White River Refuge Seeks Opportunities to Expand

                                                                                                                          by Jim Taylor

“Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed .... We simply need that wild country available to us, even if we never do more than drive to its edge and look in.”

― Wallace Stegner, The Sound of Mountain Water

Land owners who have property bordering or near White River National Wildlife Refuge may soon have the opportunity to sell their property to the refuge if they so chose.
Currently, no matter how badly a property owner would like sell his land to the refuge, if his property falls outside of the refuges approved acquisition zone he is just out of luck. At a recent public meeting in Dewitt talk of missed opportunities was common. With reports of large tracts of land bordering the refuge being sold for a bargain price of $800 acre that the refuge missed out on because the property in question fell outside of its "approved acquisition zone". It's easy to see why action needs to be taken. Currently the refuge is forced to sit on the side lines while these bargain basement real estate deals are transacted. These missed bargain buying opportunities are a loss for the refuge and the habitat it seeks to conserve. For the taxpayers and users of the refuge it's a missed opportunity to obtain land at bargain prices. It is a loss for the landowner/neighbor who certainly would have benefited from having one more interested buyer brought to market.

Refuge Manager, Keith Weaver explains "Acquisition boundaries"
 to attendees  at one of three public  input meetings in May.   

Keith Weaver, refuge manager,  is championing the effort to correct this handicap.  But like most things in the government this effort is not easy. The Fish and Wildlife service has  an arduous approval process just to establish/approve the geographic area that  a particular refuge may purchase property.  Many things have to be  taken into consideration in laying out the suggested acquisition boundaries.  Refuge biologist and refuge leadership have to consider the environmental significance,  economic burdens to refuge management and recreational opportunities.     

If approved, what does it mean to landowners who are inside the acquisition zone?   The biggest benefit is that they will  have a serious buyer(Federal Government) injected in the market.   The acquisition area does not change the hunting regulations or your rights as a property owner what so ever.  The refuge will not "claim" your land or force anyone to sell.    You can keep your land forever if you so choose or you may sell it to your brother in law.   The new acquisition zone is an abstract line that gives the refuge permission to make a purchase offer to a landowner if it so chooses.    


For outdoors-men, wildlife enthusiast and hunters this is a win-win program that needs your support.  The refuge is seeking input/comments during this phase of the approval process.  Please take a moment to let the refuge know of your enthusiastic support of the new acquisition zones and to be updated about new development in this project.   .  

I have put together a quick example email for you to  show your support-  Feel free to copy and paste and send your email off today.  We need all the support we can get. 

Please include "White River NWR Acquisition Boundary" in the subject line

send email to:  tina_chouinard@fws.gov 

Tina Chouinard
Natural Resource Planner
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Ref:  White River NWR Acquisition Boundary

Dear Mrs. Chouinard, 

I would like to see our refuge be able to acquire environmentally important woodlands when they become available.  Please consider this email as my voice of support for the proposed acquisition Boundaries on White River NWR.   

Please include me in any future communications, updates, meetings, and decisions regarding this environmentally important project.  

Thank you, 

Your name
Address. 
  

White River National Wildlife Refuge Seeking to Expand

                                                                                                                      by Jim Taylor

Habitat loss of our forests remains the biggest threat to hunting opportunities and wildlife populations in Arkansas.  Here is your opportunity to voice your support for expansion of White River National Wildlife Refuge.

Establishment of our White River Refuge   by President  Franklin D. Roosevelt on September 5, 1935 continues to serve as a shining example what it means to preserve these unique areas. Today the refuge is enjoyed by wildlife enthusiasts of all types.

As noted this is not a federal land grab. It is simply allowing the refuge to purchase land from willing sellers near the refuge.  Now, with funds from duck stamps sales and excise taxes from the sale of guns and bows, the refuge would like to buy additional lands near its borders.

The Refuge has put forth the following Press Release:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service invites you to share your input about a proposal to increase the size of the acquisition boundary for surrounding White River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). Land purchases for the refuge can only be made within its approved acquisition boundary. If approved, the acquisition boundary for White River NWR would increase by 125,349 acres and the new acquisition boundary would encompass 297,806 acres in Desha, Monroe, and Phillips Counties, Arkansas, and Bolivar County, Mississippi. Once this new "acquisition boundary" is approved the refuge could buy land from willing sellers.

