Infrastructure renovations in Hurricane Lake WMA, including extensive rehabilitation work in what served as the south unit GTR before it was decommissioned, were led by AGFC staff with contributions from several funding and logistical partners, including Ducks Unlimited and the North American Wetlands Conservation Act. Total costs for both renovation projects exceeded $10.7 million. The south GTR unit project, completed in December 2021, was funded by $1.7 million from AGFC, more than $285,000 from Ducks Unlimited and nearly $1 million from a NAWCA grant. Total Glaise Creek project costs exceed $7.73 million: $4.56 million from AGFC, $2 million from NAWCA and $1.15 million from Ducks Unlimited.

“I want to thank Ducks Unlimited. They have been literally the best conservation partners we could ask for to make this project a success,” Booth said. “I’m grateful for that not only because this project is finished, but we have lots of other greentree reservoirs in Arkansas that we’re going to need their same patience and support and partnership in.”

Commission Chairman J.D. Neeley, in his seventh year on the Commission, said, “It seems like yesterday when I first got on the commission, this problem at Henry Gray had popped up … we made our first tour here, it was quite a gut check to see the health and decline of our forest. We really made a commitment at that point to do everything we could, to follow staff’s recommendations to make this better for future generations.”

Physical work on renovating Glaise Creek began in 2022 after 10 years of study and planning, beginning with the 2014 forest health assessments that revealed serious water stress to more than 40 percent of all trees in Hurricane Lake’s GTRs. Further tests continued, and drone flights in 2021 to monitor forest health showed that roughly 3,600 acres of trees had died or were dying.

“It is a truly remarkable day,” AGFC Deputy Director Brad Carner, who formerly headed up the agency’s Wildlife Management Division, said. “This day has literally been over a decade in the making. That’s not an exaggeration. And even prior to that 2014 forest health assessment, staff locally recognized that there were forest health issues here on this WMA but we lacked the data to really validate that and we really needed data to be able to justify making changes moving forward.”

The previous Glaise Creek water-control structure was built in 1974, which replaced two 60-inch screwgate pipes installed in the mid-1960s. The structure was designed to retain water at and below 192 feet msl, but the structure did not sit in the original creek channel. Rather, the bottom of the structure was set several feet above the actual channel, and the structure was much narrower than the natural channel width, greatly restricting the flow of water and often clogging with debris. Water could not be regulated until river levels fell. Trapped water instead stayed stagnant among many of the hardwoods and harmed the red oak component of the forest, causing significant die-off.

The problem may have been best illustrated in the summer of 2020, when late winter and spring White River flood waters that should have long since dissipated remained high throughout the WMA.

Construction began in 2022 to install a much larger, modern water-control structure properly sized to mimic the natural Glaise Creek width and depth with the original creek channel, rather than offset as the older structure had been.

The size of the new structure dwarfs the original, measuring 68 feet long (running north-south) by 25 feet wide (running east-west) and standing more than 30 feet tall. The structure includes six bays that are each 10 feet wide, each housing a single 15-foot tall overshot gate. This allows the new structure to pass five times the water that the previous structure held. Building the base and framing the structure required 1,452 cubic yards of concrete. Operation of gates within the new water-control structure will be conducted based on assessments of forest health and restoration potential, and ongoing forest management activities. The gates can be operated at the touch of a button from a cellphone or a laptop by AGFC biologists. Solar panels atop the structure deliver the power to batteries to operate the system, according to Jason “Buck” Jackson, the AGFC’s wetlands coordinator. This will allow AGFC to have a proactive approach to water management within this bottomland hardwood system, Jackson said.

Hurricane Lake WMA is one of three GTR renovations that have been underway simultaneously in the last few years. Earl Buss Bayou DeView WMA and Shirey Bay Rainey Brake WMA, both in northeastern Arkansas, have seen infrastructure enhancements. Further GTR renovation work is being planned for Dave Donaldson Black River WMA in northeastern Arkansas and George H. Dunklin Jr. Bayou Meto WMA in southeastern Arkansas as well.

“To think that we’re standing here now looking at really what is a good representation of what our renovation initiative will look like moving forward as we go from WMA to WMA, it’s also exciting to announce that we completed just within the past week or two the GTR renovations at Earl Buss Bayou DeView WMA, where we very first started, also in partnership with Ducks Unlimited,” Carner said.

