|
Commissioners from the Arkansas Game and Fish
Commission today unanimously voted down a proposal that
would have required permits for hunters who want to use
dogs during the upcoming deer season in parts of
northern Arkansas. The proposal was similar, but on a
much smaller scale, to a proposal last year that also
failed to gain approval by the Commission.
The proposal considered by the Commission included a
deer dog permit zone in the Ozark National Forest and
private lands in southern and southwestern Newton County
as well as very small portions of Madison, Johnson and
Pope counties. Rep. Roy Ragland of Marshall asked that
the Commission revisit the issue of allowing deer
hunting with dogs before last year's vote. He returned
again this year to ask that they revisit the issue on a
small scale.
In other business, the commission:
*Increased the non-resident annual all game hunting
license from $225 to $300 and a $25 increase on the
5-day non resident all game license. The 5-day license
will now cost $150. The effective date of the increase
will be May 22, 2006. Complaints from Arkansas residents
about high license fees for hunting in border states was
one of the reasons behind the increased license fees.
*Approved a proclamation by Gov. Mike Huckabee to start
free fishing weekend at noon, June 9, and to end at
midnight, June 11. Licenses will not be required for
fishing in Arkansas during that period.
*Approved a ban on the importation of waterfowl into the
state to reduce the state's potential risk for avian
influenza.
*Approved boundary revisions in deer zones 12 and 14.
Zone 12 will now extend from Saratoga to Fulton along
Highway 355 in Hempstead County. The modification will
allow a more suitable deer season and bag limit on
approximately 24,000 acres in southwest Arkansas.
*Approved a recommendation to adopt a two legal buck bag
limit for deer zones 1, 2, 6, 7, 8 and 10. The buck bag
limit would also be two in Cherokee Prairie Natural
Area, Dardanelle, Fort Chaffee, Frog Bayou, Galla Creek,
H.E. Flanagan Prairie Natural Area, Mount Magazine,
Nimrod Lloyd Millwood, Ozark Lake, Petit Jean River and
Rainey wildlife management areas.
*Approved creation of DeGray Lake Wildlife Management
Area in southwest Arkansas. The AGFC and U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers have been cooperatively managing the area
for a number of years.
*Approved naming the new Bull Shoals Nursery Pond after
Dr. Ralph Bowers and Tommy Donoho. The two were
instrumental in obtaining Congressional support for the
construction of the nursery pond.
|
