arkansas out-of-doors may/june 2014

T H E O F F I C I A L P U B L I C AT I O N O F T H E A R K A N S A S W I L D L I F E F E D E R AT I O N • V O L 4 2 N O 3A F F I L I AT E D W I T H T H E N AT I O N A L W I L D L I F E F E D E R AT I O N

Photo by Kyla Kane

MAY/JUNE 2014

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Arkansas-Summer Fun in the Sun!

2 - Arkansas Out-of-Doors • May/June 2014

President - Wayne Shewmake1st VP - Ellen McNulty2nd VP - Jerry CroweTreasurer - Gary Bush

Secretary - Clay Spikes

Arkansas Wildlife FederationP.O. Box 56380

Little Rock, AR 72215

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AWFhas justcompleted the2ndannualWoundedWarriorProjectfishing tournamentlocated at Lake Dardanelle State Park in Russellville. Thanks to all who volunteered their timeandthosewhohelpedsupportthisworthwhileprojectofgivingbacktoourmenandwomenwhogavesomuchforourcountry.IwouldalsoliketomentionitwasaBIGsuc-cess,andAWFwilltrytosponsoritagainnextyear. Iwouldliketotellyouacoupleofpersonalstoriesaboutthisyear’sevent.Oneofthebestpartsofbeinginvolvedistohearspecialstoriesandhowthiseventhasaffectedindividual’slives. Whilesettingupthisyear’sevent,likewedidlastyear,wesentoutpostersbyemailandbypostingtheminthelocalsportsshops.OnedayIgotanemailfromalocalladywhosaidshewouldliketohelpsupportthisyear’sevent.Iemailedherbackandsaidthatwouldbegreat,wedoappreciateyoursupport.Iaskedherwhatshewouldliketodoandsheemailedmebackandsaidshewouldliketocontributetotheeventandfeltlikethisisaveryworthycause.SoIcalledherandwesetupameetingforhertodonatesomemoney.Shetoldmeshehadcollectedsomemoneyfromfriendsandgavemeacardwith themoneyinside.Igaveeachonewhodonatedareceipt. ShetoldmeIcouldrelaythecardtothewoundedwarriorswhichreads,“Iwasrecentlytreatedforcancer.Tokeepmythoughtsinperspectiveduringtheworstoftimes,Irecordedafewphrases,itwentinpart:‘Idon’tliveinawarzone.I’mnotwatchingmychildrensuffer.Idon’tliveinfearofprosecutionbecauseofmyrace,gender,ormyreli-

giousbeliefs.Thewordsthatgotmethroughchemowereonlytherebecauseofyouandyourservice’.”(signed)AgaliaBaker!ThankyouAgaliaforyoursupporttothisworthycause,andwewishyoutheverybestinyourfightwithcancer. Aswehadfinishedthetournamentandeveryonewaseatingandenjoyingvisitingwithone

another,oneofthewarriorscameuptomeandhandedmeoneoftherarecollector’scoinsfromtheIraqwar.Anheuser-Buschmade350,000ofthesespecial“Opera-

tionSalute”coins.TheygavethemtothesoldierswhofoughtinOperationIraqiFreedom.Thismarinewarriorgavemehiscoin,andsaid,“Iwantyoutohavethis.Ifeelyouhaveearneditforhelpinguswarriorswiththisfishingtournamentandwhatyouaredoingforus.”Ididn’twanttotakeitbecauseIknewhowimportantitwastohim,andhowraretheyare,butasIlookedhimintheeyeandsawthathefeltlikethiswasimportanttohim,Iaccepteditwithgreathonor.Ithankedhimforhisservicetoourcountry,andforthisspecialgift.LastyearGeneralKlemmergavemeoneofhispersonalcoinsfordoingwhatwearedoingforthesemen

andwomen.I’dliketoonceagainsay,“Thankyou,sir,itisanhonor.” YouseeIfeelveryspecialtogettohearandseehowwehavemadeadif-

ferenceinthesepeople’slives.ThisisoneonthemainreasonsIvolunteermytimeandgivebacksomuch,wecanallmakeadifferenceandtouchothers’livesina

positiveway.ThankstoallofourveteransandthosewhoareservingtodayandhavegivensomuchtoourgreatcountryandourfreedomsweallenjoyinAmerica. – Wayne Shewmake, AWF President

Arkansas Out-of-Doors • May/June 2014 - 3

Wounded Warrior Project Tournament a Successby Wayne Shewmake

ArkansasWildlifeFederation(AWF)launchedtheirsec-ond “Wounded Warrior Project Fishing Tournament” onLakeDardanelleinRussellville,ArkansasonSaturday,June7, 2014.Thanks toAWF’smany supporters and sponsorsitwasaverysuccessfulfishingtournament.ItwasAWF’swaytogivebacktoourmilitarymenandwomenfortheirservicetoourgreatcountry. TheIraqandAfghanistanwarshavetakenabigtollonourmilitarypersonnelandmanyhavecomehomewound-ed and trying to cope anddealwith everydayproblems.SoAWFdecidedtomakeadifferenceforthemandgivesomethingback.Partofourmissionistokeeppeoplein-volvedinoutdooractivitiesandenjoyingnature. A fishing tournament allows several wounded war-riorparticipantsbecauseofthelargelake.AWFsetupameetingwiththeLakeDardanelleStateParksuperinten-dentAndyThomas,severalsupporters,liketheRussell-villeAdvertising& Planning Commission, RussellvilleWalmart,AndyTackettfromtheArkansasGame&FishCommission (AGFC), and James Manatt, president ofthe localAWFaffiliateYellCountyWildlifeFederation(YCWF).Thesepeopleandtheentitiestheyrepresentedbecamethebackbonefortheprimarysponsorsandorga-nizersofthefishingtournament. Iamsureweallknowsomeonewhohasgonetofightin Iraq orAfghanistan andmost of us know someonewho has been injured and returned.AWF had severalmeetings for planning this big event, a lot of e-mails,phone calls and discussions on how this year’s eventcouldbeaccomplished,includingfindingboatcaptainsthat would hopefully volunteer their time and water-crafts to help with the event. Due to all of the support theorganizersstartedgettingfromseveralsources,weknewitwasagreatwaytogivebacktoourmilitaryper-sonnel.AWFhadmanydiscussionswith theWoundedWarrior Project (WWP) representative Mike RecordsfromHouston,Texas. FromwhatRecordssaid, this [tournament]mightbethe largest event done for theWoundedWarrior Proj-ectprogram(www.woundedwarriorproject.org),whichplanned to take50woundedwarriorsout fishing foraday.TheWWPorganizationcontacteditsmembersandnotifiedthemaboutthefishingtournament.Thewound-edwarriors could sign up through theWWPprogram,ensuringtheyqualifiedandmettherequirementsoftheWWPprogram. Thedate chosenwas theweekend thatAGFCannuallyallowsfreefishingforanyoneinArkansas,eveniftheyare

fromoutofstate.OnJune6ththeWoundedWarriors thathad signed up, alongwith the boat captains,met at LakeDardanelleStatePark.Theparkhasoneofthebestweigh-inpavilionsinthecountry,andLakeDardanelleisoneofthetop-tenbassfishinglakesinNorthAmerica. A relaxing evening was enjoyed as Woodsmen of theWorldfromConwaygrilledhamburgersdonatedbyDavid’sBurgersofLittleRockandhotdogsdonatedbyPetit JeanMeatsofMorrilton;alongwithchipsdonatedbyFritoLay,andbottlewater fromMountainValleyWater.Other foodandwaterwasdonatedbybothRussellvilleandDardanelleWalmart. The meal was followed up with desserts prepared by the RussellvilleWomen’s VFW and LadiesAmericanLegionofRussellville. It took a lot ofwork to roundup 50 boat captains but,thanks to thehelpofGeorgeRowlandandAndyThomas,therewereplentyofboatstocomfortablytaketheanglersouton thewater ina safeandefficientmanner.BrigadierGeneralKeithA.KlemmeraddressedthegroupFridayeve-ning.Thecaptainsandwoundedwarriorswere teamedupinanefforttoletthemgettoknowoneanotherandtohelpwiththecoordinationofeventsthatwouldbeginfirstthingSaturdaymorning. Keep inmind that thisevent isnota fundraiser.Thegoal was to show support and thanks to those whofoughtforourcountry.Thatbeingsaid,itdidcostsomemoney to put the tournament on.Thankfully the orga-nizersreceivedcontributionsfromtheRussellvilleAd-vertising& PromotionCommission,DardanelleVFW,RussellvilleVFW,SWN,RidoutLumber,andafewin-dividualswhowantedtogive.Giftbagswerefilledwithseveraldonations fromRussellvilleWalmart,BassProShop,TysonFoods,Outdoor Products, Pradco,Lew’s,Jack’s Links,Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind, andseveral others donors, as well as handmade lap quiltsmadebyNortheastArkansasQuilter’sSister’s&VFW.AGFCalsoputtogetheragiftbagforthevolunteerboatcaptains to say thankyou for their contribution.RiverValleyGuideServicedonated fiveguided fishing tripstofivewarriors.Twoboatcaptainsreceivedcertificatesforfreeheating&airwork. Saturdaymorning startedwithWestMainDonuts andStarbuckscoffee.TheinvocationwasgivenbyReverendWayneLongfollowedbytheRogers-RyeVFWprovidingafive-gunvolley and thepostingof theColorsbyHHB

1-206thFieldArtilleryofRussellville.“TheStar-SpangledBanner”was sungbyChloeChisum,a localyoung ladyfromRussellvilleJuniorHighSchool.TheRussellville&Paris 1-206th FieldArtillery fired the cannon at 8 am tostart the tournament. A total of 33 warriors fromArkansas and surroundingstatesmadethetriptoRussellvilleandwentfishing.Itwasagreatdayandtheyhadsomuchfundespitethefactthatthefishweren’treallybitingagainthisyear.Theydidmanagetocatchsomefish. THE WINNERS:

1st Place - David Engle(warriorfromOklahoma)&ZachKing(boatcaptain)10.62lbs.

2nd Place – William Gaddis (warrior)&RandyCol-vin(boatcaptain)9.15lbs.

3rd Place – Jerry Erikson(warrior)&EdHula(boatcaptain)7.68lbs.

4th Place – Joseph Allwood(warrior)&RickyBiffle7.54lbs.

5th Place – Travis Harley (warrior) & MichaelJinkins7.40lbs.