Proposed Project Schedule

---

August 2012 - May 2013: Preliminary information-gathering meetings with government agencies and public officials and key partners within the proposed expansion area. COMPLETED

May 2013 – June 2013: Public scoping period, including three public meetings. -COMPLETED

July 2013: Develop Draft Land Protection Plan and Environmental Assessment along with associated NEPA documentation for Public review and comment.- IN PROCESS

August/SEPTEMBER 2013: Public comment period, including possible public meeting.(As of Aug 5th dates have not yet been established)  

September - October 2013: Develop final Land Protection Plan and Environmental Assessment along with associated NEPA documentation.

Winter 2013-14: Decision by the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service.

If approved, the Service will draw funding for this land acquisition primarily from the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund and the Land and Water Conservation Fund. These are not derived from traditional tax revenues, but are collected from the sale of Federal Duck Stamps, entrance fees from certain national wildlife refuges, and import duties on arms and ammunition (Migratory Bird Conservation Fund), and from the sale of offshore oil leases (Land and Water Conservation Fund). The money is intended for land conservation.

History of hunting on White River National Wildlife Refuge.

Brief History of Hunting on White River NWR 

There is a long history of hunting at White River NWR, which began in 1956 with the first archery deer hunt.  Five years later in 1961 the refuge held its first gun deer hunt.  The refuge was one of the first tracts of public land in the southeastern United States to implement either sex deer hunting, which was very controversial at that time.

1935-1955 Refuge closed to all hunting; Fishing allowed from March 1 to October 31.


1956 Received approval to conduct a bow and arrow hunt for deer. Approval was also received to take
squirrel, bobcat, rabbit, and raccoon with bow. Hunt was conducted from October 18 -31; 288
permits issued and 5 deer killed.

1957 Bow season October 16-31; 303 permits issued and 15 deer killed.

1958 First hunt plan prepared and submitted 6/5/1959; recommended archery hunt for deer and allowed incidental taking of squirrels, rabbits, and bobcats with bow.

1959 Prepared and submitted amendment to plan recommending gun squirrel hunt. First squirrel hunt;  October 1-31; 4,200 permits issued. Deer archery season; October 8-31; 833 permits issued and
26 deer killed.

1960 Taking of squirrels, rabbit, and deer was approved by Central Office and notice was published in Title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Squirrel hunt October 1-7; Archery Deer Hunt October 10-29; 808 permits issued and 27 deer killed.

Arkansas's Most Productive Public Deer Lands

                                                                                                                  by Jim Taylor

The Arkansas Arkansas Game and Fish commission has  reported that  210,000 deer have been harvested so far during the 2012/2013 deer hunting season.  This surpasses the record held since the 1999/2000 season when 194,192 deer were harvested.   These are combined numbers for all methods of deer hunting. 

So this season was good, but what was Arkansas's most productive public hunting area?  I analyzed the year-to-date deer harvest data from Arkansas's 132 wildlife management areas(WMA) and national wildlife refuges(NWR)  for the 2012 season.  Rather than  just looking  at the total number of deer taken,  I compared each wildlife management area's deer harvest numbers to the total area within the WMA to arrive at a “harvest per square mile” ratio. This enabled me to find the true producers among Arkansas's  public deer hunting lands.

To make the data more manageable, I focused on popular  WMA's and NWR's that had checked  at least 100 deer during the 2012/2013 season thus far.  (Through the first week of January 2013) I then ranked/sorted  them  in order of the most productive deer producers in the chart below.  This is a more accurate  method of comparing deer hunting  productivity  than just looking at the total number of deer taken.   For example, a hunter might be initially impressed with the 1,112 whitetails bagged on  White River National Wildlife Refuge, until you consider its vast expanse.   The 250 square miles within the boarders of  White River National Wildlife Refuge produced a deer harvested per square mile ratio of 4.4.   This harvest ratio places the refuge in the  number 8 ranking on our list of  top deer hunting lands in Arkansas.

