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The highlight of the ninth annual Buffalo River Elk
Festival was the drawing for 18 elk hunting permits
awarded by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Two
other hunters obtained permits through fund-raising
activities of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
As in past seasons, this year's elk hunting will be on public lands
of the Buffalo National River and the AGFC's Gene Rush
Wildlife Management Area, as well as adjacent private
lands within Elk Zones 1 through 4. The 2006 elk season
will be again be broken into two segments: Sept. 25 to
29 and Dec. 4 to 8.
Just four of the hunters will be in the field in
September. The other permits are for the December hunt,
when weather will be cooler. One of the 18 permits for
hunting in Elk Zones 1 through 4, mostly public land,
was earmarked as a youth elk permit for a hunter under
16 years old. This is the fifth year for the youth elk
permit. Commissioners of the AGFC continue to look for chances to involve and encourage young
people of the state to participate in hunting and
fishing.
This permit is unique in another way, too. It specifies
either-sex elk, meaning the hunter can kill either a
bull elk or a cow elk. Since Arkansas elk hunting began
in 1998, permits other than youth elk permits for elk
hunting zones 1 through 4 have specified which kind of
elk could be taken. The youth permit will be for the
December segment of the 2006 elk hunt.
To be eligible to win the elk permit, youths must have
successfully completed a hunter education course.
The September hunt will be by four winners of
bull permits, two drawn Saturday and two others who were
high bidders at fund-raising events sponsored by the
Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, which donates most of the
proceeds to the Game and Fish Commission for elk program
work.
Youth Elk Hunt Permit (December Hunt)
Tanner Nichols, Jonesboro, Zone 3, Either – Sex
September Bull Elk Hunt Permits
Charles Platt, Sherwood, Zone 1
Russell Brown, Dardanelle, Zone 2
December Bull Elk Hunt Permit
Derrek Nokes, Prescott, Zone 1
James Corley, Maumelle, Zone 2
Rachel Ornsbey, Rover, Zone 4
December Antlerless Elk Hunt Permits
Zone 1
Eric Francis, Fayetteville
John Gillihan, Batesville
Woods, Huntsville
Zone 2
Roy Prouty, Mountain Home
William McCutcheon, Jacksonville
Belynda Bailey, Waldron
Zone 3
Chad Binz, Ozark
Larry Hopkins, Mountain View
Laura James, Garfield
Zone 4
Shane Cooper, Clarksville
Sheila Schulze, Elkins
Josiah Goodman, Green Forest
Permits
purchased through auctions by the Rocky Mountain Elk
Foundation
Patrick Gilligan, San Francisco, Zone 3, Bull (September
Hunt)
Walton Short, Magnolia, Zone 4, Bull (September Hunt)
The applications and permits were free, although a
number of applicants sent donations earmarked for elk
program work. Two separate permit elk hunts with a quota
of five elk per hunt will be in a private land hunting
zone in Newton, Boone and Carroll counties.
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