Everyonevoicedtheirsupportandtoldtheorganizershowglad theywere forwhatallhadbeendone to supportourmilitarysoldiers.Severaloftheboatcaptainsandwoundedwarriors requested that the organization please repeat thetournamentagainnextyear. AWF and the other organizerswant to thank all of thesponsors and supporters for their help, donations, and time. Wecouldn’thavedoneitwithoutyoursupport. A special thank you goes to Andy Thomas, GeorgeRowland, Christy Austin, Frank Leone, Andy Tackett,Ron Cook, Lee Fields, James Manatt (YCWF), all oftheboatcaptains,andeveryoneelsewhosupportedthisevent,includingthemanylocationsthroughoutthestatethatallowedtheorganizerstoplacepostersintheirbusi-ness windows or inside their stores to promote the tourna-ment.Ittookalotofworkandsupporttomakethefishingtournamenthappen,butwe’realreadylookingforwardtodoingitagainnextyear. Toseemoreimagesfromtheeventvisitthephotoalbumon AWF’s Facebook page: Facebook.com/ArkansasWild-lifeFederation. Ifyou see someoneyouknow, feel free totagthemandsharethephotos.


by Johnny Sain Jr.

Wateristhekey.Itquenches,itrefreshes,itcleanses, itgives life.Water isasolvent-- dissolving and transforming other com-poundswhile forminganewsolution.Thechemical characteristics of water can betranslated into the nonmaterial as well. Wa-terisasymbolforrebirthinmanyculturesandreligions.Wateristhemediumforlifeboth physical and spiritual. The waters ofLake Dardanelle were a medium for com-munity and fellowship on June 7 as LakeDardanelle State Park hosted the 2nd Wound-edWarriorProjectBassTournament. The tournament is part of the overall aim oftheWoundedWarriorProject,anorganiza-tiondevotedtotheveteran’stransitionfrommilitary combat duty back to civilian life.TheWoundedWarrior Project’s mission istohonorandempowerwoundedwarriors.Itsstated vision is to foster the most successful, well-adjustedgenerationofwoundedservicemembers in our nation’s history. This is adauntingbutmuchneededserviceasoursol-diers comehome.Unlike physicalwounds,emotionalandpsychiatricscarsfromwarareoftendifficulttodiagnoseandtreat.Howev-er,thosescarsareverycommon.

• Depression and Post-traumatic Stress Dis-order(ananxietydisorderthatfollowsex-periencingatraumaticevent)arethemostcommon mental health problems facedby returning troops. PTSD symptomscan include recurring nightmares abouttraumatic events, hesitation to discuss the traumaticevents,ordifficultysleepingorperforming normal tasks. Post-traumaticstress disorder is diagnosed after severalweeks of continued symptoms. Psychia-tristsprojectthat1in3U.S.soldierswillsuffer from PTSD after serving in Iraqor Afghanistan (or both). The rate forPTSDis twotimeshigherfor thosemenand women who served two tours, which makesupapproximately40percentofallU.S.troops.30percentofsoldiersdevel-opmentalproblemswithin3to4monthsofbeinghome.

• Between2002and2012,1.6millionser-vicemenandwomenleftactivedutyandbecame eligible for veteran health care.

Only 56 percent of all veterans soughttreatmentbytheendof2012.

• An estimated 20 percent of return-ing Iraq andAfghanistan veterans turntoheavydrinkingordrugsoncetheyre-turn to the U.S.

• Between 10 and 20 percent of Iraq andAfghanistanveteranshavesufferedatrau-maticbraininjury(TBI).Possibleconse-quences of this internal injury includeanger, suicidal thoughts, and changes inpersonality.

• In2010,anaverageof22veteranscom-mittedsuicideeveryday.Thegroupwiththehighest numberof suicideswasmenages 50-59. (Sources: IVN,PTSD,FAS,DepartmentofVeteransAffairs,IraqandAfghanistanVeteransofAmerica)

Whatthesenumbersmeanisthatcommu-nity support and understanding are impor-tant to the emotional and mental health of returning soldiers.Whatbetterplace todothis than on the water. Fishing isoneof thosepastimes that al-lowsyoutoget lost inthemoment.That’swhatdrewOperation IraqiFreedomveter-anGeoffGammenthaler.Gammenthaler isfromMaumelle,Arkansas,andisparticipat-ing inhisa secondWoundedWarriorbasstournament.ThoughhehasbeenbackintheUnited States since 2006, Gammenthalerstillsuffersfromwartimescars.“SinceI’vebeen back I still have flashbacks. Thingslike trash bags on the side of the road orholesintheroadcanbringitbackbecausethat’s what I experienced as an infantry-man,”saidGammenthaler.“Icameherebe-cause I like tofish.Fishing just clearsmymind,andIcan’texplainit.”It’smorethan

justthefishing,though.“Justbeingaroundotherveteransfeelslikeaconnection;it’saconnectiontopeoplethatunderstand.”Butjustwetting a linemakes the trip to LakeDardanelleworthit.“Fishingisliketherapyforme;it’sanescape”saidGammenthaler.“Ilosetrackoftime,andbeforeyouknowit thesunisgoingdown,andallI’vebeenthinkingaboutiscatchingfish.” Boat captain and warrior pairing tookplaceonFriday,June6–the70thanniversa-ryofD-DaywhenadifferentgenerationofsoldiersstormedthebeachesofNormandyin what was perhaps one of the most piv-otalbattlesinworldhistory.ThisconnectionwasnotlostonBrigadierGeneralKeithKl-emmer, who spoke to participants and work-ers Friday evening. “What’s ironic aboutthisisthattodayisalsothedayweshippedout another 160Arkansas National Guardsoldiers. They shipped out to the MiddleEastthismorning,”saidGeneralKlemmer.“It’sareminderthatthesethingshavehap-penedinthepastandthey’restillgoingtohappeninthefuture.There’sarealneedforevents like this to support the soldiers. This isgoingtobeneededinthefuture.It’sgo-ingtobeacontinuousprocess,thisneedtowelcomeandsupportwarriorscomingbackintothecommunity.” Saturdaymorningdawnedwithscatteredclouds,butrainheldoffandwarriors,alongwith boat captains, enjoyed a day on thewater.Thebitewasslowformost,butfishsloshinginthelivewellwasfardownthelistofgoalsfortheday.BoatcaptainJuanBar-rientos,fromClarksville,summedupthosegoals. “Ifittakesspendingthedayinaboatwithsomebody,justgoingforaboatride,ifthathelpsthemcopeandworkoutwhatthey’regoingthroughI’mupforiteveryday,”said

Barrientos.Barrientoshadthedistinctionofbeingaboatcaptainwithoutaboat.“Ifishedinthewarrior’sboat;that’swhathewantedtodo,”saidBarrientoswithachuckle.Theper-sonalconnectioniswhatdrivesBarrientos,aseasoned tournament angler, to competitiveangling. “Thecamaraderie thatgoeswith alotofcompetitivefishingtournamentsiswhyI really enjoy fishing in them,” said Barri-entos.“Evenifyoudon’tcatchanyfishtheworst-scenario is that you’re going tomeetsomebody new.” That personal connectionthroughfishingiswhatinspiredBarrientostobeaboatcaptainfortheWoundedWarriorsProjectbasstournament. Barrientos and his warrior caught onekeeperfish,butreleaseditwhenitwasap-parentthatalimitofbassjustwasn’tinthecardsforthem.“Ifishedyesterday[tryingtofindfishforthetournament]nothingworkedforme,andIhadnoexpectationsfor[catch-ingfish]today,butIdidgettomeetarealgreat guy. I made a good friend, and I’msurewe’llstayincontactinthefuture.”

Fishing Therapeutic to Wounded Warriors


YCWF Celebrates 50th Banquetby James Manatt

TheYell CountyWildlife Federation, establishedin 1946 by a group of concerned sportsmen, cele-brated its50thAnnualQuailBanquetandfundraiserSaturday,April5th, in Dardanelle, Arkansas. Started inthe1960’s,thefirstQuailDinnerwasaSaturdaypotluck dinner after a long day at the Pullen PondBirdDogFieldTrialsandskeetshoot.TheFieldTri-alswere discontinued in the 1980’s because of thelossofquailinthearea. The Federation continueswith the banquet as anannual fundraiser and as a thank-you for its mem-bers who worked with children and youth to meetpart of the Federation’s mission.All money raisedstays within the RiverValley, supporting programsfor youth education and conservation projects.Thebanquet is no longer potluck but 95% of the mealcontinues to be cooked by themembership on site.There is little variation in the menu from year toyear.This year themenu included smokedCornishgame hens, donated by Tyson Foods, breaded andfried Manchester Farms Quail, steak with sides ofgreen beans, Niblet sweet corn, fresh slaw, twice-bakedpotatoes,gravy,freshfruitandvegetablesandhot rolls.Dessertswerehomemadeby thewivesoftheFederationmembers. TheBanquetservesasthelargestyearlyfundraiserforYellCountyWildlifeFederation(YCWF).Morethansixty-fivesilentauctionitemsweredonatedthisyearbymembersandlocalbusinesses.Fifteenitemswereavailableintheliveauction.Manypeoplewereinterested in the itemsand thebiddingwashotandheavy.Therewereseveral rafflecontestsaswellasdrawingsforsixdifferentfirearmswhichalsogainedthe intense interest of those present. For the fiftieth anniversarytherewereover250peopleinattendanceand,eventhoughthefinalfiguresarenotyetin,thetreasurer thinks thismay have been a very fiscallysuccessfulevent.It’salwaysgoodwhenit’sanelec-

AGFC Foundation Gets New President Chuck Dicus has been named president of the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation. He’ll be in an acting role until he succeeds Steve Smith July 1. Smith will become president emeritus. Dicus formerly spent 17 years as head of the Razorback Foundation. Dicus is a former wide receiver for the Razorbacks (1968-1970) and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. He went on to play two seasons with the San Diego Chargers and a season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Randy Milligan, chair of the Foundation, announced the appointment in May and said Dicus’ experience at fund-raising will be valuable

to the foundation’s work. Dicus has worked most recently in commercial real estate with Irwin Partners. “Chuck Dicus is an avid outdoorsman who cares about this state and about the future of hunting and fishing,” said current Foundation President Steve Smith in a prepared release. “Through his leadership, the Game and Fish Foundation will continue to ensure that youth around our state have access to outdoor hunting and fishing activities and continue to learn the values encouraged by our foundation.

tion year because we have candidates who are there tomeet their constituents. Some of the candidates and of-ficialswhowerepresentwere theMayorofDardanelle,YellCountySheriff, aYellCountyExecutive, 3CircuitCourtJudges,aYellCountyTreasurercandidate,aseatedStateRepresentativeandaU.S.Congressman. EachyearvariousawardsaregiventomembersoftheFederationand thecommunitywhohaveparticipated inwildlife conservation above and beyond the expected.This yearYCWF recognized JimHeflinwith “TheYellCounty Wildlife Federation Sportsman – ConservationAward” for the leadership he provided to theDelawarecommunity.Initsausteritybudget,theU.S.ArmyCorpsofEngineersmade thedecision tocloseseveralboatingareas on the Arkansas River and one of these was Dela-wareParkAccessArea.Mr.Heflinralliedhisneighborsandtheyformed“TheFriendsofDelawarePark,”appliedfor andwere granted a not-for-profit 501c3 designationbytheInternalRevenueService.ArkansasWildlifeFed-eration,alongwith“FriendsofDelawarePark,”securedaleasefromtheCorpsofEngineerstokeepandmaintainDelaware ParkAccessArea. The group keeps the areacleanandthegrassmowedsothatsportsmenhaveyear-round use of the area.