Like it has for the previous two seasons, the primitive weapons only area of  Trusten Holder  reigns supreme again as Arkansas's most productive public land for deer hunting.  At 10.6 deer harvested per square mile Trusten Holder  is 56% more productive than the newly established Moro Big Pine Natural Area WMA, the number 2 spot on this years list, and a whopping 141% more productive than the popular White River NWR.    

				Deer Harvest
	2012/2013 Harvest Report	Acres	Harvest	Harvest/sq mi.
	Trusten Holder WMA	8173	136	10.6
	Moro Big Pine Natural Area WMA	16000	169	6.8
	Cache River NWR	54000	568	6.7
	Mike Freeze Wattensaw WMA	19184	166	5.5
	Henry Gray Hurricane Lake WMA	17524	146	5.3
	Howard County WMA	26000	193	4.8
	Fort Chaffee WMA	66000	462	4.5
	White River NWR - South Unit+ NORTH	160000	1112	4.4
	Felsenthal NWR	65000	445	4.4
	Dave Donaldson Black River WMA	21150	141	4.3
	Lafayette County WMA	16739	110	4.2
	Poison Springs WMA	17604	115	4.2
	Scott Henderson Gulf Mountain WMA	16739	105	4
	Pond Creek NWR	27000	164	3.9
	Big Timber WMA	37742	204	3.5
	Lake Greeson WMA	38000	144	2.4
	Bayou Meto WMA	33832	120	2.3
	Casey Jones WMA	83832	297	2.3
	Sylamore WMA	150000	496	2.1
	Mount Magazine WMA	120000	318	1.7
	Winona WMA	160000	326	1.3
	Buffalo National River WMA	97730	186	1.2
	Muddy Creek WMA	146206	214	0.9
	Cherokee WMA	105313	144	0.9
	Caney Creek WMA	85000	95	0.7
	Piney Creeks WMA	180000	191	0.7

The "Beast" Cameron Hanes

While at the 2013 Archery Trade Show I got to visit with Ultra Marathoner the "Beast" bowhunter Cameron Hanes. While some of us were having fun in the after hours and had our tails dragging in the morning.... Cam was setting the example for the rest of us by hitting the streets running before daylight! He is the Beast! You can follow Cameron's physical training at his web site: CameronHanes.com

$99 Trail Cameras

Camera over looks a mock scrape.

                                            Research by Jim Taylor

Over the years I have tried various brands of trail cameras with disappointing results. I've got an older Moultrie (big 6 volt battery) that "kinda" work but I have to do a series of jumping jacks in front of it to trigger a photo. Several years ago I bought two WildGame cameras, (used 4 c batteries) both are not working this year. In the last few years, trail cameras have gotten more compact, have better battery life, quicker trigger speeds, and better image quality.

Image taken with the $99 Bushnell 

Last year I purchased a compact Tasco that holds 4 AA batteries that I swear will last 6 months. It works but the images are not of the highest quality. Unless you are looking to frame and hang your pictures it seems to be more than adequate for scouting work. I just want it to document what passes in front of the camera. I still have this one and continue to use it today.     

The image above was taken on the 7th of November.

This year after seeing the Bushnell cameras (Model #119420) at Wal-Mart for $99 I had to give them a try. I bought two and hung them up on our hunting lease near Stuttgart in September of this year. They have continued to provide me with respectable images of deer visiting our food plots and have yet to need replacement batteries. For the price I remain impressed with their performance. ChasingGame reviewed the cameras and said the trigger speed is a reasonable 1.25 seconds. I have since bought two more and strategically placed them on some ground that I hunt in Kansas. One of the cameras captured a different buck passing the camera three days in a row. (Shown here)

Range and trigger speeds are your two most important elements of camera selection. Game cameras with less than 1 second trigger speeds are available but they are much more expensive. Reconyx HC600 has a trigger speed of less than a quarter of a second but cost a whopping $550! Bushnell does make a cameras(Trophy Cam HD) that has trigger speeds down to .6 seconds but retails for $249.   

