“Our goal on GTRs is to promote the red oak component, which provides hard mast for a variety of wildlife, including mallards,” 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.

In addition to the added harvest, landowners will receive technical assistance on how they can best manage their water, including advice on topics such as stocking rates, fertilization, water-quality issues and shoreline stabilization.

“We can’t stock the lakes directly, but we can offer the expertise on how much and what to stock,” DiCenzo said.

Anglers can gain access through a drawn permit system similar to the one used for the AGFC’s extremely successful Waterfowl Rice Incentive Conservation Enhancement Program.

Descriptions of each available private access can be found at Public Access to Private Waters. To apply for one of the sites, visit agfc.com/licenses and click the “Fishing” Category. The CIP-Public Access to Private Fishing Waters Permit will be one of the options available. Permits are valid for a full Saturday-Sunday period, and applications are available Thursday-Sunday the weekend immediately before the one being applied for. Applications cost $5 each, and permit winners are notified each Monday to begin preparing for their weekend. Access does not include any camping or hunting privileges and permit holders must remove all belongings and litter from the area upon their departure.

This practice of the Conservation Incentive Program is a shared component of the AGFC’s Fisheries Division and Private Lands Habitat Division. The program is funded by set aside finds from the 2023 Arkansas General Assembly.

“We appreciate our partners in the Arkansas General Assembly and Arkansas Legislative Council expressing their support for this program and approving the transfer of funds to make this possible,” Garrick Dugger, Private Lands Habitat Division chief, said. “Their continued support is vital to the success of our mission.”

Greenway Equipment is a cultivating partner of the AGFC’s Private Lands Habitat Division. Visit www.agfc.com/habitat for more information.

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CUTLINES

ANGLER WITH BASS
Hand-launched jon boats and canoes are allowed on the private waters selected for public draw, and anglers may find some excellent action on bass, bream and catfish.

ANGLER IN CANOE
Two private ponds and one stretch of the Saline River have been added to the Public Access for Private Water practice. 

“You also see increased foraging opportunities for predatory fish during the drawdown itself, just like when we have winter drawdowns,” Leone said. “Putting the food within easy reach of sportfish like bass and crappie can temporarily increase growth rates in those species.”

The seeds from the millet also will offer high-energy duck food to migrating and wintering waterfowl that fly to and through this portion of The Natural State.

The lake will be held near elevation 337 until Oct. 1, when it will be returned to its winter conservation elevation of 342.

All swim beaches are closed during the drawdown, and boat access is limited to temporary ramps at Anderson Branch and Carden Point Park.

Skiing, tubing, and the use of personal watercraft will be prohibited during the drawdown. Boaters are encouraged to wear a life jacket and exercise caution during the drawdown as submerged stumps and shallow areas will be more prominent, especially in boat lanes.

For more information about the drawdown, contact Nimrod Lake at (479) 272-4324.

Recreation information can be found on the Internet at www.swl.usace.army.mil, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/littlerockusace and on X (Twitter) at www.twitter.com/usacelittlerock.

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CUTLINES:

PLANE TAKING OFF
Contractors with the AGFC have completed two of three scheduled aerial seeding flights at Nimrod Lake to add fish and waterfowl habitat. 

LOADING PLANE
Thousands of pounds of millet seed have been loaded into agricultural airplanes to seed exposed mudflats at Nimrod Lake during its scheduled summer drawdown. 

EXPOSED LAKEBED
Exposing the lakebed allows sediment to compact and vegetation to grow, revitalizing the base of the food chain. 

Many fish kills associated with this sort of oxygen depletion occur in the very early morning, when oxygen levels are at their lowest, but they may happen at any time of day if cloud cover has prevented photosynthesis for multiple days.

In the case of a recent fish kill on Lake Conway, the primary culprit likely was low oxygen as a result of this overabundance of fish and vegetation.

“The fish that once occupied nearly 6,000 acres of water are now sharing 2,000 acres, so oxygen is at a premium,” Nick Feltz, fisheries supervisor at the AGFC’s Mayflower Office, said. “This was inevitable and is one of the reasons we lifted the limits on fishing since the announcement of the drawdown last year. Most of the fish we’ve seen affected by this fish kill were drum, yellow bass and other rough fish, but a few largemouth bass, crappie and catfish have been seen as well.”

Feltz says he expects to have additional natural fish kills on portions of Lake Conway throughout the drawdown.