GTRs have been an important part of Arkansas waterfowl habitat and hunting opportunity for decades, and will remain so in the future. GTR infrastructure allows land managers to control the timing and depth of intentional flooding by opening and closing gates along waterways. The AGFC manages about 50,000 acres of GTRs spread across more than a dozen WMAs. The public flooded-timber waterfowl hunting opportunity that has been provided through these GTRs is world-renowned and offers an experience not available in many places.

At Hurricane Lake, like many other WMAs, managers have a best-case scenario for water-level management; but many influences, both internal and external, have led to challenges and adjustments in how management actually occurs within and among years. Water levels and management at Hurricane Lake are greatly influenced by the White River because of its immediate proximity to the WMA and its GTRs.

Much of the infrastructure within these GTRs was constructed more than 50 years ago with an emphasis on holding water. Publicly managed GTRs on WMAs represent especially critical habitats that must be carefully managed for all Arkansans and the state’s public trust to sustain their ecological character and resources for generations to come. The emerging body of scientific information about bottomland hardwood forests and the role that GTRs play must serve as the foundation for renovation planning and implementation and future management. Today, the focus of management must shift to moving water through these systems to maintain forest health.

“This is the largest component of the Hurricane Lake renovation,” Carner said of the Glaise Creek structure. “This process, this restoration initiative, our leaders for that for our agency within the Wildlife Management Division were (chief of Wildlife Management) Luke Naylor, Buck Jackson and (AGFC Statewide Habitat Coordinator) Rob Willey. That’s a multifaceted approach, that’s doing detailed data collection on forest health, it’s doing evaluation on elevation throughout the areas, our infrastructure, lots of design and planning. There is a huge education and communication component.

“This project is far from over. This is a major milestone, a foundational event that enables us to propel us forward here. I’m incredibly, incredibly proud of just all the collective effort from the conservation community … that has made this success.”

The completion of the Glaise Creek water-control structure included reopening a roadway over the structure that provides important access into the WMA for users when water levels on the White River allow.

Carner said, “The local users have been impacted and have made sacrifices and have waited patiently while this important work was underway.”

 

Henry Gray Hurricane Lake WMA Timeline

Early 1930s — Singer Sewing Machine Co. sells a major tract of White County land composed of bottomland hardwoods to Fisher Body Co.

1941 — The land is designated as a game refuge.

1958 — The land is officially named by the AGFC as a wildlife management area.

Mid-1960s — Two 60-inch screwgate pipes are installed to regulate water from Glaise Creek into the bottomland hardwood areas.

1974 — A water-control structure is built on Glaise Creek to replace the two screwgate pipes; this structure is manually operated and allows habitat biologists to retain water at or below 192 feet mean sea level in the WMA. The flood level of Glaise Creek is 192 feet msl. Glaise Creek and Cut-Off Creek, which runs into Glaise Creek, are tributaries of the White River that enter the WMA from the north side, traveling south through the WMA to the river. The Little Red River borders the southern portion of the WMA.

2014 — Data from forest health assessments lead to concerns at the AGFC and other agencies about the health of large portions of bottomland hardwoods in Hurricane Lake WMA.

2016 — The AGFC delays the implementation of boards to hold water in the WMA from the traditional Oct. 1 date to Nov. 15.

2016-17 — Public meetings to discuss GTR management are held throughout eastern, north-central and northeastern Arkansas to explain the need for management changes on Hurricane Lake and all agency GTRs.

2017 — The AGFC announces its intention to cease operation of the 43-year-old Glaise Creek water-control structure for at least the next decade, functionally eliminating the ability to hold water within the north GTR unit. The AGFC also decides that the south GTR unit, showing widespread tree mortality that results in a major construction project to remove earth plugs and water-control structures to allow water to flow unimpeded, will no longer operate as a GTR. The natural channel width and depth in the south unit is restored; access is maintained through the area using a series of bridges and improved low-water crossings.

2018 — AGFC added a 4-foot pipe and screwgate in the bottom of Glaise Creek to allow more drainage and storage.

2021 — Drone flights to monitor forest health confirm what other studies have shown in recent years: That roughly 3,600 acres of trees are dead or dying.

