South Arkansas deer hunting open house set for Sept. 15

Virtual meeting will address regulation changes, management assistance

AGFC Communications LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is reminding hunters in Ashley, Bradley and Union counties to participate in one of two special meetings this week devoted to deer hunting regulations and deer herd health in south Arkansas following the detection of chronic wasting disease in Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge during the 2021-22 deer season.

An open-house meeting will be held at the El Dorado Conference Center in Union County from 6-9 p.m. Sept. 15. An addition-

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Photo courtesy of AGFC DEER HUNT (cont.)

al virtual meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Sept. 8, for those who cannot attend the in-person meetings.

Hunters who can travel to an in-person meeting are encouraged to do so.

“We’ve restructured the format of the in-person meeting to be much more informal and more inviting,” Cory Gray, chief of the AGFC Research Division, said. “There will still be a short presentation to relay information about CWD and why it’s being monitored so closely, but we’ll also have biologists and researchers available throughout the meeting to speak one-on-one with anyone who attends.”

The Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation has agreed to provide hot dogs and hamburgers during the El Dorado meeting so attendees don’t have to miss supper to learn about the work AGFC is doing and how to get their deer tested for CWD during hunting season. In addition to questions about CWD, biologists and enforcement officers will be on hand to answer any questions on regulations, the Deer Management Assistance Program and other habitat management work benefitting Arkansas’s deer herd.

Staff from Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge and Louisiana Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks will also be in attendance

and will feature talks on the basic science of CWD, the South Arkansas response in 2021-2022 and what hunters can do to help fight this disease in Arkansas.

Anyone wishing to participate in the virtual meeting should register online through the AGFC’s Outdoor Skills Calendar at agfc.com. For hunters and conservationists who wish to speak one-on-one with biologists at the El Dorado meeting should register at https://www.registered. com/events/view/18649.

Photo courtesy of AGFC