Thesecondaward,“TheYellCountyWildlifeFedera-tionConservationOrganizationoftheYear”wasgiventotheArkansasTechFisheriesandWildlifeSocietyfortheuntold volunteer man (and woman) hours the membershaveworkedhelpingYCWFwithmanyprojects,aswellasuntoldhoursworkingat theBearcatHollowWildlifeAreaandLOViTTrailwiththeArkansasWildlifeFedera-tion. The third award, “Yell County Wildlife FederationVolunteerof theYear,”wasgiven toWayneShewmake,President of the Arkansas Wildlife Federation, Arkansas delegatetoNationalWildlifeFederation,andpastpresi-dentofYCWF. YCWFprovidestwoscholarshipseachsemestertotwostudents in the Fisheries and Wildlife Program at Ar-kansasTechUniversity.DanielCooperandAustinKlaiswere introduced as two of the recipients. The scholar-shipsare inmemoryandhonorofpastYCWFmembersGary“Jers”HodgesandDr.JimEdMcGee,whoworkedforATUandweresupportivemembersofYCWF. TheYCWF banquet is held around the first weekendinAprileachyear.Goaheadandmarkyourcalendar tocomeandjoinusforgoodfoodandfunin2015.


Why Aren’tThey Biting?by Hollie Sanders

“Why theheckaren’t theybiting?” is anall-to-familiarmoanfromafruitlessdayonthewater.Oftentheresponsetothisponderingisaddressedtothelure.IfIonlyhadtherightlureIcouldcatchthebigone!Tryingtooutsmartthefishispuzzle-solvingatitsbestandonereasonwhyfishingissomuchfun.Itengagesthemindandbodyandthepursuitofbecomingbetteratwhatwelovetodo. Thebestlureforfishingisnotjustthelatestcolororflashormovementofafavoritelurebutit’sthebenefitsoffishingthathookusin.Likethemanydifferenttypesofluresthathavebeencreatedsince“thefishstoppedbiting,”anglingencompassesavarietyofsharedexperiencesthatwemakewhileenjoyingadayonthewater. Fishingisasharedexperiencewithnature. It’srelaxingto sit under a shade tree and watch the water shift and move againstthebreezeorfeelthewarmthofthesunonyourfaceasyouwatchablueheronglideby.Youmightseeadrag-onflyskateacross thewaterora turtle soakup that samewarmsunasherestsonalog.WadingintoacoldandclearArkansas stream with its colorful river rock patterns is a true waytofeelapartoftheresource.Whetheryoucatchyourlimitormisseverybite,fishingisconnectingwithnature. Fishingisasharedexperiencewithothers.Mygrandfa-therwasmyfirstfishingbuddy.Heshowedmehowtofishwithacanepoleandhowtocastwithouthookingmyshirt.Wewouldspendhoursonthewatertalkingaboutthisandthat.Idon’tremembermuchaboutthefishIcaughtorhowmany.Even thoughI thoughtwewere“justfishin’”, I re-member Iwas rightwhere Iwanted tobe, spending timewithmyPapa.Fishingwithfriendsandfamilycreatesmem-ories, shared stories, and connection with each other. Fishingisasharedexperiencewithcommunity.Connect-ingkidswiththeoutdoorsthroughfunfishingderbies,giv-inghopetoawoundedsoldierthroughapeacefuldayonthewaterorparticipatinginstreamandlakesidelitterclean-upsarejustafewwaysthatfishingengagesthecommunityandcreatesconservation-mindedcitizens. Everyfishinglurehasahistory,andmaybeastory.Everylureisalsoachallengetogooutdoorsandshareanexperi-encewithnature,community,andeachother.Grabapoleandgooutsideoften.

OpportunitiestoconnectwiththeoutdoorscanbefoundattheWittStephensJr.CentralArkansasNatureCenterindowntownLittleRock.Thesummercalendarisfilledwithopportunitiestolearnaboutfishingandotheroutdoorsports,fishandwildlife,conservation opportunities, and discover nature downtown. For more details and information visit www.centralarkansasna-turecenter.com.Seebelowforafewsummercalendarhighlights.

IT’S SUMMER FRIDAY: GO OUTSIDEFridays through August 1stWeeklyoutdoor&naturerelatedactivitiesforkids&adults: 11pmNatureFunFridays 1pm#FieldNotesFridays 2pmAlligatorFeeding

BASICS OF FISHIN’July 15th 10am-12:00pmWhetheryouarebrandnewtofishingorneedtobrushuponyourfishingskills,you’vecometotherightplace.Discovertipsongear,bait,andwheretofish.Withpracticeandalittlepatienceyoucouldsoonfindyourselfanewlife-timeactivitythatyoucanenjoywithyourfriendsandfamily.Funforallages.

WILD JOBS! Lunch and Learn speaker series Upper el-ementary age and older This lunchtime speaker series provides opportunities for youtolearnmoreaboutthebenefitsandmanagementofthearea’snaturalresourcesandpubliclandsthroughtheprofes-sionalsthatworkinthefield.Speakerswillincludebiolo-gists,wildlifeofficers,conservationists,andotherspecial-istswhose“Wildjob”istodelvedeeplyintosubjectstiedtoArkansaswildlifeandhabitat. July 23rd: Wildlife Celebrity Aug 27th: Duck Counter

ANTIQUE TACKLE ROADSHOWSaturday, July 26th, 10am – 3pmThebestpartoffishingiscollectingmemoriesandstoriesoftimes spent on the water. Some of those memories include rodsandtacklethatyouusedtofish.Ifyou’dliketofindoutwhatyouroldfishingtackleisworthandthehistorybehindit,membersof theNationalFishingLureCollectorsClubwillheretohelp.Theycanevaluate,identifyandappraiseanyoldfishingitemsyoubringtothisfreeevent. 10am-3pm:Tackleappraisaldrop-inandlearn 1pm-2pm:RealWomenFish:Ahistoric lookatwomen andfishing 2pm-3pm:Funfishinggamesandactivitiesforthefamily

Unattended fawns may not be abandoned LITTLE ROCK – The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission continues to get calls about people in Arkansas are finding newborn wildlife. The state is blessed with an abundance of wildlife and their offspring. Throughout the spring and summer, it is not uncommon to come across unattended baby wild animals. Many people discover what they feel to be lost or abandoned wildlife young and take them in, thinking they are doing the right thing. This always does more harm than good, said AGFC deer biologist Ralph Meeker. “We get quite a few calls about people thinking fawns have been abandoned by their mothers. Early in life, fawns lay very still so as not to attract predators (like well-intentioned humans), and are frequently mistaken for being in distress or abandoned,” Meeker explained. “More often than not, their mothers are usually within hearing or visual range,” he added. In addition to being removed from their mother’s care, many people try to care for these fawns, which is illegal under the Arkansas Game and Fish Code of Regulations as of July 1, 2012. Wildlife are just that, wild. If you feel that a fawn is in immediate danger by laying in or very near a road or in the path of haying equipment, pick it up and move it over a few feet. However, you should never remove it from the immediate area. The mother will periodically check on her young. Meeker says most wild animals don’t spend very much time at their young’s side in order to not attract predators to the area. “Bottom line; just leave them alone,” he said. “Allow them to be wildlife. If you remove them from the wild they cease to be just that.”


11percent ingreenhousegasemissionsand41percentofprocesswastefromthepreviousyear. TheSpringdalefacilityhasshareditswasteandenergyre-ductionprogramdetailswithotherPrattandWhitneyfacili-tiesaroundtheworldandwiththeUniversityofArkansasIndustrialClearinghouse,allowingotherstobenefitfromtheexpertisedevelopedatSpringdale. “ForthreeyearswehaverecognizedPrattandWhitney’scontribution to saving resources and energy by choosingthemasoneof thefinalistsforourENVYAward,”Markssaid.“Iampleasedthatthisyearthecompanyrosetothetopofthelistandhasbeenchosentowintheaward.” Otherfinalistsforthisyear’sawardwere:• The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program for its26-year-longCountyCourthouseRestorationprogram.

• TheArkansasWildlifeFederationfortheBearcatHollowwildlife habitat restoration project involving an OzarkNationalForestareainNewtonandSearcyCountiesnearWittsSprings.

• TheCityofFayetteville,inpartnershipwiththeWatershedResourceConservationCenter,forfourstreamrestorationprojects--twointheIllinoisRiverWatershedandtwointheWhiteRiverWatershed--between2007and2012.

• GoodwillIndustriesofArkansasforitsongoingcompre-

hensivestatewiderecyclingprogramdivertinghouseholdgoodsandelectronicwastesfromlandfills.

• TheIllinoisRiverWatershedfordevelopmentofawatereducationprogramaimedatgradesK-5stressingtheim-portanceofprotectingstreamsandotherwaterresourcesfrompollutionduringrainfallevents.

