# Arkansas waterfowl proposed wma changes for out of state hunter



## sasmojoe (May 7, 2017)

Adjustments to nonresident waterfowl permits proposed
There may be some limits to the amount of time nonresident hunters may pursue waterfowl on Arkansas Game and Fish Commission controlled wildlife management areas in the next year. After many phone calls, letters and posts to social media from Arkansas hunters, the AGFC is proposing one possible way to give resident hunters additional preference on public land in The Natural State.
Currently, a nonresident waterfowl hunter is required to have a special nonresident WMA permit to hunt on many of the public areas focused on waterfowl management. They may purchase a five-day permit for $25 or an annual permit for $100, and may hunt any WMA.
“We’ve heard from a lot of people that they think we’re not charging enough for nonresidents to come and hunt our famous waterfowl areas,” said AGFC Director Jeff Crow. “And many residents surveyed believe the amount of nonresidents on these WMAs has gotten too high. The last thing we want to do is restrict hunters from using the public hunting lands we manage, but we do want to work with our residents to increase their level of satisfaction during their hunts.”
Accoding to license sales figures, 49,161 non-resident waterfowl stamps were purchased in the 2016-17 season. From those hunters, 8,252 hunters (17 percent) purchased a non-resident waterfowl WMA permit required to hunt Arkansas WMA managed for waterfowl habitat. Money derived from nonresident waterfowl WMA permits and the difference in cost between resident and nonresident waterfowl stamps is earmarked specifically for wetland habitat management on Arkansas WMAs to continue providing the sort of duck hunting that made The Natural State famous.
The proposed changes to the nonresident waterfowl WMA permit include:
Eliminating the annual nonresident WMA waterfowl permit;
Limiting nonresidents to only six 5-day nonresident WMA waterfowl permits per season;
Making each nonresident WMA waterfowl permit purchased specific to a single WMA of the buyer’s choosing, and
Increasing the fee for the 5-day nonresident waterfowl permit from $25 to $30.50
These proposals will be posted May 12, initiating a formal 30-day public comment period, and the Commission is expected to take action on these recommendations at its regularly scheduled meeting June 15, in Jonesboro. Click below to take an online survey regarding the proposals.
Click here to take the survey
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
2 Natural Resources Drive | Little Rock, AR 72205 | 800-364-4263 - 501-223-6300 \ www.agfc.com
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2 Natural Resources Drive 
Little Rock, AR | 72205 US


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## Duckbuster82 (May 8, 2017)

I find it very hard to believe that only 8000 non resident wma permits were bought. That's seems low to me heck I know a couple hundred people personally that bought them. But in the grand scheme of things I don't think it will change much. You still will be able to hunt 30 of 60 days on public wma. The people that the new rules are directed towards are the guys that camp out in Arkansas for the entire season. Most of those guys have private leases or know the area good enough to hunt public water. I don't think it will pass and if it does don't think they will be happy with the results.


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## Core Lokt (May 17, 2017)

I can't believe it is so cheap for an out of state person to hunt there....

Wouldn't it be nice if the Ga non-res deer hunting license was that cheap!


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## tomcat58 (May 17, 2017)

*wma change*

jack it up again


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## mattech (May 17, 2017)

Core Lokt said:


> I can't believe it is so cheap for an out of state person to hunt there....
> 
> Wouldn't it be nice if the Ga non-res deer hunting license was that cheap!



That's only the wma price, still have to have a hunting license. I haven't been to Arkansas but have been to Mississippi and a one week license runs me about $120, after the wma and refuge stamps.


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## MudDucker (May 18, 2017)

Economic suicide!


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## Michael F Sights (May 18, 2017)

Pretty soon they will have a lottery to hunt ducks in Arkansas....


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## Gaducker (May 22, 2017)

MudDucker said:


> Economic suicide!



That's right.


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## across the river (May 22, 2017)

MudDucker said:


> Economic suicide!



I don't see it.  The majority of the people I know that hunt  30 days plus in Arkansas are hunting private land of some sort most of the time.  I'm not saying they won't hunt public land if some if some birds are there, but they aren't beating around Arkansas WMAs for 40+ days a season.  I would be willing to beat 95+% of all of the OOSers that hunt in Arkansa during any season are either hunting less than 10 days per season and/or are hunting private land of some sort.  So how many people are really going to be dramatically affected?  Not many.  I am sure it will be an inconvenience for a select few, but in no way is this going to cause the state any financial hardship.   There just aren't enough people really affected to the point that they aren't going to buy a license and go there to hunt because of this.


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## mizzippi jb (May 23, 2017)

across the river said:


> I don't see it.  The majority of the people I know that hunt  30 days plus in Arkansas are hunting private land of some sort most of the time.  I'm not saying they won't hunt public land if some if some birds are there, but they aren't beating around Arkansas WMAs for 40+ days a season.  I would be willing to beat 95+% of all of the OOSers that hunt in Arkansa during any season are either hunting less than 10 days per season and/or are hunting private land of some sort.  So how many people are really going to be dramatically affected?  Not many.  I am sure it will be an inconvenience for a select few, but in no way is this going to cause the state any financial hardship.   There just aren't enough people really affected to the point that they aren't going to buy a license and go there to hunt because of this.



100% agreed. About the only folks affected will be the college kids (or just out of school with no job) who camp in the parking lots.   I spend a good bit of time out there from nov-late Jan, and our club is 5 minutes from a popular WMA ramp.  About the only inconvenience is having to re-buy a license every time I decide to make a few weekday runs to the woods


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## JMB (Aug 2, 2017)

I think it's mostly the guys crossing the line from Tennessee, Missouri, and Mississippi. A lot of those guys have cabins near WMAs and hunt a lot. 

Of course, without rain and a rising river, most of the public land behind the levees are all that is available for public flooded timber hunting. The last few years hasn seen a ton of natural flooding (or there was too much water). This adds to a lot of state managed waterfowl area pressure. 

It's gotten really bad and being an out of state hunter, I contribute to the problem. I'll pay extra knowing it goes to the birds, but if it turns into the Missouri and Illinois style lottery and draw system, that is a HUGE PITA! We only had four or five good hunts in the timber due to weather and lack of birds last year. That's four or five in the season...spread out over a lot of days. Just ain't what it used to be


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