2021 — Infrastructure renovation within the former south GTR unit is completed and AGFC staff begin implementation of a forest management plan within the former unit. Beginning that fall and over the next two fall seasons, staff lead the collection of 1,055 pounds of Nuttall oak acorns from the WMA to be taken to the Arkansas Department of Agriculture Forestry Division Baucum Nursery for planting and growing to seedlings.

2022 — Construction of a modern water-control structure on Glaise Creek begins.

2023 — AGFC staff lead the planting of 40,000 seedlings on 168 acres within the former south GTR unit (survivorship evaluations one year later will indicate 71 percent survival in the north tract of reforestation, an area that sits at 189.17-191.09 feet msl elevation; in lower elevations, seedling survival is 4 percent).

2024 — AGFC staff plan to plant 19,000 Nuttall oak seedlings on 98 acres, focusing on higher-elevation tracts with the WMA where survival is anticipated to be better.

October 2024 — Construction is completed on the water-control structure at Glaise Creek and an earthen dam removed to allow the creek to flow through the structure. The system was designed by Aqua Systems 2000, a Canadian company.

Nov. 7, 2024 — The Glaise Creek water-control structure is dedicated by AGFC leadership and partners.

 

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CUTLINES:

LARGE STRUCTURE
The new water-control structure on Glaise Creek in Henry Gray Hurricane Lake sits in the original creek channel and offers enough passage to help keep water flowing through the WMA when the White River allows. AGFC photo by Mike Wintroath.

SPEAKER
AGFC Diretor Austin Booth spoke to attendees at Thursday’s dedication of the structure, signaling a milestone in greentree reservoir renovations at Henry Gray Hurricane Lake WMA. AGFC photo by Mike Wintroath.

GROUP SPEAKING
From left to right:
U.S. Congressman French Hill speaks with AGFC Director Austin Booth, Commissioner Brandon Adams, Commission Chairman J.D. Neeley and Commissioner Rob Finley at Thursday’s dedication of the Glaise Creek structure on Henry Gray Hurricane Lake WMA. AGFC photo by Mike Wintroath.

MAN ON CATWALK
AGFC Wetlands Program Coordinator Buck Jackson inspects solar arrays that will power overshot gates at the newly completed Glaise Creek structure. AGFC photo by Mike Wintroath.

According to Randy Brents, Assistant Chief of the AGFC Private Lands Habitat Division, roughly 11,871 acres of land has been placed under contracts to enhance habitat for waterfowl this winter. Many of these acres may have been tilled early or left dry during the migration if not for the incentive.

“We have contracted with farmers to flood 10,961 acres of rice fields using surface water sources during a 90-day portion of the waterfowl wintering period, and none of those acres will be tilled, leaving as much waste grain as possible for ducks and geese,” Brents said. “Another 910 acres of native wetland plants will be flooded that can offer even more benefit to waterfowl and other migratory species.”

According to Brents, 127 landowners signed up to implement the flooded rice and wetland practices.

“Those are all acres that are above and beyond what normally would be contracted by other programs,” Brents said. “One of our requirements was that the land couldn’t be enrolled in another cost-share or incentive that paid for flooding.”

Brents said this boom in additional acreage is only a portion of the wetlands being provided by the AGFC and other agencies. The AGFC will fund nearly 16,000 acres of wetlands on private land this season.

“We have another 4,000-plus acres in the Waterfowl Rice Incentive Conservation Enhancement Program this winter that promotes flooded rice fields with an additional caveat that landowners allow some limited public hunting through a permit-based draw system,” Brents said. “And this year, thanks to the federal Migratory Bird Resurgence Initiative, an additional 29,946 acres are enrolled in federal programs to promote wetlands in the state for wildlife benefits. Our private lands biologists have been working hard with landowners to apply for these incentives as well.”

Garrick Dugger, Private Lands Habitat Division Chief, says the vision of this new initiative is simple: “You don’t manage wildlife in a bubble. Whether it’s private or public land, the success of wildlife habitat management depends on the land surrounding you, not just what you control. Even if we manage the public land absolutely perfect, we’re only affecting 10 percent of Arkansas’s land, the rest is up to private landowners, so we want to help with their efforts as well.”