This buck would find it self standing 15 yards from 

my stand on the 10th. 

 If you are watching a food plot or feeder the fast trigger speeds are not necessary. But what about trail watching? An alternative to the fast trigger speeds is to give the deer a reason to slow down on the trail. I like to make a mock scrape at the area of the trial I want the buck to stop at. A fresh scrape with a squirt of doe in estrus or buck urine will get the bucks attention long enough for the trail camera to record the deer. I think you can be much more successful spreading 5 cameras out over your hunting area than having one super-fast expensive camera.

My Nov 10, 2012 buck that was captured on 

camera three days earlier. 

Before deploying a trail camera check local rules on their use. After hearing about them being outlawed in certain areas I called around to several wildlife refuges within the state of Arkansas. Richard Gray, enforcement officer for my favorite National wildlife refuge, White River, says that yes, they do have rules prohibiting leaving Trail cameras overnight. Apparently, they don't specifically have a rule that says you can't leave trail camera on the refuge. What they do have is a rule that prohibits leaving or "abandoning" any personal property on the refuge. Specific exceptions have been made for tree-stands and boats over the years. I would like to see an exception for game cameras as well.

Trail cameras are useful, fun, and can extend your hunting season in a non-consumptive way. To me they add a whole new dimension and exciting element to the scouting endeavor.

A Poachers Game

                                                                                                               by Jim Taylor

He has killed as many as  four bucks each season in Kansas where the season limit on bucks is one.  Yet he is able to tag each one of them with what might seem like legitimate tags.  Not only does he tag them, he often registers them.   He is so brazen that he walks into the local Southern Kansas  taxidermist  with his heads and boasts of his repeated successes as a  bowhunter.   He has been under suspicion for several years yet the Kansas Game and Fish officers have not been able to nab him.

Kansas tagging and registering rules(or lack of) makes it easy for  crooks to take advantage of the system.

Properly attached officially printed tag as shown on KDWPT web site

How has this poacher been able to dupe the enforcement officers for so long?   First off, some background on Kansas tagging rules. Kansas requires you complete your deer tag by writing the date of harvest, signing it and attaching  it to your buck. This must be done upon harvest and attached before you can legally move the buck from the harvest site.   The tag completion process renders the tag useless for additional buck kills.   Any hunter thinking about abusing the process knows he risks getting ticketed, fined and may loose his hunting privileges  if he fails to follow the rules and complete his tag immediately.   It keeps honest hunters honest.    

For most hunters that's it, we're happy,  a filled Kansas tag is a symbol of a successful bow season.   You're done because you can't get another tag.  Or can you?   In Kansas tags are issued via three methods.  Over the counter, via mail or online. The first two methods provide for the familiar Tyvek, officially printed, not easily duplicated deer tag found in most states.   The third method, and the one ripe for abuse,  is simply printed off from your home computer on your own regular 8 1/2" x 11" paper.

Now lets examine the process of our boasting poacher.   At  the moment he kills a buck  he promptly fills out his home printed paper tags  and attaches it to the animal.  Everything so far is legal and on the up and up, except for his criminal intentions.  The poacher now snickers under his breath that he has cleverly covered his butt and  can now freely load the deer in his truck and transport  it  without suspicion if he is stopped.    If it is a big racked buck  and he wants to boast  about it and show it off,  yet he wants to continue hunting what are his options?  The poacher has learned to take advantage of his proximity to surrounding states.  He simply buys tags in multiple states, in this case Missouri, Oklahoma or Arkansas, to tag his big racked  Kansas buck.   Once the tag switch-a-roo takes place he can now boast about his purported "Missouri big buck"  while the  poacher continues to freely hunt Kansas with  freshly printed deer tag copy number two. 
 
Kansas has worked hard to enable the licensing process to be easy and pain free for its hunters.  Being able to print my tags from the computer is convenient and fast.  I would hate to see this curtailed because of some schmuck  poacher who is gaming the system.    I understand that  no system is fool proof  but Kansas has left themselves needlessly vulnerable for abuse by poacher schmucks.  Some simple improvements can easily be implemented.  It would help if Kansas were to require  hunters to register their Kansas deer kills within a specified time frame.  For the life of me I don't know why that is not required   They have a voluntary system in place but it is not mandatory.   There is much to gain from increased tagging compliance as well as biological data collection by making registration  mandatory.    With the prevalence of cell phones and easy access to the internet there is no excuse not to implement this immediately.   