“This was by no means a complete kill, and there are a lot of fish still in the lake,” Feltz said. “It’s entirely possible to have additional fish kills until the amount of fish in the lake matches the new water level available.”

One Bad Turn(over)
Fish kills resulting from low oxygen also can happen during sudden events called “turnover.”

During the hottest part of summer, water will form two distinct layers. The upper layer will be warmer and contain most of the oxygen. The bottom layer will be cold, and contains little or no oxygen. Most fish will be in the upper layer of the water column, often very close to where the two sections meet – called the thermocline.

A cool rain or extreme cold front can cool the surface layer too rapidly, causing it to drop to the bottom of the pond. This forces the oxygen-poor layer to the surface where the fish are holding. The rapid drop in oxygen causes large fish kills.

No matter the cause of oxygen loss, the best solution is aeration.

“Oxygen diffuses into the water from the surface quicker if there’s a lot of splashing and wave action,” Brinkman said. “On our hatcheries and on many farms with the proper equipment, a paddle-wheel aerator will get oxygen back into the system efficiently. A lower-cost option for ponds and small lakes is an aeration fountain to cause an adequate disturbance.”

Brinkman says once fish begin to go belly up, there’s not much that can be done, but investing in aeration definitely guards against oxygen loss and helps prevent the water from stratifying. Manually aerating large lakes isn’t possible due to the extremely large volume of water to be aerated.

Another piece of advice for would-be pond owners is to limit the maximum depth of any small pond you build to less than 10 to 12 feet. Shallower systems do not stratify or turnover as easily.

“Many people think you should have some deeper water for fish to use as refuge during the hot summer months, but it’s actually a bad idea when you’re talking about smaller ponds,” Brinkman said.

Too Fertile?
Anything that adds nutrients to the system during summer also can increase the demand for oxygen. Overabundant fertilization, runoff from agriculture or sewage treatment areas and livestock waste all can increase the fertility of the system too much and eventually lead to a crash.

Telltale indicators that you may have a turnover occurring on a pond are an overnight change in the water color from relatively clear to a “chocolate milk” appearance, a foul, rotting smell and fish opening their mouths, or “piping,” at the surface of the water. These symptoms are much more prevalent in the morning just as the sun rises.

If a person sees a fish kill, they can call their local AGFC office and ask to speak to a fisheries biologist. They can walk you through a series of questions to determine whether the kill is due to oxygen depletion or if other factors are at play. A list of regional offices is available at https://www.agfc.com/about-agfc/regional-offices.

Col. Brad Young, chief of the AGFC Enforcement Division, praised the officers involved in the increased boating safety effort.

“Taking those 23 impaired boaters off the water likely prevented some major disasters and saved lives during a weekend reserved for celebration,” Young said. “I am extremely proud of our men and women out there making sure everyone made it home safely to remember their time on Arkansas’s waters.”

Grant said the lifesaving measures didn’t stop with boating-under-the-influence checks. Lack of properly fitting life jackets, reckless boating and other violations were reported as well.

“Out of the 3,659 vessels contacted, 534 contacts uncovered a violation,” Grant said. “In 346 of those cases, wardens were able to issue a warning as soon as the violation was rectified; the remaining 188 were severe enough to warrant a citation.”

With well over a month of prime boating weather still to come, Grant reminds everyone to do their part to help keep Arkansas’s waterways safe.

“We want everyone to enjoy boating, angling and paddling in The Natural State, but we have to do it responsibly,” Grant said. “High-traffic times like holiday weekends are critical, but every time you’re on the water is a time to remember safe and courteous boating. We’re all out there to have fun, and winding up in jail or the hospital because of poor judgment isn’t very fun at all.”

Operation Dry Water (ODW) is a national initiative aimed at reducing alcohol- and drug-related incidents and fatalities on the water.

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CUTLINES

BOATING CHECK
Arkansas game wardens contacted 11,258 boaters July 4-6 to ensure safety during the holiday weekend. Photo by Tanner Mills, AGFC.

OFFICERS IN BAY BOAT
Twenty-three people were arrested and removed from Arkansas’s waters over the weekend because they were boating while intoxicated. Photo by Mike Wintroath, AGFC.

OFFICER IN MUD BOAT
Arkansas game wardens patrolled large lakes, streams and rivers to ensure everyone enjoyed the Independence Day holiday responsibly. Photo by Tanner Mills, AGFC.

Know Your Limits
Grant says one factor at play in paddlesports accidents is the increasing popularity of inexpensive vessels being used for waters for which they are not suited.

