of hunting and fishing in Arkansas. I want these to be the good ol' days."

There are plenty of entrenched bureaucrats who resist new ways of doing things, but Booth is quick to tell me he "wouldn't have joined the Marine Corps if I were afraid of a fight. For example, I look at the dramatic things we're going to have to do in the years ahead to save our green-tree reservoirs for public duck hunting. Since I grew up hunting these places, the fight is personal for me."

Booth also has a keen understanding of how important outdoor activities are to the cultural fabric of a place that advertises itself as the Natural State.

"If we don't do a better job maintaining public lands, the outdoor character of this state is going to change," he says. "It's going to become the 'haves' who can afford to join private clubs and the 'have nots' who can't. We won't allow that to happen. We must ensure those public lands are available to all Arkansans and that they're in good shape. What does it mean to be an Arkansan? Much of that is defined by time spent outdoors."

Tappan, a Helena native who graduated in 1983 from the University of Arkansas with a degree in finance and banking, understands Booth's approach. Tappan made that clear last July when he was named to the commission, stating that the outdoor lifestyle is foundational to Arkansas' culture and economy.

"You don't have to be sick to get better," Tappan said that day. "I think that applies to AGFC transitioning with a new director and new commissioner. I'm not critical of anything we've done in the past, but I'm looking to improve even more. ... Hunting, fishing and other outdoor activities are the most experiential learning experiences in life, and the woods are the most restorative places on Earth."


Senior Editor Rex Nelson's column appears regularly in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He's also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried.com.


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