Dugger said the connection between private and public land management is most obvious in migrating birds like waterfowl.

“We know that it takes wetland habitat on a landscape level to provide energy for migrating ducks and geese,” Dugger said. “Even if all of the public land in Arkansas is flooded and full of food, it’s only a fraction of the habitat needed to draw ducks to Arkansas and give them the nutrition they need during and after migration. Private land accounts for so much more of our state’s landmass, and it’s the actions of those landowners that play a pivotal role in wildlife management for us all. If rice fields aren’t wet, hunters everywhere notice it in empty skies and empty game straps.”

The Conservation Incentive Program is an undertaking by the AGFC’s Private Lands Habitat Division and is made possible by Greenway Equipment, an AGFC cultivating partner. Visit www.agfc.com/habitat for more information.

“It is vital that we make strides in our forest management activities to complete this variable retention timber sale while conditions are dry,” Willey said. “By opening up the canopy, we’re promoting the growth of the next generation of forest and putting food on the ground in the form of annual plant seeds, which ducks and deer need. The sale will retain some overhead cover by retaining the best mature willow oaks and Nuttall oaks. The reduction of competition will let these trees produce more acorns for mallards and other wildlife.”

Willey said that during the sale, hunters likely will see logs placed at this staging area due to inconsistent availability of contract hauling for the logging contractor and weather causing site conditions to temporarily deteriorate.

Forest management activities in the Government Cypress Walk-in Area began last year and are just over 58 percent complete. The sale is only a small portion of the long-term management plan to improve the forest health at Bayou Meto for mallards and other wildlife. A similar project was initiated at the Upper Vallier area of the WMA two years ago, which has already produced abundant red oak seedlings to jump-start the next generation of forest for tomorrow’s hunters while retaining some overstory for people currently hunting that area.

Visit https://www.agfc.com/resources/habitat-and-access-improvement/bayou-meto-wma-habitat-project/ to learn more about the Bayou Meto WMA Forest Health Management Project, or visit www.agfc.com/gtr to learn about the AGFC’s greentree reservoir management strategy.

 

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CUTLINES:

LOADING DECK
People accessing Bayou Meto may notice some of the trees being removed from the Government Cypress Unit to improve forest health and regenerate the next generation of valuable red oak species.  Photo by Lorne Green. 

MAP
A 1.1-acre staging area will be noticeable by hunters and other recreationists on Bayou Meto traveling Long Bell Road. 

YOUNG RED OAKS
A similar forest stand improvement at Upper Vallier has seen excellent results in producing red oak seedlings to become the next forest for wildlife and hunters. Photo by Rob Willey.  

“Our goal on GTRs is to promote the red oak component, which provides hard mast for a variety of wildlife, including mallard ducks,” Rob Willey, AGFC Habitat Program coordinator, said. “Past management regimes have been detrimental to this component of the bottomland hardwoods in and around GTRs, and we are working to select the most healthy remnants of that forest and remove their competition through variable retention harvest, encouraging natural regeneration of red oaks to take the place of those less desirable species that have infiltrated the forest.”

Willey points out that he’s already seeing some excellent regeneration of the red oak component of the forest appearing where undesirable or competing trees were removed from the canopy, and aerial flights during the 2023-24 waterfowl season show that many of the areas that underwent variable retention harvest have a considerable amount of overhead cover to retain waterfowl during winter.

“A 40 percent reduction in basal area was prescribed for Bayou Meto,” Willey said. “Post-harvest plot-level evaluations have identified that the residual basal area aligns exactly with those prescribed targets.”

Another mention by auditors on site conditions was the fact that very little rutting takes place on AGFC sites. According to the audit, this is because the AGFC’s wet weather contingency plans include soil types and requires loggers to move to different locations of a sale or postpone harvest completely in the event of wet soil conditions. The resulting sites were “remarkable given most selection harvests were in very wet bottomland areas.”

Images of areas undergoing timber sales for forest stand improvement sometimes circulate on forums and social media, showing bare dirt or debris left behind. As part of the AGFC’s contract requirements, loggers must remove as much limb debris as possible before leaving the site, but some remnants tend to remain in place. A certain amount of debris can be beneficial for wildlife to use as cover until vegetation begins to grow from the increased sunlight penetration promoted by harvest.