The downfall of these poachers is that they think they are smarter than the system.  They think the game wardens are clueless to their scheme.  On a more selfish level their antics and schemes hurt the honest hunters.  I would like the opportunity for a second  Kansas buck too, but as long as these crooks keep poaching that will never happen.  Kansas KDWPT web sites estimate that  illegal poaching may account for as many legal deer taken.

As someone who is proud of our Arkansas bowhunting fraternity in my home state I am additionally irritated that in this particular case the suspect poacher/criminal is an Arkansan.  Well I really shouldn't be bothered, with his multi-state poaching scheme and violation of the federal LACEY act (interstate transportation of illegally taken wildlife)  it is likely our poacher could soon become a Kansas citizen.....in the famous Leavenworth prison.

My Refuge

                                                                                                                    by Jim Taylor

18-August-1985- Smokehouse hill entrance 

As the chill of Autumn air returns each year it triggers a longing within me for the sounds of distant honking geese overhead and the crunching of Overcup oak leaves beneath my boots. White River National Wildlife Refuge provides a dependable anchor, a connection, an unseverable tie to the birth of my hunting spirit. When I feel that spirit waning, I return here and reconnect.

Escronges Lake, WRNWR

The lure of the refuge river bottoms was imprinted upon me very early in my youth. Being a restless teenager growing up in the rural farming community of Dewitt I was truly blessed to have lived in close proximity to such a national treasure as White River NWR.

After school and weekend excursions to the refuge to explore its many isolated lakes or to bowhunt its remote hardwood forest occupied much of my free time.  I often proclaimed that it was my land,  that I owned it, all 160,00 acres of it!

The Cypress and Overcup trees of the refuge imprinted on me in a similar way that salmon are drawn to return from hundreds of miles away to the place of their birth. Returning to the refuge with my bow in hand is a yearly ritual that I have done with few exceptions for over thirty years.

As a Wildlife Management student at UAM-1984

The wilds of the refuge offer an unchanging anchor that keeps me rooted in a world that is ever-evolving and changing.  As I enter the refuge gates each fall I am always comforted in knowing that  Lower White Lake and  Wolf Lake will be there to greet me.  No need to worry that some developer has filled them in or clear-cut its forest to make room for another cotton field.  Nor do I have to worry that I will not be the high bidder on my hunting lease in any given year. The refuge will always be there.

Life brings constant change. I have uprooted my family and relocated multiple times across the country while pursuing my career in the archery business. I've been fortunate enough to have been involved in and to hunt in some magnificent hunting clubs and properties. Over time though, the one constant and recurring hunting relationship I have had has been with my White River Wildlife Refuge.  I was awed by the magnitude and vast remoteness of the place as a kid and remain so today.  The refuge is part of me. It is my connection to the earth that holds many stories and memories of the bow and arrow,  from long ago hunts... and of hunts yet to come.

Jim Taylor

Hunting Feral Hogs?... Anything Goes

You've got to love the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. When they set their minds on seeking assistance from the states hunters to help reduce our states exploding feral hog problem they went all out!

On private land, is there any other state in this great country of ours that lets you hunt hogs with any weapon.... big rifle, little rifle, bow, muzzle-loader  24 hours a day?  Yes that includes the middle of the night  with q-beams and  headlights.

And you need absolutely no hunting license to top it off!  

Lets Go Huntin!

See Ar Game and Fish Regulations Regarding Feral Hog Hunting Here

Article by Jim Taylor

I know where you are!

 - by Jim Taylor

The coolest  piece of technology I've incorporated into my hunts has been the Garmin Rino gps/radio.

