2015-16 Hunting Regulations Highlights

AGFC meeting at a glance

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission approved new hunting regulations (or took the following actions) Thursday:

• Prohibit the use and possession of alcohol on commission-controlled WMAs, except within campsites and while traveling to and from campsites

• Remove the once-in-a-lifetime purchase restriction on the Deferred Hunter Education License to allow customers to purchase Deferred Hunter Education Licenses as needed

• Increase the quota in bear management zone 1 to 250 bears. Hunters may take 205 bears in Zone 1 in October and 45 bears in November

• Allow harvest of feral hogs on public lands only by hunters engaging in bear, deer or elk hunting activities

• Allow horses and mules on Harold E. Alexander Spring River WMA from Feb. 1-March 1

• Align squirrel, dove, rabbit, and crow seasons at Camp Robinson Special Use Area with statewide regulations

• Align squirrel, dove, rabbit, and crow seasons at Wylie Cox Special Use Area with statewide regulations

• Open all hunting seasons on Harold E. Alexander Spring River WMA from Jan. 5-March 31, as appropriate

• Extend archery deer season through January on the Choctaw Island WMA Deer Research Area East Unit

• Move muzzleloader deer season from October to January on the Choctaw Island WMA Deer Research Area East Unit

• Remove permit requirements for youth deer hunts at Camp Robinson, Holland Bottoms, Blue Mountain, Little Bayou and Shirey Bay Rainey Brake WMAs, and at Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area

• Restrict ATV use on Big Timber WMA except during specified dates and to remove downed game. Use of ATVs on trails will not be allowed

• Change the definition of portable hunting stand to exclude box stands

• Change ATV regulations at Moro Big Pine WMA

• Change the deer modern gun youth permit at DeGray Lake WMA to Oct. 3-4

• Increase modern gun deer hunting permits from 30 to 50 at Galla Creek WMA

• Allow quail hunting during the entire statewide season at Holland Bottoms WMA

• Open rabbit season at Blue Mountain SUA

• Discontinue the requirement that youths must harvest a doe before harvesting a buck during the special youth hunts at Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge

• Reduce the annual deer bag limit at Felsenthal NWR from six deer to two deer. No more than one buck, and up to two does

• Establish a permit requirement for the muzzleloader deer hunt at Felsenthal NWR

• Open deer special youth modern gun hunts at Longview Saline and Warren Prairie WMAs

• Reduce the bag limit from two legal turkeys to one legal turkey for the permit only turkey hunts at Ed Gordon Point Remove and Galla Creek WMAs

• Remove the turkey youth permit requirement for Sulphur River and Rex Hancock Black Swamp WMAs

• Allow a three-day turkey permit hunt (10 permits) with a bag limit of one legal turkey at the UA Pine Tree Experimental Station

Sports on 04/17/2015

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