The Game and Fish Commission's monthly work meeting Wednesday was one of the most bizarre things we've experienced in quite some time.
It started at 10 a.m. when commission chairman Emon Mahony read a long, detailed outline of the issues he expects the commission to address in the coming year. We covered a few of the highlights in Thursday's column, but that only scratched the surface.
Most chairmen present goals to the commission in their first meeting. These speeches take various forms, but they are usually very general in nature. The commission listens politely and then gets on with business.
Not this time. The commission spent nearly an hour parsing, debating and disputing various points in the Mahony Manifesto.
That was just the appetizer.
One of Mahony's discussion items involved changing the spring turkey season framework to provide better, if not more, hunter opportunity. The commission jumped on that right away, with Commissioner Ken Reeves of Harrison broaching the possibility of opening the 2016 spring turkey season a week earlier to coincide with a perceived peak in gobbling activity.
Brad Carner, chief of the AGFC's wildlife management division, was against it and was prepared with a veritable armory of data to support his objection. He presented a compelling case that contested the perception that turkeys have stopped or significantly curtailed gobbling by late April, when our seasons have started in recent years.
It was almost like a parliamentary debate. The exchanges were spirited and passionate but respectful. The commissioners, two of whom are attorneys and expert cross-examiners, peppered Carner with questions, and Carner parried admirably. Naturally, the charged atmosphere got everyone's dander up, but as his arguments gained traction the commissioners started arguing among themselves.
About an hour and 20 minutes into this firefight came word that Gov. Asa Hutchinson had arrived with Joe Morgan, his new appointment to fill the vacant seat on the commission. Director Mike Knoedl called a timeout to attend the ceremony, and six highly agitated commissioners and a posse of highly agitated staff trudged downstairs to the auditorium for the ceremony.
Oblivious to the back story, the governor introduced Morgan and Morgan gave a brief statement. The commissioners welcomed Morgan and exchanged pleasantries with Hutchinson and his staff, then dashed back upstairs to continue their debate.
It was as if the bell had sounded for round two. The discussion resumed even more vigorously for another 80 minutes or so.
For a minute it threatened to turn ugly. Mark Hooks, manager of Bayou Meto WMA, has contributed significantly to turkey research in Arkansas and offered a lengthy perspective. He mentioned some comments that James Earl Kennamer made in 2010 at a two-day turkey summit at Mayflower. Kennamer, the chief conservation officer for the National Wild Turkey Federation, presided over the summit, which drew biologists from a number of state and federal resource management agencies.
After the second reference to the summit, Mahony lashed out at Hooks. He said the summit had been held at a time when the commission couldn't attend and that it had no credibility as far as he was concerned.
"You locked the commission out, and I haven't forgotten it," Mahony said icily.
It was reminiscent of a 2009 meeting when Mahony excoriated Mike Widner, the AGFC's former turkey biologist, over his support of continuing the fall turkey season.
Hooks, one of the most respected employees in the AGFC, didn't say another word. He didn't organize the summit and was not to blame for the slight.
That discussion ended with the commission proposing to start the 2016 spring turkey season April 9, a week earlier than usual. It will be the same length, 16 days, as last year.
Then the commission moved on to the next topic, banning spinning wing decoys at Bayou Meto WMA and Dave Donaldson Black River WMA. On another day that would have been as lively as the turkey debate, but the commissioners didn't have enough steam.
Luke Naylor, the AGFC's waterfowl biologist, said surveys consistently show that hunters are 50-50 on the issue and there is no great public outcry to ban spinning wing decoys on WMAs.
"Well, the people that don't want them better start filling out more of those cards," said Commissioner Fred Brown of Corning.
A few commissioners nodded in agreement, but that discussion was over.
Sports on 07/19/2015