“Onceagain,thenumberandthequalityofentrantsfortheENVYAwarddemonstratesthatalloverArkansasindividu-als,localgovernments,nonprofitgroups,andcorporateinter-estscareaboutpreservingandimprovingourstate’senviron-mentanditsnaturalresources,”Marksnoted.“Normallywenarrowthelistofnomineestofivefinalists,butthisyearwehadtoexpandittosixbecauseofsomanyqualityentries.” Presentationof theENVYAwardtraditionallywrapsuptheADEQ’sannualobservanceofEarthWeek,which,inre-centyears,hasexpandedtoatwo-weeklongcelebrationtoaccommodate all the events that take place. Other activitiesduringADEQ’sEarthWeekobservanceincluded visits to the agency headquarters building byschoolchildrenfromsixdifferentschooldistrictsforaseriesofinteractiveenvironmentalprogramsApril14,15,21and22andapresentationbyVircoManufacturingCo.ofCon-wayApril24onthecompany’sextensivepollutionpreven-tionandrecyclingeffortsaspartoftheADEQ’scontinuingseriesof“PuttingGreentoWork”lunchtimeprograms.

Pratt & Whitney Wins 2014 Environmental Stewardship Award Initsthirdstraightyearasafinalist,PrattandWhitney’sSpringdaleaircraftenginemanufacturingfacilitywaspre-sentedwiththe2014ArkansasEnvironmentalStewardshipAwardFriday.TheawardwinnerwasannouncedbyArkan-sasDepartmentofEnvironmentalQuality(ADEQ)DirectorTeresaMarks during the regularmeeting of theArkansasPollutionControlandEcologyCommission. Dubbedthe“ENVYAward,”theannualpresentationwasestablishedin2005bytheADEQtorecognizeamajorcon-tributionbyanindividualororganizationforeffortstoen-hanceandprotectArkansas’naturalresources. Pratt andWhitneyhas been afinalist for the award forthree consecutive years for its ongoing pollution preven-tion program, started in 2011, designed to reduce and re-cyclematerialsused in themanufacturingprocessandre-ducegreenhousegasemissionsbysavingelectricityuseinthefacility’smanufacturingandoperationalactivities.Theprogram includesawide rangeof conservationmeasures,whichhave resulted indivertinganaverageof27 tonsofsolidwasteayearfromlandfills,includingrecyclingorre-using100percentofplasticsfromthemanufacturingpro-cess.In2013,thecompany’seffortsproducedreductionsof

Merritt Park Fishing Derbyby James Manatt

Yell County had a break from the wet weather as the rain held off Saturday morning (June 7, 2014) at Merritt Park for the annual kid’s fishing derby. The event had 50 youth that fished with all 50 young anglers catching at least one fish which the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission stocked for the event. All the kids who fished received a rod and reel to take home. The winners in each category received a rod and reel and a tackle box. The Arkansas Forestry Commission was on hand to clean the fish that were

caught, then bagged them for the young anglers to take home. The derby was followed by a great hot dog lunch and everyone had a great time. Yell County Wildlife Federation (YCWF) would like to give special thanks to our sponsors: Dardanelle Chamber of Commerce, Yell County Sheriff Bill Gilkey, Yell County EMS, Dardanelle Noon Rotary, Chamber Bank “Dardanelle”. YCWF would also like to thank our supporters: Arkansas Forestry Commission, Dardanelle Post-Dispatch, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Tyson Foods, Wal-Mart Dardanelle, Dardanelle Mayor Carolyn McGee.


by Johnny Sain, Jr.

Fire and meat. Is there a pairing morequintessentiallyhumanthanfireandmeat? The hunks of whitetail tenderloin in front ofmejustcameoffthegrill.Seasonedwithgarlic,salt,pepper,cuminandjustadashofcrushed red pepper they were every bit asmouth-watering delicious as they looked.Seasoning, coal fire and a soaked piece ofhickory working in concert underneath thehoodofmyoldgrillcraftedamasterpieceofflavorthatmy--andyour--prehistoricances-torsmightcalloverkill.Icallitperfection. Nobodyreallyknowshowandwhenwestartedcooking,butsomewherebackinourmurkypastmeatfounditswaytofireafterthekill,anditwasgood.Tastewastherea-sonbackthen,andagoodreasonatthat.Thesenseoftastetellsananimalwhattoeat.Ifsomething tastes good a creature will eatmoreofit.Thiswasbeforejunkfoodthrewourperceptionsoutofwhackbygoingover-boardonthetasteswecrave.Itonlymakessensethatpalatabilitywastheoriginalgoalforcooking,andourtastebudswereright.Cookedmeat isbetter forus.Cookingun-ravelsproteinsandloosensmusclefiber inmeat,whichmakesforeasierchewinganddigestion.Mytastebudstellmethatgrilledvenison is far superior to venison prepared any otherway. Because of the great deci-sionstastebudsmadeinthepastforbenefitofbodilyhealth,Ichoosetolistentothemtoday.Weeatdeermeatcookedalotofdif-

ferentways,buttenderloinisalmostalwaysreservedforthegrill. Backstraptenderloinisgoodeatingwithoutthespices.Somefolkscan’tseemtogetpastthe“gamey”tasteofdeercomparedtobeef,butI’veneverfounddeermeattobegamey.Venison is not beef, and shouldn’t be com-pared tobeefanymore thanporkshouldbecompared to beef. Venison’s flavor comesfromavariety of influences.The conditionssurroundingthehuntareimportant.Adeerrunhalf to death, its muscles loaded with lactic acid,won’tpleaseyourpalatelikeadeershotwhilepeacefullybrowsing.Ageandsexofthedeermatter,too.Manyeatersofdeersaythereisnodifferenceintastebetweenbuckanddoe.Isaidthesamethingafewyearsago.Iwaswrong.Thereisadifference;oneisn’tbetterthan the other-- only different.And it goeswithoutsaying that theyounger thedeer themoretenderthemeat.Atleastoneyoungdoeisonmywishlisteveryseason. But far andaway themostpowerful influ-ence on taste is what the deer ate. This is where theconnectionbetweenhunterandhuntedgetsveryearthy.IthastodowithatopicI’vetalkedaboutafewtimesbefore:asenseofplace. I’veeatendeerplumpeduponcornandsoybeans, their hams coveredwith a thicklayer of fat, and their tastewas bothmildandrich.Domesticated is thebestdescrip-tion.Domesticatedisagooddescriptionofthe land they fedonaswell.Cropsgrownin neat rows with pockets of trees break-ing themonotonyoffieldshere and there.

A Sense of Place on Your Plate

Trail TalesBy Johnny Sain, Jr.

Theywerewilddeer,but theywereeatingcultivated food, and there’snothingwrongwith that. Ifyour localwhitetailsgorgeongrain,thenenjoy.But,tome,itdidn’treallytastelikedeer.Itwasamuchdifferenttastethan thevenisonmy familyusually chowsonfromthesouthernOzarksandRiverVal-leyofwesternArkansas. My local whitetail herd primarily eatsgreenbriers,honeysuckleandgrassthroughthe summer;acornsandassortedsoftmastinthefall;andbacktohoneysuckleandwin-tergreensinafewscatteredfoodplotsforwinter.Adeer’sdietisdiverse,andtherearecountless other bits of vegetation browsedthroughouttheyear,butthesearethestaples.Youcantaste this throughthedeer’sflesh.

Energyfromthesunandnutrientsfromthesoilcyclingthroughthevegetation,throughthedeerandtoyouwitheverymorsel.Eachbitetintedwithnotesofwhatthatdeerate.I always say I can pick up hints of acorn,but I’m probably reaching a bit. It mightbejustbecauseoftheautumnseasonwhenthesmellofahardwoodridgeisinmynosenearlyeveryday.ButthedeertasteslikeanOctobermorningintheplaceIcallhome.IttasteslikewhereIbelong. The next time you’re seated at the dinnertablewithavenisonsteakinfrontofyou,takeamomentofreflectionformeal,forthehunt,for the deer, for the place it came from. And whenyoutakethatfirstbitesavortheflavor.Savorthesenseofplacerestingonyourplate.

by Al Wolff As September 13, 2014 gets closer and the annual World Champion Squirrel Cook Off (WCSCO) nears, recipes for top previous cook off dishes become worth their weight in gold. This cooking event has become a major cooking competition with teams from across the nation coming to Bentonville to prepare a 100% all natural, cage free, organic protein “tree bacon, limb chicken, the other brown meat” dish. Last year the 2013 winning team, The Estes Boys, won with their squirrel sausage. A different squirrel sausage recipe can be found at the official Squirrels Unlimited website. They love to cook and they love to brag. That’s what makes the WCSCO the greatest cooking event in the country. Their competition is special because the main ingredient can’t be bought at the store. You have to work for it and plan for it. The rules state that all teams must prepare their entrée’s on-site, no off-site prep is allowed. This guarantees a competition of intense labor and time use. Teams have only 2 ½ hrs. to create their dish which will be judged by a panel of true squirrel eaters, folks who know what good food should taste like. They hope that more Arkansas teams will join this year.

The cook off will also have additional guest judge Elyse Pasquale. She is a food and travel journalist with culinary experience in 65-plus countries. When she’s not eating her way around the world, Elyse resides in New York City and rural Tuscany. She recently hosted a new food adventure web series (in post-production) and is writing her upcoming memoir, Off the Beaten Plate. If that wasn’t enough, the National Squirrel Calling Competition and The Bacon Bowl will be held simultaneously. There is an early registration opportunity for teams for the cook off plus an additional fee to participate in the other events. Visit the official website for more details. The WCSCO is open to the public. The event was founded by Joe Wilson, president of Squirrels Unlimited, a national squirrel hunting organization based out of Monticello, Arkansas. The net proceeds of the cook off benefit the NWA Children’s Shelter. World Champion Squirrel Cook OffSept. 13, 20149:00 am – 3:00 pmDowntown Bentonville, ARNortheast A Street @ Northeast 2ndwww.squirrelcookoff.com www.squirrelsunlimited.com

Annual Squirrel Cook Off Returns


AWF ANNUAL CONSERVATION ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS BANQUETSaturday, August 23, 2014Doors open 4:00 PMDinner begins @ 6:00 PM

The Center of Bryant, 6401 Boone Road, Bryant, AR

Awards Program, Student Art Show Display, Silent Auction, Door Prizes, Live Auction, Youth Elk Tag, African Safari Hunt, Ar-gentina Dove Hunt, and more. Tickets $40 Couple/$25 Single Contact: AWF- (501) 888-4770 or [email protected] Shewmake – (479) 229-2298

AWF QUARTERLY MEETINGSaturday, September 6, 201410:00 AM – 2:00 PMWitt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center602 President Clinton Avenue

Little Rock, AR 72201

The September meeting will consist of the annual election to vote for officers. Other items will include a follow-up report to the banquet, and information on the upcoming Bearcat Hollow week-end.