“There are a few places where an acre or so is used as a staging area for trucks, but loader sets are developed at a rate of one per 40 acres of harvest operation,” Willey said. “In most cases, a variable retention harvest still retains a good amount of mature trees, but it allows enough sunlight through to get more vegetation growing on the ground. That’s habitat and year-round food for many species of wildlife. And the mature red oaks left behind will see increased opportunity to create acorns for wildlife in winter and to grow the next forest.”

The AGFC is responsible for 365,000 acres of land in Arkansas, 295,000 of which is forested and included in the SFI program. During the last five years only 5,982 of those acres have seen harvests.

“AGFC-managed forests are growing more than 407,000 tons of forest product every year, and in the last five years, we’ve only harvested 10.24 percent of a single year’s annual growth,” Willey said.

Willey says it can be a challenge to complete timber harvests on AGFC properties because the quality of the trees being removed is not high enough to entice many contractors, and the traditionally wet site conditions can drastically shorten the time period contractors have to work.

“It’s not uncommon to have timber sales that take up to five years or more to complete,” Willey said.

According to the AGFC’s Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Report, due to be published soon, the AGFC received a total of $370,660 through timber sales from July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024. In comparison, the $25 additional fee for sales of Conservation License Plates contributed three times that amount at $1.1 million during the same time period.

“Revenue generated from the sale of forest products is not considered in the planning process of our forest improvement efforts,” Willey said. “However; as stewards of this resource it is our responsibility to ensure these products are sold at a fair market price. We need to remove trees for the overall health of the forest and wildlife habitat value.”

Willey also points out that any revenue derived through timber sales is required by law to go right back into work on AGFC-managed WMAs. In many cases, this revenue doesn’t cover the expense of other forest management practices conducted on the same WMA.

There’s no doubt that harvest can be controversial, especially in some of the state’s most popular hunting areas, but these areas require a certain amount of disturbance and removal to keep them producing the highest quality habitat possible, that same habitat that has made them popular hunting places to begin with.

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CUTLINES:

AERIAL PHOTO
Flights conducted during winter show a duck’s eye view of forest conditions at Bayou Meto after variable retention harvest opened the canopy to promote the next generation of red-oak dominated forest.

CUT TREES
Each tree cut for harvest on AGFC WMAs is marked and approved by a professional forester to ensure the residual stand meets the agency’s wildlife management objectives.

OPEN FOREST
Increased sunlight on the forest floor will enable growth of herbaceous cover to benefit wildlife year-round.

SAPLINGS
An example of excellent red oak regeneration on AGFC WMAs after a variable retention harvest.

The USFWS also will invest nearly $2.5 million on wetland restoration work across Dale Bumpers White River, Cache River and Wapanocca national wildlife refuges. Roughly 5,200 acres of wetlands will be restored or improved with adaptations and improvements to refuge levees and water control structures to mitigate flooding and other effects of severe weather events.  This project will prevent damage to the refuge’s forests, provide beneficial habitat for migrating waterfowl, and improve the water quality around the refuges.

Additional projects were announced in the USFWS press release, covering wildlife habitat improvements in Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. All projects noted in the release will aid forestry and wetland restoration efforts across more than 63,100 acres of national wildlife refuges and state-managed lands in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee, totaling over $17 million in conservation investments.

Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, the Department of the Interior is implementing a more than $2 billion downpayment to restore our nation’s lands and waters. In March 2023, the Service announced an investment of more than $120 million from the Inflation Reduction Act to rebuild and restore units of the National Wildlife Refuge System and partner with State Wildlife Management Areas that have been affected by adverse weather events. The investment prioritizes projects that promote coastal resilience and climate adaptation, address invasive species threats, and provide for additional data collection needed to support successful natural resource resilience.

These projects focus on rural areas and communities hit hardest by extreme weather and flooding, which are important habitat for waterfowl, migratory birds, endangered species, and freshwater fish and mussels. They also offer a chance to protect and restore natural habitats for people and wildlife alike by aiming to reduce flood and drought risks and improve access to public recreational areas.

