The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission approved a slate of hunting regulations at its monthly meeting Thursday, which was held by teleconference in keeping with social-distancing protocols.
Many of the regulations were housekeeping items that consolidated existing regulations. Among these were several items that reduced the number of deer management zones by combining previously existing zones.
Two waterfowl-related regulations prompted extended debate among the seven members of the commission. One was a proposal to add 14 days to the light goose hunting season for a total of 88 days, with a daily bag limit of two light geese. This definition includes white-fronted geese, snow geese, blue geese and Ross's geese. Previously, the season for light geese was 74 days with a three-bird daily bag limit.
The other proposal will require waterfowl hunters to be off all waterways at Bayou Meto Wildlife Management Area and Black River Dave Donaldson Wildlife Management Area. The commission passed both items.
A central question to lengthening the light goose season was whether reducing the daily bag limit might actually discourage hunter participation. However, Brad Carner, chief of the agency's wildlife management division, said that some hunters are concerned that lengthening the season would disturb ducks that arrive in Arkansas early in the fall.
Requiring hunters to be off the water at the two WMAs also prompted considerable debate. Commissioner Bobby Martin of Little Rock questioned the need for such a regulation and cited what he said he believes is a lack of data to support such a regulation.
"When we are challenged by the public to present the science on an issue, we are often not able to do it," Martin said.
Commissioner Stan Jones, who owns a major duck hunting operation in northeast Arkansas, said that ducks demonstrably vacate areas where hunters are present in the middle of the day and afternoon.
"When we get off my places at eight or nine in the morning and ducks have the rest of the day to rest, we have more ducks," Jones said. "When we stay out there until noon, those places aren't worth a dime. If you scout around until one o'clock, it absolutely does run the ducks out."
Commissioner Anne Marie Doramus of Little Rock said hunters who live near Bayou Meto WMA expressed overwhelming support for the regulation.
In related business, the commission restricted boat access all day on waterfowl-focused WMAs for five days before waterfowl season and during splits in season segments to reduce disturbance to ducks using the areas outside of hunting times.
Another regulation will allow all-day waterfowl hunting on WMAs on the last day of regular duck season and during special youth and veteran waterfowl hunts.
The commission also passed turkey hunting regulations for the 2021 spring turkey season to:
• Condense 18 turkey management zones into two zones. Zone boundaries are based on county lines. Zone 1 will have a nine-day spring turkey season and a season bag limit of one bearded gobbler. Zone 2 will have a longer season with a season limit of two adult gobblers.
• Prohibit the killing of bearded hens.
• Allow hunters to kill one gobbler annually on WMAs.
• Allow hunters to kill only one turkey during the first seven days of the season and allow youths to kill just one turkey during the special youth spring turkey season.
• Open spring turkey season on the third Monday in April and extend the season length in Zone 2 to 21 days. Start dates will vary annually from April 15-21. Stop dates will vary from May 5-11.
New deer hunting regulations include:
• Adding Independence and Jackson counties to the Chronic Wasting Disease Management Zone beginning Sept. 1.
• Moving the private land Antlerless-only Modern Gun Deer Hunt to Dec. 29-31.
• Increasing deer bag limits in deer zones 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 13 to five deer.
• Reducing deer bag limits in deer zones 12 and 17 to five deer.
The commission also increased the bear quota in Bear Zone 1 from 340 to 500 bears.
For alligator hunting on private land, the commission established a quota system similar to that used for private land elk hunting. Public land alligator hunting will still be conducted through a random drawing.
Sports on 05/24/2020