Rino by Garmin

I was introduced to the benefits of this "gotta-have" tool  about five years ago as I sat on a lonely Idaho ridge top in the dark.  Four of us were bowhunting elk and I was odd man out with only a 1/2 watt radio(Walmart $19.95 I think) and my handheld gps that I was so proud of.  Right at dusk the adrenalin packed voice of hunting partner Ryan Springer broke  radio silence that he had just arrowed a monster bull at like 12 yards.  Springer, Shoemaker, and Frasca had Garmin Rinos....I had my 1/2 watt Wal-Mart special.  I could hear them, but I  could not reply as  my ½ watt radio was too wimpy to broadcast any distance in the thick Idaho timber.  So, there I sat listening to the back and forth chatter of my excited friends as everyone but me worked their way to Springer's downed trophy elk using their Rino gps/radios.  While they did the congratulatory high five’s, handshakes, and posed for trophy pictures  I sat there alone on a stump as dark fell over that Idaho ridge.  Guess what I asked Santa for that Christmas?

Since then, the Rino  has added so much pleasure to my hunts.  I won't  leave home without it.  These powerful little 5w radios  have built in gps's that let you broadcast your position as well as see the gps location  of your hunting buddies on a topo map displayed on the Rino's screen. 

Mike Frasca navigates with his Rino gps/radio 

They have proven indispensable on our elk hunting trips out West each year.  It used to be that when a bowhunter bagged an elk he might have to walk out of a canyon 2 or 3 miles to the nearest trail to rendezvous with his fellow hunters who then had be "guided" back into the canyon to the downed animal. This meant a waste of precious meat packing time when the September temperatures in Colorado are often in the 80's during the day.  With the Garmin Rino radio/gps, when one of our members downs an animal we can immediately see his position and we can all navigate separately and independently from every direction to converge at the downed elk.

Ryan Springer's 2006 Idaho Elk

Aside from the usual benefits of radio communication and gps usage the Garmin Rino allows you to:

1. Get Help: If you fall and break your leg,  your buddies can locate you. Even if you are unconscious your buddys can "ping" your position to locate you. With the rugged terrain of Western Colorado that's not a bad thing to have.

2. On public land like we hunt it is very useful to know exactly where your hunting partners are so that you are not stumbling on top of each other unnecessarily or hunting the same draw. You can actually set your radio to alert you if you come within a certain distance of a hunting partner.

3. You can transmit hunting hot spots, dangerous cliffs, or locations of last blood while tracking to your fellow bowhunters.

At our stage of life, hunting its not so much about the killing as it is about sharing the hunting adventure and friendship and camaraderie built around high mountain campfires. The Rino gps/radio has enhanced our hunting experience by letting everyone in our hunting party share in the exhilaration and excitement at the very moment a  buddy unleashes an arrow at the big one.    It just doesn't get any better than that dude.

Lets go hunting!

Fort Smith Arkansas Bowhunter Steve Bradley's Big 217" Kansas Buck

Checking Deer with AGFC Iphone app.

Technology Makes Life Easy..Doesn't it?

During this years Muzzleloader season in South Arkansas I attempted to
check  my first deer using the Arkansas Game and Fish I-phone app, on a  young opening day doe.   The process went smooth and easy until I reached the last page.   I know it doesn't take much sometimes, but that's where this ol Arkansas boy became a little confused.  The I-phone application was supposed to provide me my so-called "check number" that I was required to write on my deer tag.  After arriving at the final screen shown below I asked aloud and with a puzzled look:   "Where is my check number?",   Could 1334 be my check number?",   "It does not say "check number."   I'm thinking I've really got this all screwed up.

There was no button to go forward from that point even though the screen tells me to review my information before submitting.  Like most remote areas of Arkansas, cell phone service kinda sucks where we hunt so  I  suspected that I was having cell service problems and would try again later. After  going through the process again  I had  now unintentionally  tagged this little doe TWICE!  And let me tell you if deer were tagged according to size this little gal would have barely been worth a quarter of a tag, certainly not two tags! 

The following Monday I made a call to the Game and Fish office in Little Rock and explained the situation.    I did feel a little better when they informed me that I was not the first.  They quickly removed one of the inadvertent check numbers  while I was on the phone and I breathed  a sigh of relief that I had not used up two of my precious deer tags on a dinky doe.