“We are excited about the positive, immediate on-the-ground impacts and long-term benefits the Inflation Reduction Act investment will have in the Lower Mississippi River Valley,” said Mike Oetker, regional director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region, in the USFWS release. “We collaborated with new and longstanding conservation partners to identify projects that will increase resilience to climate and severe weather conditions and will have the most impact for the wildlife, habitat and communities, particularly those underserved communities, who depend on and enjoy these important areas.”

For more information about the Service’s Inflation Reduction Act-related efforts, visit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s website.

 

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CUTLINES

 

DUCKS IN WETLANDS
Waterfowl are one of the species that will benefit from planned upgrades to Shirey Bay Rainey Brake WMA and National Wildlife Refuges in Arkansas. AGFC photo.

DEER IN WOODS
Healthy forests support a wide range of wildlife on a year-round basis, not only during deer season. AGFC photo.

DUCKS ON WATER
Wetland improvements in The Natural State may help some waterfowl species experiencing declines by ensuring more birds are in excellent condition when they return to their nesting grounds North of Arkansas. AGFC photo.

“It’s going to be 1,000 percent better for water management and getting that water through the WMA during the growing season and give us the opportunity to work with the ecosystem more efficiently during the winter migration,” Jason Jackson, state wetlands program coordinator for the AGFC, said. “We’re replacing all seven of those 36- to 48-inch pipe and precast box water control structures with 11- to 12-foot wide overshot gates. Two bridges also are being installed on existing crossings that cause a bottleneck where the flow slows down.”

According to Phifer, the old concrete structures will be replaced with railcar bridges.

“The bridges and each water-control gate will replace the undersized, aged, failing infrastructure,” Phifer said. “We anticipate having equipment in place to begin the larger construction projects within the next week. All structures and bridges will be replaced one at a time to lessen any access issues.”

AGFC Director Austin Booth said the project could not have been undertaken without the help of many partners, including Arkansas Sen. John Boozman, who recently celebrated the passage of many appropriations bills to aid Arkansans and various infrastructure projects in The Natural State.

“Shirey Bay is one area where we can be proactive and accomplish a lot for public  waterfowl habitat with some straightforward improvements to infrastructure,” Booth said. “On behalf of Arkansas’s sportsmen and sportswomen, I am grateful for Sen. Boozman’s strong and dependable support for conservation and faith in the waterfowl hunting and conservation community to improve habitat and provide public waterfowling access for future generations.”

Visit www.agfc.com/resources/habitat-and-access-improvement to keep abreast of the Shirey Bay Rainey Brake project as well as other major habitat and access improvement projects throughout Arkansas.

Visit www.agfc.com/gtr for more information on the AGFC’s efforts to restore and maintain Arkansas’s rich public land waterfowl hunting tradition.

 

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CUTLINES

 

BEFORE/AFTER
Roughly six miles of overgrown brush along a diversion ditch at Shirey Bay Rainey Brake are being mulched to increase water flow through the system.

MAP
Shirey Bay Rainey Brake WMA in Lawrence County will see much needed improvement to water management thanks to an appropriation sponsored by Sen. John Boozman.

BRIDGE
Two railcar bridges similar to this one installed during the recent Henry Gray Hurricane Lake WMA renovation project, will replace existing bridges where flow is being impeded.

This year, the private lands biologists secured 30 landowners to offer up to 78 fields, though water limitations kept that number in the 50s to 60s until late in the season.

“Not only is that program important to waterfowl to have water on the landscape when they get here during the winter migration, it’s really important also to the public to have additional access to areas to hunt during a dry year,” Dugger said.

The cost runs about $575,000 for leasing hunting acreage, which last season was more than 5,300 acres at $150 an acre. The outlay doesn’t include staff time required to monitor the fields weekly and brush blinds. Three Ducks Unlimited staffers helped monitor fields last season, Dugger said. 

The program has been funded through a Volunteer Public Access grant that the AGFC obtained from the National Resource Conservation System through the federal Farm Bill. 

The allocation has expired, and Congress has not passed the newest Farm Bill. “(The AGFC) is currently looking for opportunities to fund it next season,” Dugger said. 

“Is it perfect? Absolutely not. Did we have some hiccups? Absolutely. But by and large what I saw on a week-to-week basis was we didn’t have very many issues. Now, it takes a tremendous amount of staff effort to run this program. But, the two takeaways for this program are: Ducks need it during dry, drought years like this, and the public really seeks and uses this opportunity.”