ECOFESTSaturday, September, 13, 201410:00 AM – 3:00 PMLaurel ParkConway, AR

Plan to spend an exciting day at Laurel Park from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on SEPT. 13, 2014! This is a day to explore our connections to our environment, as well as celebrate the 6th annual Conway EcoFest event in a spectacular way! Visitors of all ages will find a lot of exhibits, topics and activities that will piqué intrest and ignite (or REignite) their curiosity... we hope you will join us! If you would like to be part of helping to develop any part of this exciting event, please contact us through this web site or call Debbie at 472-0901, Ashley, 548-2957, or Keith, 514-3881.

SUMMER 2014UPCOMING EVENTS

Father-Son Duck Huntby James Manatt ThispastAugustmysonandIattendedtheArkan-sas Wildlife Federation’s (AWF) annual Governor’sConservationAchievementAwardsBanquetinBryant.Wewonanauctionforatwo-man,two-dayduckhuntdonatedbyCypressPointDuckClubatWhiteRiverLodge inCasscoe,Arkansas, approximately 15min-utesnortheastofStuttgart. Thehuntwasdonated inhonorofDr.CharlesLogananavidconservationistandsportsmanwithover30yearsofsupportofAWF.Heisdedicated to the preservation of wildlife and wetlands. Dr.Logan is currently aDirector at Large forAWF.Hehasdonemany things forAWFoverhisyearsofservice.Most recently, he and hiswife Joyce donat-ednearly32 acresof land to theorganizationwhichAWFplanstoputapermanentbuildinguponaswellashopesforturningthenaturalareasintoaninterpretivetrailthatthepubliccanvisit. MysonandIhuntedtheweekendofJanuary10-12,2014.WearrivedatWhiteRiverLodgeonFridayeve-ningtoacatfishdinnerwithallthefixingsandhome-madepies.Wewerewelcomedlikewehadbeentheremanytimesbefore.WemetseveralotherhuntersfromallovertheU.S.includingfivehuntersfromAlabama,allAuburnalumni.If theywerestillupsetfromtheirloss to Florida State in the national championship earli-erthatsameweek,theywantedtotakeouttheirfrustra-tions on some ducks. We also met some close friends fromCleveland,OhioandAtlanta,Georgia.Theyhadbeen coming toCypress PointDuckClub for a fewyears. SaturdaymorningweallgotupandhuntedafloodedbeanfieldnearHumnokewherewekilled33ducks.Weshotaprettygoodvarietyofmallardducks, teal,gadwalls,andspoonbill. Afteramorningofhuntingwereturnedtotheclubhousewhereabreakfastbuffetwaswaitingonus.Wecouldhavegoneonanafter-noongoosehuntbuteveryonewassleepyorwantedtogoshoppingatMack’sPrairieWings. ForsupperSaturdaynightwehadsalad,steak,bakedpotatoandhomemadepies. Aftersupperweplayed

cards, pool, and watched a little football on the bigscreen. We sat around with our new friends and shared familyandhuntingstories. Sundaymorningwehuntedpitblinds inafloodedrice field nearHumphrey. Early onwe had a lot ofmallardsflyingover. There is justsomuchwater intheareaitwashardtokeeptheminrange.Wefinishedthemorningwith20mallardducks,teal,gadwalls,andspoonbills. Breakfastwas readyforuswhenwegotback to the clubhouse. After breakfast we said ourgoodbyesandexchangednumbersandemailswithournewfriends. Itwasagreat tripandIhope toget theopportunitytovisitthereagainnextseason. IwouldliketosharesomeinfoontheCypressPointDuckClubatWhiteRiverLodge. Theclubhouse isover10,000squarefeetandcanhandleagroupofupto25hunters.Theclubhousehasadockonastockedfishing pond and backs up to theWhiteRiver. Theduck club is family-run and operated with over 35yearsofexperience,ownedbyDanielBowlan,GlennEarlywine,andGradyHartzog.Thehuntsarefloodedriceandsoybeanfields,floodedtimber,andopenwateroxbowcreek.Thehuntinglandisallprivatelyownedor leasedby theduckclub, totalingmore than3,000acres.Kennelsareavailablefordogsifguestswanttobring theirown.Theclub is family friendlywithac-commodations for women and children. TheCypressPointDuckClubatWhiteRiverLodgeislocatedat36AliceLane,Casscoe,Arkansas.Theycanbereachedat870-241-3980orbyvisitingcypress-pointduckclub.comformoredetailsandimages.


Recreationists asked to turn away from the terns LITTLE ROCK –Holidaypeople,doagoodturnfortheleasttern. The endangered least terns nest on is-lands in theArkansas River. They makeit pretty well on their own, occasionalfloods, predators and all, but unfortu-nately,theseislandsarealsopopularwithFourthofJuly(andsummer)boaters,pic-nickers and frolickers. Nothingwrongwith these funactivities,but carelessness or unawareness canmeandeathanddestructiontothebirds,theleastterns. Their nests are on theground, just shal-lowdepressionsinthesand,andtheeggsarespotted for camouflage.Aboat or pontoonbargepullsup,kids,dogsandfour-wheelersgooutonthesane–andthebirds’nestsareimperiled. A coalition of the Arkansas Game andFishCommission,U.S.ArmyCorpsofEn-gineers,U.S.FishandWildlifeserviceandArkansasTechUniversityarecombiningef-fortstopostsignsandmakethepublicawayof the terns. Karen Rowe, non-game migratory birdcoordinator for the Game and Fish Com-mission,said,“Fewpeoplewilldeliberatelyharm the tern nests. The problem is that

most people are not aware the endangeredbirdsareontheseislands.Theyarehardtoseeatjustacasualglance.” Signsarebeingerectedonislandsintheriverwhereternnestshavebeenseen.Othersignsaregoingupatboatlaunchingramps.They instruct river recreationists to seekotherlocationsinsteadofsandyislandswithtern nests. Rowe said the birds usually nest on is-landswith littleornovegetation.Thiscanbe an indicator for boaters –put an islandwithtrees,bushes,vinesorweeds.Thisless-ensthechancesofdisturbingternnests. She said least terns may be found any-where along theArkansas River from theOklahomaborder to theMississippiRiver,butthemainnestingsectionisfromClarks-villedownstream toPineBluffLeast ternsarefoundonlessthan1/3oftheislandsonthe Arkansas River . Least terns are protected by federal andstateendangeredspeciesregulations.

by Jessica Rainwater

TherecoveryofthebaldeagleinArkan-sasisarguablythegreatestsuccessstoryofanextirpatedanimalbeingreintroducedintothewildever,saidCertifiedWildlifeBiolo-gist Karen Rowe, who also serves as theBird Conservation Program Leader of theWildlife Management Division of theAr-kansasGameandFishCommission. Baldeaglesarebelievedtohaveflourishedthroughout thecontiguousUnitedStates in1782,withnumbersinthe100,000’s,butaspeopleencroachedupontheirhabitat,muchlike they did with Native Americans, theeagleswerepushedout.Seenasapredatoronlivestock,manywerekilled. Theirnumbershaddecreasedtothebrinkofextinctionby1940,only487pairsknown

intheU.S.,whenCongresspassedTheBaldEagle Protection Act prohibiting the kill-ing,sellingorpossessionofbaldeagles.Al-thoughpracticesandpenaltieswereinplacetoprotectthelargebird,itstilldiminishedtoextirpationinArkansasbeforethe1980’s. In 1981 the Arkansas Game and FishCommissionreleasedapairofadulteaglesfromMinnesotaontotheWhiteRiverRef-uge.“Wedidn’treallydoanything,but in-troduce them to a habitat they could pros-perin,andtheynaturallyincreased,”Rowesaid.TheCommission’sgoalatthetimewas

to one day have ten pairs of eagles inAr-kansas.Thenumberwasgreatlysucceeded.In2007thecommissionsurveyedmorethan130eaglesnestthroughoutArkansas. Rowe said after the bird was removedfrom the endangered species list in 2007thecommissionconductedanaerialsurveyoncemorein2008finding140eaglenests,before moving on to the next endangeredspecies.Nofurthersurveyshavebeencon-ducted, because of the high cost of aerialsurveys.Thecommissionurgesthepublictohelpwiththetrackingofeaglesbyreportingthemontheirwebsite. Mosteaglesliveonfederalandstatepro-tected land making it difficult to find thebirdsorkeeptrackofthem.“Eaglesarealsomigratory, meaning they follow the food,whichmakesithardtosayacertainnumber

ofeaglesliveinanyarea,”said Wildlife Specialist DaleEubanks.“Themainstaple in an eagle’s dietisfish,but theyalsofeedlargely onwaterfowl thatmovewiththeweather.” Even thoughtheeaglehas been very successfulmany hazards still existforthelargebird.Peopleare the biggest obstaclefor any wildlife as wetake up more and more space.Eaglesdonotgen-erally nest near people,but they are becomingknown to do so. A nest in Brookings, Ark. is only200feetfromaresidenceand even closer to the highway in a fence row.Clearingoffarmlandand

areasaroundriversaredirectlyrelatedtothetolerance of people. “Manybirdsweredyingofleadpoisoning,”saidRowe,“untiltheGameandFishCom-missionstoppedhuntersusingleadshotonfederalandstateground.Thehunterwouldshoot a duck, wounding it and the eaglewouldeattheduck[thus]givingitleadpoi-soning.” Another issue with people is they don’tunderstandthewildlifearoundthem.“Thisis the same with eagles, owls, cardinals,mostanywildlife,”Rowesaid.“Theprob-

The Success of Bald Eagles in Arkansaslem is, especially with eagles, when theyleave thenest they canonlyfly about 100yards. Peoplewill see them in their back-yardoronthesideoftheroadand,thinkingthey’reabandoned, theywillpick themupandtrytotakecareofthem.” This is exactly the wrong thing to do.Usuallytheparentsarenearbyandtheywillcontinuefeedingthemandteachingtheea-glets until they can survive on their own.Oncepeopleinterferethebirdismuchlesslikely to survive, so “…if you see a babyeagleorowl,don’tpickitup,”Rowesaid. Anothercommonproblemisfear.Peopleseeabirdintheiryardandtheyareafraiditwillhurttheirchildrenorattack.“Theyaremorescaredofyouthanyouareofthem,”Rowe said.