Tips for Arkansas deer hunters using the Ark GFC I-phone app to tag deer.

The screen shot shown to the left is  what I saw AFTER I hit my final submit button. 

1. The "before submitting" statement lead me to think I still had additional action to take.  Ignore this.. you are done.

2. "Submitted"  ??  This is the culprit that causes the confusion. It should be replaced with "Check Number":

3. This is the "check number" that you will write on your deer tag. 

The whole fiasco would have been avoided if I had gotten to the last page and saw a line that simply said:  CHECK NUMBER: 1334   You have to keep things simple for this ol Arkansas boy.

For additional information visit the AGFC site on how to check deer here.

New Arkansas Game and Fish Iphone App.

Arkansas Game and Fish I-Phone App

The Arkansas Game and Fish has shown it is on the cutting edge of technology with its release of  a new I-phone app makes it easy to get the AGFC news,  season dates, bag limits, WMA locations and check your game with your I-phone.   The app was free and easy to install. 

 
One of the neatest things about the app is the "Near Me" tool that will provide you a list of nearby public hunting areas from your current location.  This is a handy tool when visiting in-laws on the other side of the state where you may be less familiar with the local hunting opportunities.  You can request a list of public hunting areas  within 10, 20, or 50 miles of your current location.
 
In my particular part of the state,  Fort Smith,  the program displayed 5 public hunting areas's within 20 miles.  That is a lot of hunting opportunities. Once you select the area  you would like to go visit the program provide you  the website, phone number, and will map the driving directions  for you from your location.  I did notice that though the list included our National Forests the glaring absence of  our  local National Wildlife Refuges from among the list was puzzling.

The program is new and the links often simply point the the AGFC web site (season & dates)  I'm hoping that it will expand its mobile formatting in the future.  But so far it's a great start that put our agency ahead of other state agencies and I'm proud to have it.

For Additional Information Visit this Link - AGFC I-Phone APP

by Jim Taylor


 

Stories to tell

I discovered this southern style shooting house while exploring our new hunting club a few weeks ago.  I was very curious to know what whitetail stories this stand holds within.

Jim Taylor

New Respect for Game and Fish Enforcement Officers

by Jim Taylor

AGFC Officer Michael Neal's Truck took over 15 rounds
from the killers guns.

A traffic stop by two West Memphis, Ar police officers would unleash a story of horrific proportions and unbelievable bravery involving state and local law enforcement officers over the course of the next two hours.

Thursday May 20, 2010, two West Memphis Police Officers, Brandon Paudert and Bill Evans lives ended brutally after being shot during an interstate traffic stop on I-40. Both officers were highly trained drug interdiction specialist who fell victim to a cowardly ambush from a passenger shooting an AK-47. The two heavily armed fanatics fled the bloody scene in a white van, the passenger still firing at the officers lifeless bodies as they drove away. The brutal nature of the killings had brought all branches of law enforcement out if full force. Within 90 mins the villains were spotted and intercepted in a Walmart parking lot in West Memphis by two lightly armed officers of the Crittenden County Sheriffs department, Sheriff Dick Busby and his deputy. As they pulled in front of the van to  force a stop,  they too found themselves quickly overwhelmed in a blazing gun battle by the same automatic weapons that had taken the lives of the two officers 90 mins earlier. The toll now is two dead police officers, a wounded sheriff and critically wounded deputy. Sheriff Busby and his deputy now suffering multiple gun shot wounds are helplessly pinned down behind their patrol car. Their options were limited and time was running out. With the two officers wounded and bleeding badly the outcome looked grim.

Michael Neal, a state Game and Fish officer,  had been following the details on his radio and was already in route to the Wal-Mart parking lot.  As he pulls in he see's what appeared a dire situation. The suspect had just shot two more officer and were about to leave the parking lot. What officer Neal does next is nothing less than incredible. Officer Neal's immediate reaction is to contain the threat and he is determined that there  is no way he is going to let these killers leave that parking lot.  Neal aims his Game and Fish issued pick-up at the killers van and puts the pedal to the metal! Like a Kamakazi fighter taking automatic fire all the way to his target, officer Neal slams his Arkansas Game and Fish Commission issued truck into the driver side of the bad guys van.   It was reported that the impact may have killed one shooter, the elder Kane. It obviously disrupted the shooters and disabled their van and prohibited them from fleeing again. Officer Neal took 15 rounds into his windshield hood and truck. Other police officers arriving at the scene quickly converged on the now crumpled van and dispatched the remaining bad guy with a few precise round.