 

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CUTLINES

 

SUNSET
Landowners had very little water to work with during the 2023-24 waterfowl hunting season, but many WRICE fields still offered huntable conditions. 

GEESE
White-fronted geese have been hot targets on fields in the WRICE program, as have mallards, teal and shovelers.

RICE HARVESTING
The AGFC’s WRICE program helps prevent farmers from tilling so waterfowl wintering in Arkansas can take advantage of the remnants of the annual rice harvest.

In the last decade, many forest health assessments in WMAs managed for waterfowl have shown alarming declines in the health of red oak species that provide food for wintering mallards. A massive die-off at Henry Gray Hurricane Lake WMA in 2018 that wiped out every tree in 200 acres, and expanded to well over 800 acres since that time, emphasized the need for change and the grave consequences of maintaining the current path.

The need for change is evident, but the solution is not as cut-and-dried.

“This is a balancing act between improving the health of the habitat and maintaining public hunting opportunities,” Booth said. “If all we cared about was the trees, we would remove all the levees and water-control structures and let it just flood naturally when Mother Nature decides. If we only cared about short-term public hunting opportunities, we’d leave things the way they are knowing that the forests that are attracting the ducks to the area would continue to decline and eventually die. Conservation is finding that right mix of meeting the desires of our hunters and other users of the resource with the needs of the habitat that brings the waterfowl to these treasured areas.”

In his presentation of the planned updates to Dave Donaldson Black River WMA, Booth highlighted the increased opportunity for public involvement through two initiatives.

“One, we’re going to bring back public cleanup days before hunting season on Dave Donaldson,” Booth said. “These were very popular with the hunters and beneficial to the hunting experience but a few incidents forced us to shut them down. We want to bring those back.

“Two, we are forming an advisory council to keep an open line of communication between the agency and the public throughout the renovation process. We hope to have both of these in place very soon and will be looking for people to join in this effort.”

Visit www.agfc.com/gtr for more information about the AGFC’s work to renovate greentree reservoirs and conserve Arkansas’s Flooded Timber Legacy. For more information about major infrastructure projects currently underway, visit www.agfc.com/resources/habitat-and-access-improvement.

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CUTLINES:

 

MAN IN FRONT OF CROWD
AGFC Director Austin Booth opened both meetings with a presentation on the status of Dave Donaldson WMA’s renovation project.

MAN POINTING AT MAP IN GYM
AGFC Biologist Zach Yancey works with local stakeholders at Pocahontas meeting to work through possible changes to water-management infrastructure.

MAN TALKING TO OTHERS AT CAFETERIA
AGFC Biologist Buck Jackson talks with a small group of hunters at the Jonesboro meeting about plans for water movement through Dave Donaldson Black River WMA after the renovation is complete.

“Public input, understanding and support of our management goals and actions are critical to the success of saving our greentree reservoirs,” AGFC Director Austin Booth said. “These in-person meetings will let us talk one-on-one with those who attend to help break down any concerns and answer questions.”

After a brief introduction and overview of renovations planned at Dave Donaldson WMA’s Greentree Reservoirs, the AGFC will host a question-and-answer session to help cover any concerns or confusion about the overall project goals and methods. Once the question-and-answer session has concluded, participants will be able to visit in small groups or one-on-one with AGFC staff at multiple stations to address questions that are more specific to individual portions of the WMA or other greentree reservoirs.

“Conserving Arkansas’s famous green timber duck hunting is something that the AGFC is passionate about, and it requires much more than the status quo,” Booth said. “If we hope to pass down this treasure to our children and their children, we have to act now to do what we know is necessary for the health of the forests that provide these fantastic opportunities. I hope everyone has an opportunity to attend and help be a part of ensuring duck hunting’s future.”

 

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CUTLINES:

 

CROWD MEETING
The AGFC will host two meetings this Saturday to update the public about planned renovations to Northeast Arkansas duck-hunting areas.

SPEAKER PRESENTING
Meetings will begin with a brief presentation, followed by a question-and-answer session and breakout meetings on specific aspects of planned updates to public flooded timber waterfowl habitat in Arkansas.

DEAD TREE
Tree damage and death from flooding seen at hunting locations stresses the need for change in management on many public flooded timber areas.