[Editor’s Note: Arkansas ranks in the top 10 states in the number of win-ter bald eagle sightings. Over 1,000 bald eagles are counted each winter, nearly triple the 368 recorded in 1979. Anyonefindinganeaglenest shouldnotapproach it but should carefully note the exact location. Then phone Karen Rowe at (877)873-4651 or contact her by e-mail at [email protected], and a bald eagle site report form will be mailed, or you can download the Bald Eagle Nest Data Form. The form includes space for notes on nest activities and site location information. Completed forms should be emailed or mailed to Rowe at AGFC Hampton Wildlife Research Center, 31 Halowell Lane, Hum-phrey, AR 72073.]


NAME HOME TOWN ZONE LOCATION STATUS

CodyAskew Hope Zone1 Private Land At-Large

RobertBassham Wynne Zone3 Private Land At-Large

MichaelBays Fayetteville Zone3 Private Land At-Large

JeremyBelknap Little Rock Zone1 Private Land At-Large

MatthewBell Little Rock Zone1 Private Land At-Large

JohnBishop Conway Zone3 Private Land At-Large

BenjaminBradberry WalnutRidge Zone3 Lower Arkansas River (Public)

StrapBrents Hattieville Zone3 Lower Arkansas River (Public)

CharlesBright Hope Zone1 Private Land At-Large

DamonBrown Fayetteville Zone3 Lower Arkansas River (Public)

AmandaBuffington Hope Zone1 BoisD’ArcWMA (Public)

BrodieBulloch Crossett Zone3 Private Land At-Large

BillyCallicott Emmet Zone1 Private Land At-Large

StephenCampbell Hamburg Zone3 Private Land At-Large

ShelbyCampbell Rosston Zone1 Private Land At-Large

MichaelChapman Fayetteville Zone1 Little River (Public)

RichardChwalinski Havana Zone1 MillwoodLake (Public)

TerryCiganekJr. Fayetteville Zone3 Lower Arkansas River (Public)

JohnClements MineralSprings Zone1 Private Land At-Large

CarterCoats Greenbrier Zone1 Private Land At-Large

RoderickCooper Lewisville Zone1 Private Land At-Large

ChadDitto Walnutridge Zone3 Lower Arkansas River (Public)

TommyDrew Little Rock Zone1 Private Land At-Large

NicholasEngi Cabot Zone1 Private Land At-Large

LarryEngland Centerton Zone1 MillwoodLake (Public)

JosephEubanks Paragould Zone3 Lower Arkansas River (Public)

MarcusFlippin Flippin Zone3 Private Land At-Large

JasonFortenberry Jessieville Zone3 Lower Arkansas River (Public)

GregGaisbauer Little Rock Zone3 Lower Arkansas River (Public)

SandraGarrett Redfield Zone1 Private Land At-Large

CourtneyGorman McCrory Zone3 Private Land At-Large

AndrewGuffey Pangburn Zone3 Lower Arkansas River (Public)

Hunters drawn for eighth Arkansas alligator hunting season LITTLE ROCK –TheArkansasGameandFishCommissionhascompletedthedrawingofpermitsforArkansas’seighthseasonofalligatorhunting.TheseasonwillgetunderwayinSeptember. Theseasonwillbeopenfrom30minutesaftersunsetonFriday,Sept.19until30minutesbeforesunriseonMonday,Sept.22andfrom30minutesaftersunsetonFriday,Sept.26until30minutesbeforesunriseonMonday,Sept.29. Thefollowinghuntershavebeenselectedtoparticipateinthe2014alligatorhuntingseason:

Steve Hacker PrairieGrove Zone1 BoisD’ArcWMA (Public)

Steven Hawkins Booneville Zone3 Lower Arkansas River (Public)

AndrewHayes LakeVillage Zone3 Private Land At-Large

JamesHill Portland Zone3 Private Land At-Large

BrendaHouse Ashdown Zone3 Private Land At-Large

GeraldHughes Watson Zone3 Lower Arkansas River (Public)

TonyaHuhn Austin Zone3 Private Land At-Large

RickeyHunter Bono Zone1 MillwoodLake (Public)

LouisJanski N.LittleRock Zone1 Private Land At-Large

AaronKeller Little Rock Zone3 Private Land At-Large

MadisonKidd Ashdown Zone1 Private Land At-Large

MicahLane Monticello Zone3 Private Land At-Large

Samuel Leamons Arkadelphia Zone1 Private Land At-Large

JamiLinder Hamburg Zone3 Lower Arkansas River (Public)

JacobLonging Conway Zone3 Lower Arkansas River (Public)

EarnestMcdowell Texarkana Zone1 Private Land At-Large

JeffMessenger Little Rock Zone3 Lower Arkansas River (Public)

CodyMills Foreman Zone1 Private Land At-Large

DavidOgle Bigelow Zone3 Private Land At-Large

BennyPetrus Stuttgart Zone3 Private Land At-Large

NikkiPippinger Gillett Zone3 Lower Arkansas River (Public)

JohnRains Jacksonville Zone3 Lower Arkansas River (Public)

BeauRedfearn Genoa Zone1 MillwoodLake (Public)

WilliiamRogers Gurdon Zone1 BoisD’ArcWMA (Public)

JohnSiems England Zone1 Private Land At-Large

EvelynSmillie Prescott Zone1 Private Land At-Large

JamesSmith Hope Zone1 MillwoodLake (Public)

Dallas Smith Mountainburg Zone3 Lower Arkansas River (Public)

JonathanSpradling Bryant Zone3 Lower Arkansas River (Public)

JohnSpurlock Bauxite Zone1 Little River (Public)

BillyStreeter Crossett Zone1 Private Land At-Large

Donald Thompson Jefferson Zone3 Lower Arkansas River (Public)

Leonard Turner Benton Zone3 Private Land At-Large

DonaldVarnell StarCity Zone3 Private Land At-Large

Donald Walker Ogden Zone3 Private Land At-Large

BrianWaller Emerson Zone1 LakeErling (Public)

JamesWatkins DeWitt Zone3 Lower Arkansas River (Public)

KevinWhite Taylor Zone1 LakeErling (Public)

NicholasWright Fayetteville Zone1 BoisD’ArcWMA (Public)

ColbyYarbrough Bryant Zone3 Private Land At-Large

JasonYearby Gurdon Zone1 MillwoodLake (Public)

EarlYounger Mabelvale Zone3 Private Land At-Large


Beaver Watershed Alliance News Eachyear,BWAhostsanumberofeducationaleventsand volunteer opportunities. So far in 2014, we havecollaborated to host riparian tree plantings, trail main-tenanceevents,raingardenplantings,andstreamclean-ups.Ourvolunteerhoursexceed1300,whichmeansthatvolunteershavegenerated$27,300incommunityservicevalue, justover thepast5months!Wehaveseenquitea fewnew, and returning, volunteers at our events andmanyofthesefolksreturntovolunteerseveraltimeswithusthroughouttheyear.Wearegratefulforthehardworkanddedicationofthesemembersofthecommunitywhotaketimeoutoftheirbusyschedules- includingweek-ends, weeknights, during finals and graduation season,etc.-todosomethingthatmakesadifferenceinourre-gion’swaterquality.SoTHANKYOUtothosethathavemadeitouttovolunteerwithusin2014!Weknowthattherearemanyofyououttherethathaven’tbeenabletomakeittooneoftheseeventsyet,buttherearemoreop-portunitiesforyoutobeinvolvedinthecomingmonths. Toshowappreciationofthelakethatisthelifebloodofourregion,wewillbehostingseveralcleanupsinJuly,in-cludingalakecleanupatHobbsStatePark,andacleanuponHighway412inSpringdalethroughtheAdopt-a-High-wayprogram.Ifyouhaven’tvolunteeredwithusyet,this

summeristhetime.Wecan’twaittoworkalongsideyouto improvethewaterqualityofNorthwestArkansasandprotectourregion’sdrinkingwatersupply! Many residents of NorthwestArkansas don’t real-ize that Beaver Lake, which serves as the drinkingwater source for 420,000 people, was formerly theWhite River before Beaver Dam was built, creatingthe reservoir thatwenowknowasBeaverLake.Lo-calfolkduo,StillontheHill,isouttochangethisgapin knowledge throughmusic and story-telling. Theirnew album,Once a River, is full of stories from the WhiteRiver’shistoryaswellasBeaverLaketoday.Tospreadawarenessoftheimportancethisbodyofwaterhas for our region, Still on theHill will perform 10free concerts this summer in watershed communities andwillgiveaway100CDs,oneper family,ateachperformanceonafirstcome,firstservedbasis. The project is beingmade possible through a col-laborative grant from theArkansasArts Council, anagency of theDepartment ofArkansasHeritage, andtheNationalEndowmentfortheArtstofournorthwestArkansas groups – theAssociation for Beaver LakeEnvironment(A.B.L.E.),OzarksWaterWatch,BeaverWater District, and BeaverWatershedAlliance, withspecialadditionalsponsorshipthroughtheShilohMu-seumofOzarkHistory. For more information and performance dates visit http://www.stillonthehill.com/onceariver.html

