FISHING REPORTS (cont.)
USFWS, to provide a waterfowl harvest estimate. “It takes a full week,” he said of the Wingbee. “We usually examine more than 20,000 wings in a single week. I believe the most I’ve helped examine was around 26,000 waterfowl parts.” The collected information
and Wildlife Service an estimate of the species, sex, and age composition of the harvest. It also provides information on how harvest changes over space and time. Harvest estimates are even broken down to the state level.”
Carbaugh notes that his region is “blessed with many WMAs that provide great waterfowl habitat and duck hunting opportunities.” In his region, the AGFC provides public waterfowl hunting opportunities at Big Lake WMA, Dave Donaldson Black River WMA, Shirey Bay Rainey Brake WMA, St.
Francis Sunken Lands WMA and Earl Buss Bayou DeView WMA. Earl Buss Bayou DeView WMA is where Carbaugh first started in his AGFC career as a field biologist before promotion to assistant regional supervisor.
Rainfall is a key factor in flooding most of the AGFC’s GTRs. When rain and cold fronts come, usually in December, Earl Buss Bayou DeView as well as the adjacent private agricultural fields will be flooded. Usually we get a good push of mallards before Christmas and it can be a good place to hunt,” he said. “(Earl Buss) may not seem like a big place at 4,500 acres, compared to the others, but it can be good at times.
“The other areas are much bigger and people can spread out. They also have rest areas with food resources associated with them. The St. Francis River can be good when the fields start freezing up and it has running water. That’s when people generally have good success there.”
Carbaugh, 42, grew up in southeastern Missouri, first Kelso and then Perryville, and attended Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau for his bachelor of science degree in biology, before obtaining a master’s degree at Tennessee Tech University.
He worked on a Canada goose nesting ecology study within the Upper Cumberland Plateau in central Tennessee.
He returned home to work part time for Missouri’s Department of Conservation for a year before joining the AGFC 17 years ago. His wife, Nicole, and two children live in Paragould. Daughter Shelby, 14, used to duck and dove hunt with Carbaugh, but her interests have moved away from hunting. She still enjoys camping, fishing and the outdoors. Son Tyler, 8, loves any kind of hunting, he said. Carbaugh says the family passion would be waterfowl and turkeys.
He oversees the banding of wood ducks and mourning doves in his region. “I’m happy to say almost every year we have reached our banding quota,” he says, which is 100 each of wood ducks and doves. He also assists with banding more than 250 Canada geese in northeast Arkansas.
His work extends beyond waterfowl. He serves on the regulations review committee and assists with Captive Wildlife Facility inspections. Also, he’s the regional Burn Boss, organizing prescribed burns on WMAs with other regional personnel, an effort by the AGFC that provides a big boost for wildlife habitat in upland areas.