“There has been a big increase in inflatable paddleboards and economy-priced kayaks on the shelves of stores and on the water,” Grant said. “They have been great at getting more people on the water, but they are not typically built to handle swift water.”

Just like the capabilities of the craft should dictate your use, your personal ability should be a major consideration when heading out for a day on the water.

“If you’re a beginner, you definitely should stay near shore and stay in calmer water,” Grant said. “Current and wind can put you in some bad situations if you’re not familiar with paddling, and it’s best to learn how to handle those situations with the help of an advanced paddler or outfitter showing you the ropes.”

Find a Float Buddy
Outfitters abound on some of Arkansas’s more prominent float streams, but some lesser-known floats and reservoirs don’t have facilities devoted to paddlesports. Regardless of the area you choose to float, it’s always a smart idea to pair up with a friend or group to enjoy the water.

“It’s safer with someone else around to help, especially if that person is more experienced than you,” Grant said. “And it’s more fun for a lot of people to get out and enjoy the outdoors together. If you have problems finding someone to float with, there are groups like the Arkansas Canoe Club who have Facebook Groups and hold regular events to enjoy floating together.”

Just like with other forms of boating, it’s important to let someone know where you’re headed and when to expect you back. If you do find yourself in a bad situation that delays your return, it’s always good to have someone who is able to check on you. This is especially true for some of Arkansas’s more remote float streams and waters. The solitude may be nice, but it also means fewer people to help in the case of an emergency.

Plan for the Conditions
Canoes, kayaks and paddleboards also are much more susceptible to weather conditions than larger watercraft, especially in the hands of beginners. Grant says it’s important to look at the weather report to make sure you aren’t surprised midway through your outing.

“Wind and paddlesports don’t go together, and if you’re caught away from shore and a storm rolls in, it can be  rough getting back in,” Grant said. “Also, if you’re on a stream, a storm upstream of you can drastically change the water level where you are and create dangerous current. Never float at flood stage.”

Grant says paying attention to outfitters is always a good idea. If they aren’t putting clients on the water, it’s a good idea to stay off as well.

“Some outfitters are more than happy to tell you about floating conditions, even if you aren’t going with them,” Grant said. “They want everyone to make it home safely, and so do we.”

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CUTLINES:

GROUP OF KAYAKS
Sales of kayaks, canoes and paddleboards have exploded in recent years. 

KAYAKER
Choose the right kayak for the type of water you’ll be floating. 

PADDLEBOARDS
Paddleboards have become increasingly popular on flat waters, largely due to their portability and price. 

According to Graham a key surface water temperature anglers should keep in mind is 68 degrees. At that mark, added stress from long fights can increase mortality substantially.

“At that point, if you’re still wanting to fish the same waters, you should consider keeping what you catch if it’s legal to do so,” Graham said. “I know there’s a very strong catch-and-release ethic with our avid trout anglers, but there’s nothing wrong with keeping a few fish occasionally for a meal. Survival rates from fish that came from 68-degree and warmer water are pretty low, and we do need some harvest of trout to keep the system in balance and increase growth rates of the fish left.”

Graham says the best way to keep an eye on the water temperature is to carry a small pocket thermometer and make periodic checks where you are fishing.

“If you come across that 68-degree threshold, you may want to move upstream to cooler water,” Graham said. “The fishing is likely to be better where the trout are more comfortable and in a feeding mood anyway.”

Even at water temperature ranging 65 to 67 degrees, anglers may consider only fishing during the morning and using heavier gear to get fish in quickly instead of adding undue stress from long fights.

“Avoid fighting fish to the point of exhaustion and keep the fish in the water as much as possible if you plan to release it,” Graham said. “Even pulling it from the water for pictures can add enough stress to tip the scales and increase the chance of mortality after release.”

Angling is still one of the best ways to beat the summer heat, and the cold water of Arkansas’s trout streams make an ideal setting to enjoy a relaxing day on the water away from the noise of boats and beachgoers. With a few precautions, anglers can enjoy this resource and save the experience for the next generation.

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CUTLINES: 

ANGLER WITH TROUT
Keeping fights short and keeping the fish in the water as much as possible can help trout recover from catch-and-release efforts during summer.

BROWN TROUT
Brown trout and rainbow trout both seek cooler water during summer, and anglers interested in releasing their catch should refrain from chasing fish in waters above 68 degrees.