The State of Arkansas has approved temporary changes to the operation of Arkansas State Parks in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Changes have been announced for certain state park facilities and services as a result of the COVID-19 emergency.

Arkansas residents won’t need a fishing license next week.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has closed all of its facilities until March 30.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will host a special open forum for the public at the University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana campus on Wednesday, March 18.

One Lafayette County project will be among those receiving money through the Arkansas Marine Fuel Tax program.

A decline in hunting and angling has commissioners and staff at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission concerned that the funding for natural resource management is in jeopardy.

Duck season is over, and turkey season is still months away, but hunters looking for one more way to stay in the woods still can find plenty of excitement in small game hunting. Both rabbit and squirrel seasons remain open until 30 minutes after sunset, February 29.

Arkansas had 26 positive rabies samples of the 785 animals tested during 2019.

The refilling process has begun at the Bussey Brake Wildlife Management Area in Morehouse Parish, LA.

Applications for summer internships are being accepted through February 28 by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

HELENA-WEST HELENA – The 84.5-mile Delta Heritage Trail will be completed between Lexa and Arkansas City thanks to foundation and state grants.

(Editor’s Note – magnoliareporter.com does not usually report on events outside of South Arkansas. However, this article makes important points about the critical problem of illegal dumping across Arkansas and the effort that is required to clean dump sites).

Although fisheries management overall was the topic for a public input meeting Monday evening at Southern Arkansas University, giant salvania was clearly the hot-button issue.

Arkansas’ largest and longest-lived celebration of horticulture and landscaping will return February 28-March 1.

DeGray Lake Resort State Park will host its 41st annual Eagles Et Cetera festival January 24-26.

Arkansas’s bear and elk harvests showed slight declines during the 2019 season.

Commission hatcheries produced and stocked more than 9.3 million fish during 2019 to improve fishing conditions for Arkansas anglers in 2019.

LAKE VILLAGE — Lake Chicot will not be subject of a drawdown in 2020.

Schools in South Arkansas were among those receiving a total of $444,230.34 presented this week by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission Division of Rural Services.

Logoly State Park near McNeil will sponsor a backyard birding workshop from noon to 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

Giant salvinia, an invasive water plant, has gained a foothold on two major South Arkansas lakes.

Logoly State Park near McNeil will host “Introduction to Bird Watching” from 9-11 a.m. Saturday.

First Day Hikes are planned at Arkansas State Parks on Wednesday, January 1.

Biologists with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission are seeking public input on the current revision to Arkansas’s White-tailed Deer Strategic Management Plan.

Instead of setting your used Christmas tree by the curb the day after Christmas, why not give it a second life as fish habitat in your local lake?

John Paul “J.P.” Fairhead has been hired as the Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s first Feral Hog Eradication Program coordinator.

The National Audubon Society recently announced the dates for the 120th annual Christmas Bird Count — December 14 through January 5.

With the first statewide youth waterfowl hunt on Saturday, many first-time duck hunters will pull the trigger on their first mallard, pintail or other duck in Arkansas.

With the first two weeks of modern gun deer season gone, Arkansas hunters have checked more than 140,000 deer throughout the state — and there’s still plenty of time to get out and participate.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced it is awarding $3.4 million to fund projects to control feral swine in Arkansas.

HOPE – Nowhere in Arkansas comes close to the Delta for waterfowl hunting, but duck counts show the southwest portion of the state attracts many dabblers during the annual migration.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Vicksburg District has been construction on a site for a new interpretive visitor center and field office at DeGray Lake near Arkadelphia.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Millwood Tri-Lakes Project Office will extend the closure of the Okay Landing Recreation Area on Millwood Lake while repairs to Okay Levee are being made.

Mississippi River State Park took home the top award of 2019 Overall Park of the Year in the Arkansas State Park system.

Logoly State Park near McNeil will offer “Green Friday” on “Black Friday.”

While fall temperatures are driving most anglers indoors or to the deer woods, staff at Arkansas Game and Fish Commission hatcheries throughout the state are still going full bore to improve future fishing conditions for anglers.

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and partners took another step in re-establishing the state’s whooping crane population this week when it received 11 juvenile whooping cranes.

Some deer hunters will sit in a stand from sunup to sundown, but most hunting plans revolve around spending a few hours at the beginning of the day before taking a break to eat and rest, then revisiting their hunting site in late afternoon and sitting until the sun goes down.

As urban and suburban areas expand in Arkansas, the state’s wildlife — including the bobcat — is learning to adapt to new neighbors, said Becky McPeake, extension wildlife specialist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Rotational stocking and other management practices may give grassland birds a chance to rebuild their populations, said Dirk Philipp, associate professor-animal science, for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Anglers interested in hooking into a trophy of truly epic size can apply for a 2020 Alligator Gar Trophy tag.

With hunting season in progress across South Arkansas, it is time to remind hunters of a way to share their bounty with the needy and less fortunate.

Finding these fish is all about finding the cover they’re holding on. Thanks to the work of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, thousands of deep-water hot spots are available for anglers. Here’s how to find them.

Just about every hunter carries a smartphone in the woods now.

Habitat work for wildlife occurs nearly year-around for biologists at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, and fall is no exception. Hunting enthusiasts have their sights set on deer season and are already out scouting in hopes of harvesting this year’s big buck. While most stick close to …

Lasting heat of summer and stable conditions paid off for Arkansas hunters lucky enough to draw a tag in the 2019 alligator season.