Central High team a finalist in Siemens environmental challengeby Ethan Nahté

AteamfromLittleRockCentralHighSchoolwasanationalfinalistintheSiemens We Can Change the World Challenge,whichencouragesprojectsonenvironmentalsustainabil-ity.ThecontestisthepremiernationalenvironmentalsustainabilitycompetitionforgradesK-12students.Throughproject-basedlearning,studentslearnaboutscienceandconserva-tionwhilecreatingsolutionsthatimpacttheirplanet.BeginningAugust13,2013throughMarch 4, 2014, teams from across the countrywill be challenged to create sustainable,reproducibleenvironmentalimprovementsintheirlocalcommunities.Thecompetitionwasreferenced in an earlier edition of Arkansas Out-of-Doorsinhopesofgettingsomeschoolsfrom Arkansas to participate Todate,nearly100,000studentshaveparticipatedintheChallengegivingstudentstheopportunity,toolsandinspirationtomakeadifferenceandbecomeagentsofchange. TheCentralteam,taughtbyGaryEarleywine,lookedforsolutionstoroadsidelitter.“Wetestedhowmuchtrashpeoplestillthrowawaywhentheyareexposedtosignsdenouncinglitteringandtrashbags.Wehopethatthisinformationwillhelpourcommunityandothershelpkeeptheirenvironmentsbeautifulbyunderstandingwhattreatmentsmakethepeoplelitterless.” Apanelofenvironmentaladvocates,STEMprofessionals,scienceteachersandprofes-sorsselectedthewinners.Thejudgeslookedforprojects thatofferedviablesolutionstorealworldchallenges.Theobjectiveofthecontestisforteachers,mentorsorotheradultstoworkwithandsuperviseteamsoftwo,three,orfoureligiblestudentsinthecreationofacontestentrywhichidentifiesanenvironmentalissueorproblem,providesaplantoposi-

tivelyimpactthatissueorproblem,andencouragestheexpansionorreplicationoftheplanintheTeam’scommunityandbeyond. TheSnyderElementarySchool(Snyder,TX)EarthAgentstook1stplaceintheK-2cat-egory.Theystudiedwherewatercomesfromandthecausesofdrought. LynnWoodsElementarySchool(Lynn,MA)took1stplacefor the3-5category.Theyrealizedsomeofthecommunitywasdumpingyardwastecontaininginvasiveplantsinthewoods.Theystudiedinvasiveplants,tookdataandsetabouttoprotecttheLynnWoodsandgettingthecommunityinvolved. TheCabCallowaySchoolofArts(Wilmington,DE)teamZeroWasteTeamDelawaretook1stplaceforthe6-8category.TheZeroWasteTeamDelawareworkedtodivertorgan-icswasteofDelawarelandfills.TheteamimplementedthefirstresidentialcurbsidemixedorganicscollectionrouteinDelawarewhichtakesorganicswastefromhomesandbringsittoacommercialcomposter.TheyhavesuccessfullyworkedwiththesecondlargesthaulerintheUStoconvertexistingyardwastecollectionroutesintomixedorganicscollectionsandthishaulerisnowofferingtheirpilotdesignasastandardserviceofferinginDelaware.Theyhavehelpeddivertover15tonsfromourlandfillstodateandareontracktohaveabout100tonsdivertedbyyearend. TheNorthCountyHighSchool(GlenBurnie,MD)teamWaterBottleWarriorstookfirstplaceforthe9-12category.Amicrofluidicbiosensorwascreatedtomonitorwatercontami-nantsrapidly,inexpensively,andeasily.Also,aninexpensivewaterfilterwasmadefromplasticwaterbottlesandaminoacids.Thebiosensorisnearly200,000timeslessexpensiveand simpler than current sensorswhilemaintaining acceptable sensitivity and operationtime.Thefilteris42timeslessexpensivethancurrentfiltersandiseasiertoproduce. Thousandsofdollarsingrantsareawardedtotheteamsandtotheschoolsfor1st-3rd place ineachcategory,aswellasagreenprizepack.Upto50moregreenprizepacks,anonlinecertificateandabannerforeachfinalistschoolsisprovidedtootherfinalists.

Corps Closes Shoal Bay Swim Beach on Lake Dardanelle Until Further Notice Russellville, Ark. - The Corps of Engineers, Russell-ville Project Office has closed Shoal Bay swim beach on Lake Dardanelle (June 23, 2014)until further no-tice. The temporary closure is the result of higher than acceptable E. coli levels that were found during routine testing conducted by the Arkansas Depart-ment of Health. According to Corps officials, the high bacteria level could be the result from run-off following heavy rains which is typical in agricultural areas. The Corps has posted signs and swimming will not be allowed at this location until test results indicate it is safe to do so. For more information on the status of other recre-ation areas along the Arkansas River call the Russell-ville Project Office at 479-968-5008, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Little Rock District news and recreation information can be found at www.about.me/usacelittlerock.


Pipeline IssuesbyEthanNahté

IssueswithpipelinesissomethingthatArkansasisalltoofamiliarwith,especiallywithinthepastyearaftertheExxonMobilePegasusdisasterinMayflowerwhichcausedtheevacu-ationofanentireneighborhoodandthepollutionofwaterwaysaroundLakeConwaywhena20”pipelineburst,spillingthousandsofgallonsofoil.AMay2014reportfromtheTrans-portationDepartment report states the federal agency responsible formaking sure stateseffectivelyoverseethesafetyofnaturalgasandotherpipelinesisfailingtodoitsjob. Inthereporttheinspectorgeneralsaysthefederaleffortissoriddledwithweaknessesthatit’snotpossibletoensurestatesareenforcingpipelinesafety. The report states the federal Pipeline andHazardousMaterials SafetyAdministration(PHMSA)isn’tensuringthatkeystateinspectorsareproperlytrained,inspectionsarebeingconductedfrequentlyenoughandinspectionstargetthemostriskypipelines. Thereportcamejustdaysbeforea20-inchpipelineburstintheLosAngelesarea,spill-ingapproximately10,000gallonsofcrudeoilintothestreetsofGlendale,shuttingdownasectionofAtwaterVillage.Accordingtoreports,gushesofoilspurtedintotheair,landingon theexoticdancevenueTheGentleman’sClubandcausing theevacuationof thepa-trons.Inaddition,fourpeoplefromalocalmedicalbusinesswereevaluatedforrespiratorycomplaintsandtwootherswerehospitalized.Foranyonethattraveledthrough,ornear,theMayflower,Arkansasareawithinthefirstcoupleofweeksafterthatincidentcanattesttotheoverpoweringsmellthatpermeatedtheair,sickeningmany. Thefindingscomemore than threeyearsafteragaspipelineexplosionandfirekilledeightpeople,injured58anddestroyedmuchofasubdivisionsouthofSanFrancisco.Ac-cidentinvestigatorscitedweakstateandfederaloversight. ThepipelineinGlendalerunsfromBakersfield,CAtoTexas.ThePegasuspipelineinMayflowerrunsfromPatoka,ILtotheCorsicana,TXarea,itsroutetraversingMissouriasitentersnortheastArkansasbeforecuttingacrossthecentralportionofthestate.Thepipe-linetravelspastLakeMaumelle,whichsupplieswaterformuchofcentralArkansas,rightthroughHotSpringsNationalParkwherethenaturallyoccurringhotwaterflowsfromun-derground.Thewatercanactuallybebottledbyresidentsandvisitorstodrink.ThepipelinethenflowsondownthroughtheTexarkanaarea. TheKeystoneXLpipelinethatseeminglymostofArkansas’statepoliticianswanttoap-prove,manyinsistingthatitwillbeasafepipelineandremarkingthataccidentssuchastheaccidentthathappenedtothePegasuspipelinewon’toccurwiththeKeystoneXL,beginsinAlberta,Canada.It’sroughly2,000milesoftranscontinentalpipecurrentlyrunningtothreedestinationswithintheU.S.:theGulfofMexicoviaTexas,northernOK,andPatoka,IL.ThepipelinewillsupposedlysupporttheUnitedStatesalmostexclusively,theXLstandingfor“eXportLimited.”ButatwhatpotentialenvironmentalcosttoTheNaturalState?ThecurrentadministrationisstillevaluatingPhaseIVwhichcouldpotentiallybringyetanotherpipelinethroughthemountains,forests,andwaterwaysofArkansas. OnMay12th theKeystoneXLwas one, if not the only, item that political rivalsCong.TomCotton(R)andSen.MarkPryor(D)agreedupon.TheyappearedtogetherataneventheldatWelspunPipes(LittleRock)toshowtheirsupport,announcingtheamountofjobsandmoneythatthepipelinewouldbringtoArkansas.Yet,somehow,thenewCarbonRulethatObamaapproved,whichmostenvironmentalgroupsseemtobeinfavorof,doesn’tseemtobeaviableoptionaccordingtoalotofthosesamepoliticianswantingthepipeline. Alotofthepoliticiansclaimthatthepipelinewillbringjobs.Willjobsnotalsobeavail-ableifArkansaswastoutilizemorewindorsolarenergy?Theinfrastructureforbuildingthesealternativeenergyprojectswon’tbefeasiblewithoutpeopleworkingtobuildthem.Hopefully,ifitisbeingbuiltinorthroughArkansas,thenthemajorityofthelaborerswillbefromArkansas.Acombinationofenergysourcesisprobablytheonlyrealanswerandnottherelianceonjustoneenergysource.Nosolutionisgoingtobeonehundredpercentperfect,butchoosingtouseonesolutiononehundredpercentisdefinitelyimperfect.

Is Recycling Against Human Nature?byEthanNahté

Recycling,thatprocessthatdoesn’ttakemuchtimeorefforttohelpgivebacksomeof the resources thathumansutilizedaily.It’sanefforttopreventfillingupourland-fills too quickly and to help conserve thenatural resources used to manufacture the productsweuse.Ifhumansdon’trecycle,we will consume our resources that much quickerandpossiblybelivingincontami-natedsqualor. Ican’t thinkofanyonewhowouldpur-poselywantthatdystopianfuture,butIcanthinkofseveral,andImeaninthedozensifnotthehundreds,ofpeoplewhocouldn’tcare less about recycling. It seems to be

too much effort to divide plastics, metals, cleanpaper, cardboard, etc. from trash. Isitbecauseittakesuptoomuchroom?Isitbecauseyouhavetohaulitouttothecurbto a recycle bin or, if you don’t have re-cyclinginyourneighborhood,drivingittotherecyclingcenter? I bring all this up simply for the factthattherecyclebinsinthepostofficeareliterallyrightnexttothetrashcan.Thereare signs that even suggest you recycleyourjunkmailandotherunwantedmail.YettimeandtimeagainIseepeoplereachdirectly for thebland-colored trashdoorinstead of the brightly colored recyclebinanddumptheirmail.Bothcontainersaresecuredsoitcan’tbeforsecurityrea-sons.Itsimplymustbehumannature–ahabit that has grown out of control in athrowawaysociety.It’sahabitthatneedstochange.

Exxon Assists After DisasterBy Ethan Nahté

The ExxonMobil Pipeline Company found themselves dejected on May 9, 2014 by Federal Judge Kristine Baker after she refused a request to dismiss the federal-state lawsuit filed last year against the oil giant over the pipeline break that spilled heavy crude in the Mayflower area. The pipeline company argued that the lawsuit failed to state a claim. The judge said the parties had made sufficient factual allegations to pursue claims for violations of several federal and state environmental laws. The court ruling was only one day after ExxonMobil donated $250,000 to help recovery efforts for the tornado that had recently devastated the May-flower & Vilonia area April 27th. The EF4 tornado killed 15, and injured many more in addition to destroying many structures. The Red Cross and the damaged communities will benefit from the dona-tion, and the residents seemed grateful for the assistance that ExxonMobil and other individuals, churches and local companies provided in their time of need.

