Arkansas 2014-15 Hunting Seasons Set

Commission sets 2014-15 deer seasons

Deer season dates for the 2014-15 deer hunting season were set at the April 17, 2014 meeting of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, held in Little Rock:

Archery

• All zones: Sept. 27-Feb. 28, 2015.

Private Land Antlerless-Only  Modern Gun Hunt

• Zones 1, 1A, 2, 3, 6, 6A, 8, 8A, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 16A and 17: Oct. 11-15.

Muzzleloader

• Zones 1, 1A, 2, 3, 4A, 5A, 6, 6A, 7, 8, 8A, 10, 11, 14 and 15: Oct. 18-26 and Dec. 13-15.
• Zones 9, 12, 13, 16, 16A and 17: Oct. 18-26 and Dec. 29-31.
• Zones 4, 4B, 5 and 5B: Closed.

Youth Modern Gun Deer Hunts

• All zones: Nov. 1-2 and Jan. 3-4, 2015.

Modern Gun

• Zones 1, 1A, 2, 3, 6, 6A, 7, 8, 8A, 10 and 11: Nov. 8-30 and Dec. 26-28.
• Zone 4: Nov. 8-9 and Dec. 26-28.
• Zone 5: Nov. 8-9, Nov. 15-16 and Dec. 26-28.
• Zones 4A, 5A, 14 and 15: Nov. 8-Dec. 7 and Dec. 26-28.
• Zones 4B and 5B: Nov. 8-16 and Dec. 26-28.
• Zones 9, 12 and 13: Nov. 8-Dec. 14 and Dec. 26-28.
• Zone 16, 16A and 17: Nov. 8-Dec. 28.

The commission also approved the harvest of feral hogs only during bear, deer and elk firearms seasons on certain WMAs. The regulation permits some taking of nuisance feral hogs, without promoting the recreational hunting of feral hogs, on Commission-controlled property.
In other business, the Commission:

• Authorized AGFC Director Mike Knoedl, on behalf of the AGFC, to enter into an agreement to purchase 42 acres on Highway 7 near Jasper. Purchase price of the property is $250,000. The purchase will go forward after an appraisal and review, environmental analysis, survey, title commitment and other due diligence.
• Discussed the Cane Creek Lake and Lake Chicot drawdowns and the daily creel limits on the two fisheries.
• Authorized AGFC Director Mike Knoedl, on behalf of the AGFC, to enter into an agreement to purchase 959 acres adjacent to the Steve N. Wilson Raft Creek Bottoms Wildlife Management Area near Georgetown in White County. Purchase price of the property is $1.8 million. The purchase will go forward after an appraisal and review, environmental analysis, survey, title commitment and other due diligence. The AGFC has secured $1 million through a North American Wetlands Conservation Act grant to begin the acquisition and has a second NAWCA grant in review that would provide the balance of the anticipated purchase price.
• Reviewed the 2013-14 deer harvest. AGFC Deer Program Coordinator Cory Gray told Commissioners that hunters checked 213,199 deer. The harvest is the second highest on record behind the 2012-13 record of 213,487 deer. Compared to last season, the buck harvest decreased slightly from 110,448 to 105,952 while the doe harvest increased from 103,039 to 107,247.
• Agreed to execute a quitclaim deed on a 5.72-acre tract of the Gene Rush Buffalo River WMA in Searcy County. A land survey and title search revealed a claim of ownership by Kathryn Rogers superior to AGFC’s interest. The AGFC will quitclaim the land to Rogers. The agency’s title insurance will reimburse the AGFC $2,000 per acre for the loss of the acreage.
• Honored 35 AGFC employees for their years of service to the agency. The group represented 430 years of experience.

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Commission sets 2013-14 deer hunting seasons

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission set the state’s deer hunting seasons last week, with modern gun deer season opening Nov. 9, archery season opening Sept. 28, and muzzleloader season opening Oct. 19. The deer season dates are part of the 2013-2014 general hunting regulations approved during the Commission’s monthly meeting.
To see a summary of the 2012-13 hunting regulations, go to: http://www.agfc.com/enforcement/Pages/EnforcementRegulations.aspx.
In other business, the Commission:

• Approved a strategic plan for the agency that outlines the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s mission, vision and goals, and articulates the Commission’s core values.
• Reviewed the 2012-2013 deer harvest. AGFC Deer Program Coordinator Cory Gray told Commissioners that hunters checked a record 213,487 deer, an increase of 11 percent from the 2011-2012 deer season.
• Approved a $40,000 budget transfer to help in the development of the Devil’s Eyebrow Natural Area in Benton County.
• Approved a $96,519 budget increase for an Enforcement Education trailer.
• Approved a $64,000 budget increase from surplus Recreational Boating funds to purchase patrol boats for the Enforcement Division.
• Approved clarification of fishing regulations related to trout fishing and commercial turtle harvest restrictions. Language regarding trout waters was inadvertently deleted from previously adopted trout permit requirements, and portions of Randolph County were added to regulations governing turtle harvest.
• Approved the adoption of the Arkansas Aquatic Nuisance Species Plan. The National Invasive Species Act of 2006 requires all states to have an aquatic nuisance species plan. Arkansas’s plan has been developed by a task force representing state and federal resource management agencies, nongovernmental organizations, private aquaculture interests, civic groups and private individuals.
• Authorized AGFC Director Mike Knoedl to employ third-party contractors with expertise in oil spill remediation to assist the AGFC in the wake of the Mayflower oil spill.

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