AGFC Officer Micheal Neal

Michael Neal's incredibly brave action effectively ended the gun battle and probably saved the sheriff and his deputy that day. Officer Neal's weapon of choice, a 2500HD series CHEVY!

New Found Respect.. the next time a game and fish officer asks to see your hunting or fishing license you better say YES SIR and wholeheartedly comply.

Michael Kent Neal is a 2001 graduate of Northwest Mississippi Community College. In February, 2008 he became a Wildlife Officer for the Arkansas Game and Fish. Michael is married to Donna Pressler and they are the proud parents of three girls, Kentlee, Kali & Kooper.

New Bowhunter Oriented Online Community Launched

Check out our new Online Community specifically for bowhunters to share photos and videos online.  It's called Bowhunter Chronicles. I'ts a cool, fun and easy to use site.  With Bowhunter Chronicles you don't have to wade through all the teenie bopper stuff on the other social networks.  This one is strictly bowhunting and archery!  Check it out at www.bowpros.net

jim taylor

Game and Fish Comission 2010-2011 Regulation Input Meeting.

by Jim Taylor

The River Valley Nature Center in Fort Chaffee drew a full room of avid hunters as part of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's effort to involve the public in the hunting regulation decision process.  Wildlife Assistant Supervisor Kevin Lynch quickly  reviewed the twenty five "topics of discussion"  and then opened the floor for questions and comments.

Unlike previous Game and Fish public meetings from years past this year had no real controversial  proposals being put forth.  Most were minor in nature or expanded hunting opportunities and found little opposition,  with the exception of the proposal to limit year round feeding.  Several attendees expressed that they wanted to continue their year round  mineral and feeding supplementation for deer.

Shorten The Archery Season?
It was NOT one of the  topics put forth by the Arkansas  Game and Fish Commission but a single attendee did address the meeting with his idea to close archery season after  December 31.  His misguided concern was that bowhunters were taking does that were pregnant in January and February.  I gathered that he thought  bowhunters were hurting next years fawn numbers by unwittingly shooting impregnated does.  First off I suspect most does that were pregnant in January  were probably just "a little bit pregnant" after the mid November rut.  Just my guess.  Secondly I took a quick look at deer harvest method reports over the last few years.  The number of deer that bowhunters  harvest during the entire length of our generous Arkansas bow season  did not equal what gun hunters take  on opening day of modern gun each November.  If I  narrow it down to what archers take in January and February the quantity  we are left with  appears  to be little more than a rounding error when compared to modern gun.  So if this gentleman really wants to increase  fawn numbers in any significant measure he is wasting his time  trying to achieve it through a shortened archery season.   

Two ideas I did like.

1. Expanded squirrel season.  Think "Kids".   Season would start with our current spring squirrel season in May and continue through February.   Granted, at 48 years of age, the July humidity and my repeated education about chiggers and ticks first made me wonder why anyone would want to be out there.  But hey,  there was a time.  I would like to think there are school age hunters, not unlike myself 35 years ago,  who would appreciate any additional opportunities to tote their 22 rimfire to the woods during summer school break.  We kids are just more hardy I guess.

2. Allowing deer hunters with the basic $10.50  license to take their deer with bow or  muzzle loader as well as with modern firearms.   Think "Spouses".  Currently you can only use the single deer tag that comes with the license for modern gun. This proposed rule change would  make it more affordable for those thinking about taking up archery or muzzleloader hunting.  It also would  make it more affordable to take our spouses to deer woods with a bow.

Missed the meeting?  No problem,  until January 30th, 2010  you can still voice your opinion with a quick and easy on line survey from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.  For Online Survey Click Here or for PDF Survey/Comment Form Click Here.