LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KATV) — The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has announced that they will be temporarily closing several wildlife management areas across the states for short periods on various days from January 19 to March 31 in an effort to increase public safety as professional pilots and crews from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Wildlife Services conduct aerial operations to help control feral hogs.
AGFC Director Dough Schoenrock said that these flights depend on the weather and will not take place during any of Arkansas’s duck-hunting WMAs until after the Youth and Veteran’s Duck Hunt, which is set for February 7-8.
“Individual WMAs will only be closed to public access for one to two days each to allow for the aerial flights and are scheduled to occur at a time where very few hunters will be affected but the conditions are still optimal for feral hog control. I also want to point out that these efforts are at no cost to the AGFC,” he noted.
Visitors will not be allowed at these wildlife management areas during these closings in hopes to provide public safety. The closing dates allow for some flexibility to take advantage of resources over large contiguous tracts of habitat.
During the closures of WMAs, AGFC and partnering agencies will be on-site to ensure road and access closures.
The temporary closures will include:
Big Lake WMAU of A Pine Tree Experimental Station Wildlife Demonstration AreaSteve N. Wilson Raft Creek Bottoms WMAGeorge H. Dunklin Jr. Bayou Meto WMATrusten Holder WMAFreddie Black Choctaw Island WMA Deer Research Area West and East Unit, Seven Devils WMACut-Off Creek WMADr. Lester Sitzes III Bois d’Arc WMARick Evans Grandview Prairie WMAMcIlroy Madison County WMAGene Rush WMA
The aerial operations will serve as the epitome of planning and coordination with multiple partners condensed into multiple days of operation.
“These strategic control initiatives are vital for managing feral hogs and protecting the long-term integrity of our conservation lands,” Farney added.