Game and Fish Commission hears CWD proposals

Prohibiting the rehabilitation of deer statewide and the statewide prohibition of wildlife feeding that concentrates deer populations were among initial proposals introduced Thursday concerning potential regulations for the 2016-17 deer hunting season and the management of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in Arkansas.

Wildlife management staff presented 14 proposals to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission during its regular monthly meeting in Little Rock.

AGFC approves 2016-17 hunting regulations

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission approved general hunting regulations concerning small game, furbearers, migratory birds and turkeys for the 2016-17 hunting season at Thursday’s meeting.

Approved regulations changes include:

Moving the spring turkey season opener to the second Monday in April (April 10, 2017) with youth turkey season being the Saturday and Sunday immediately before the opening day (April 8-9, 2017).

Prohibiting the use of all mechanical decoys that create motion and simulated wing-movement decoys on Commission-owned wildlife management areas and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service national wildlife refuges.

Requiring waterfowl hunters to be off water-inundated areas or water courses on WMAs after noon from the first day of the first segment of regular duck season until the last day of the last segment of regular duck season.

Increasing the horsepower limit of surface-drive motors from 36 hp to 37 hp.

Prohibiting boat access on greentree reservoirs on Dave Donaldson Black River WMA after noon, except on Black River and Little River.

Setting duck, coot and merganser season as Nov. 19-27; Dec. 8-23, and Dec. 26-Jan. 29, with youth waterfowl days being Dec. 3, 2016 and Feb. 4, 2017.

Confirming deer season opening dates as Sept. 24 for archery, Oct. 15 for muzzleloader, Nov. 12 for modern gun and Oct. 29 for antlerless-only modern gun with a statewide youth hunt Nov. 5-6.

Adding a youth modern gun deer permit hunt for Rick Evans Grandview Prairie WMA.

Adding a private lands antlerless-only deer hunt in deer zones 4, 4A, 4B, 5, 5A, 5B, 7 and 11.

The proposals are aimed at slowing the spread of CWD, a neurological disorder that affects cervids like white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk and moose.

Chronic wasting disease poses a significant threat to a deer herd estimated at about 1 million animals and an elk herd estimated at about 600 animals in Arkansas. The disease is believed to be caused by pathogenic proteins, called prions, that destroy the animal's central nervous system. It is always fatal and is not preventable.

Arkansas became the 24th state with a confirmed case of chronic wasting disease in February when a cow elk killed by a hunter in October in Newton County tested positive for the disease. Since then, 81 deer and three elk from Newton, Boone, Madison and Scott counties have tested positive for the disease.

"If we fail to develop and implement an effective control program, we risk the future of deer hunting along with all of the social and economic benefits wild deer and elk provide to the people," said Steve Cook, chairman of the Game and Fish Commission's regulations committee.

The initial proposals presented Thursday were:

• Prohibit the feeding of wildlife statewide, with exceptions for bird feeders and other types of feeding that do not concentrate deer.

• Allow deer and elk hunting with the use of bait Oct. 1-Dec. 31 statewide.

• Prohibit the use of scents and lures that contain natural cervid urine, effective Jan. 1, 2017.

• Prohibit the rehabilitation of deer statewide.

• Establish a CWD management zone in counties with known positives and those close to known positives.

• Establish a private land CWD management program in the CWD management zone to allow landowners to take additional deer off their property to reduce deer density and slow the spread of the disease.

• Prohibit the transport of certain portions of cervid carcasses outside the CWD management zone. Only deboned meat, cleaned skull plates, hides, teeth and taxidermy products would be allowed to be transported out of the CWD management zone.

• Allow button bucks to be checked as antlerless deer in deer zones and wildlife management areas within the CWD management zone.

• Remove the three-point rule and increase the bag limit from four to five deer and the antlerless bag limit to three with firearms in deer zones 1 and 2 in Northwest Arkansas.

• Liberalize deer season on Bearcat Hollow, Buffalo National River, Gene Rush, Ozark National Forest, Piney Creeks, Sweden Creek Natural Area and White Rock wildlife management areas.

• Establish a core elk management zone of Boone, Carroll, Madison, Newton and Searcy counties, and allow hunters to harvest any elk found outside these counties during deer season.

• Require all elk harvested to be submitted for CWD testing.

• Increase the private land antlerless elk quota in the core elk management zone from 24 to 40.

• Create a non-commercial hunting enclosure permit for high-fenced facilities, and require those facilities to submit CWD samples for all deer that die within the respective facility, allow annual inspections, and maintain accurate deer harvest records. There also would be a moratorium on the issuance of new permits after July 1, 2017.

The proposed regulations will be presented Tuesday and Thursday at public meetings throughout the state. The meetings will be streamed live on the commission's YouTube channel, youtu.be/fATqwpwc06c.

Proposals also will be discussed at 8 p.m. Monday during a live call-in show on AETN.

All proposals related to chronic wasting disease will be voted on in June, and commissioners stressed Thursday that additional proposals could be added by then.

"We have more people coming in to talk with us at our June meeting, and there is a stronger than normal possibility that the regulations we finally vote on will be different than those presented today," Chairman Emon Mahony said. "Everyone has done a superb job of getting us where we are today as quickly as they have, and I appreciate all those efforts."

Sports on 05/20/2016

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