In MemoriumJim Moore

from the Searcy Board of Realtors


This is article #3 in a series of interviews that is examining turkey decline and habitat changes in Arkansas.

Joe Fox is the current Arkansas StateForester and Director of the Arkansas For-estryCommission(AFC).HeisagraduateofNorthCarolinaStatewith aBS inFor-estry/AGEcon.Hehasalso spent thepast20yearsinthefamilylumberbusiness,WSFoxandSons/ArkansasOakFlooringCom-pany, a hardwood based company. For 11yearshewasDirectorofConservationFor-estryforTheNatureConservancy(TNC)inLittleRock.Thefollowingisourinterview: Kevin:AretheremoreforestsinArkansasnowthantherewere30yearsago? Joe: The answer is an emphatic yes.In1978 therewere17.3million acresofforestlandsandthelatestsurveyof2012shows18.9millionacres.Thisisbasedonthe50yearsofpermanentsampleplotsinthe Forest InventoryAnalysis project oftheUSForestService (USFS).TheAFCnowcontractstheUSFStomeasure5,000plots every 5 years. For pinewood, from1996-2005 we grew an average of 550millioncubicft.peryearandcut540mil-lioncubicft.peryear.Wegrewmorethanwecut,alsoforpine,from2006-2012.Wegrewan averageof 750million cubic ft.peryearandcut500millioncubicft.peryear.We grewwaymore thanwe cut inthoseyears. Wealsogrewmorehardwoodthanwecutinthoseyears.Sowearenotrunningoutofforestsor forest landbecausewehave1.6millionmoreacresthanweusedto.Alargepartofthese1.6millionacresarefromtheconversionofmarginalagriculturalfieldstoforestland in easternArkansas through thefederalWetlandReserveProgramandCon-servationReserve Program that have beenoperatingforoveradecadenow.Thenum-bersshowthatmostof thiswasplanted inhardwood.

Kevin:WhatisthelandscapeofArkansas? Joe:Agoodestimatewouldbe56%tim-berland, 37% Farmland/pastureland, 3%water,2%populationcenters Thenorthpartof the state is theOzarkMountains, which are a sandstone andlimestonekarstcavesystem.Theyareup-lifted plateaus that are now eroded. These soils are less fertile than others, but treesareavitalpartofthissystem.Tothesouthare theOuachitaMountains.Theyare theoldest system in the state running east towest.Theyareupliftedandfolded,possi-blyanextensionoftheAppalachianMoun-tains.Someofthesouth-facingslopesarepretty good for growing timber. Southof theOuachita is theGulf Coastal PlainwhichwasonceapartoftheGulfofMex-ico.Lastly,ontheeastsideofthestate,isthe Mississippi River Alluvial Plain; theyoungestsysteminthestate.Itisveryfer-tileandcovers1/3ofthestate. Kevin:Whathaschangedorispressuringtheforestlandscape? Joe: 30 years ago the timber industryowneda largeportionof theforestsof theOuachita and Gulf Coastal Plain in southArkansas,intherangeof35and40%.ThelargercompanieshaveprettymuchsoldalltheirtimberlandsinArkansas.InternationalPaperCo.was the largestwith1.7millionacres.Todaytheyown0acres.GeorgiaPa-cificwasthesecondwithover1millionandtheyhavespunoffthoselandstoaRealEs-tate InvestmentTrust (REIT) namedPlumCreek.Weyerhaeuserwasthirdandchangedall their lands to a REIT for tax purposesand spun some small tracts off to private REITsandTimberlandInvestmentManage-mentOrganizations(TIMO). The ownership and business of timberlandhaschanged.ManyoftheTIMOsandREITsarerunbyabsenteeownerswhoaremaking the timber decisions. TIMOs andREITs still own about 37-38%of the tim-berlandsinthesouthandcentralArkansas.

FromastudybyTNC,outofasliceof3.4millionacresinsouthcentralArkansas,Ibe-lieve 1.4million acres has been harvestedand converted from natural pine stands to pineplantationfrom1973to2004.Sothereis a good chance that somewhere around30-40% of theBig Pineywoods has beenconvertedtopineplantation.AllofthebigpineforestsinsouthArkansashavenotbeenharvestedcompletely,buteasily30-40%arenow pine plantation. Kevin:Theownershiphaschangedoverthepast30years.Have theREITsandTI-MOstimberharvestpracticeschangedalso? Joe:TheAFCmanagesandmaintainsthevoluntary “Best Management Practices”(BMP’s)adoptedbylotsofforestpartners.The AFC has monitored behind the log-gingjobsalloverArkansasforthepast20years.Currently those loggers, in all partsofthestate,are89%incompliancewiththeBMP’s, includingStreamsideManagementZone (SMZ)width. If someone is leavingnoSMZtheyareinviolation.WedogetanaverageofonevalidcomplaintofBMPnon-conformance,everytwomonths,statewide.Ithink89%isverygood. Kevin:Wastherealotofpinesawtimberharvested in south Arkansas, when prices were at their all timehigh, just before thehousingbustof2008? Joe:Yes,alotofpinesawtimberwascut,but the numbers showwe never cutmoreoverallcubicft.thanwegrew. Kevin:IstherestillhardwoodinsouthAr-kansas? Joe:Thereissomewonderfulhardwoodstillthere.Togrowqualityhardwood,thebestwaytodoitisinsmallerpatchclear-cuts, which is the management practicethat I tend to agreewith and is good forwildlife habitat. The point is, the same

study,byTNC,showed thatof thissame3.4 million acres of forestland in southcentralArkansas, 20% is still in bottom-landhardwoodasof2004. In the coastal plainmany of the privatelandowners in the other 60% timberlandownership have mixed pine-hardwoodstands, and somemanage their timber forwildlife.Oneof theproblems inallof thestate is many private landowners do nothavea forestmanagementplanoractivelymanagetheirforestlands. Kevin:Arepineplantationspoorhabitatforturkeyandotherwildlife? Joe: They can be good habitat, if donecorrectly. Wildlife needs several differentconditions.Openspaces,transitionzonestoopen spaces, in some cases closed canopyforests, in some cases open forests with grass. All those different conditions aregood. Straight pine plantations, when thecanopyisclosedin the8-15years,arenotterriblyproductiveforwildlifeuntiltheyarethinned.Butitistemporary. Kevin: NorthArkansas has had quite abitofmortalityandcuttingduetotheRedOak Borer infestation and ice damage onthe USFS. What is the state of the forests of northArkansas? Joe: The best way to manage forests ingeneral,whethernorthorsouth,forwildlife;includingturkeys,istothintheforestanduseprescribedfire.Thosetwotoolsarepreemi-nent.TheRedOakBorerepidemic,anativeinsect,gotoutofproportionalittlemorethantenyears ago andkilledmanyoak trees. Itdidsobecauseournativehardwoodstands,up in central and north Arkansas, had not beenthinnedandhadtoomanytreesperacrefightingforthesameresources(water,miner-alsandsunlight).Theinsectstookadvantageofsomanytreesinaweakenedunhealthyas-

“On the Turkey Trail” (Part Three)


pect.Thinninghelpskeepforestshealthyso that individual trees are strong andward off disease and insect attack. Kevin:TheAFChastheresponsibilityofcontrollingandprotectingfromwild-landfire,inArkansas.Whythen,ispre-scribedfiregood? Joe: Foresters in general, wildlandfire managers and firefighters, knowthat prescribed fire underneath the treecanopy opens up the forest floor forgrassesthatinsectsloveandinturnthatturkeyslove.Itletsnewnativeplants,inthecycleof life, toexpress themselvesin the forest. It also consumes forestfuels on theground.Take the2009 icestormwhichleftbrokentopsandlimbsall over the forest in north Arkansas. The bestway to get rid of those fuels is toburnthatfuelup,insmallerprescribed,intentional fires. It is a huge wildfireprevention tool.Asasecondarybenefititishelpingthewildlife.Prescribedfireisawin/win.Itgetsridoffuelsoacresdon’tburnonhighfiredangerdaysandisgoodforallsortsofwildlife. Kevin: Is prescribed burning beingconductedinthespringduringtheturkeyhatchseasoninnorthArkansas? Joe:Yes,Iamcertainthatitdoesgoon.Iamnotawildlifeexpert.Iamaforester,but it has to affect population numbers.However, I agree withArkansas GameandFishDirectorKnoedlthatitissuchagoodrushofgreenmaterialthatthesur-vivingbirdpopulationdoesnotsuffer. Well folks to sum up, Joe gives thenumberstoshowthatwehavemorefor-est than we used to and that the forests have changed.We will examine turkeytrends and habitat during the peak pop-ulationyears inmynext interviewwithformerAGFCWildlifeTurkeyBiologistsJohnGallagherandBobMcAnallywhohave “boots on theground” experience.Keepreadingmyfuture interviewswithTheNatureConservancy, theUSForestService on cooperative efforts, and fi-nally,NWTF spokespersons in “On theTurkeyTrail.” Thanks for all the reader responses. IwilltrytomakesureIaddressyourques-tionsandgettheinformationyouarein-terestedin.Ifyoudohavequestionsyouwant to ask regarding turkey habitat orwant to read past articles, please email [email protected].

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Art Awards Ceremonyby Ethan Nahté

The Witt Stephens Jr. Central ArkansasNatureCenterwashustlingandbustlingwiththesoundsofexcitedvoicesontheeveningofMay3rd as families and educators weaved theirway through the art display featuringthewinners of this year’s “Wildlife ofAr-kansas”StudentArtContest.Co-sponsoredby AWF and Creative Ideas, the contestprovedtobesuccessfulandshowinggrowthasthenumberofentrantsnearlydoubledforthesecondyearinarow,growingto1,110entriesofwhich52winnersarechosen,4ineachgrade. A large majority of those winners, theirfriends,families,andartteachers(180into-tal)made it to theAGFCfacility toaccepttheirawards.Alargernumberhadoriginallybeenexpected,butthetornadothatunleashedsomuchdestructiononMayflowerandVilo-niajustafewdaysbeforeaffectedseveralofthewinnersfromtheArtSchoolofConway.A few other winners from around the state werealsounabletoattendtheevent. CreativeIdeas’president,SharonHacker,introduced the evening’s festivities. Oth-er special guests included AWF’s WayneShewmake(president)andLolaPerritt(re-gionaldirector);AGFC’sNeilCurry(facil-itydirector);andtwoofthethreeartjudges,BryanMassey,Sr.andSandraLuckett,bothof UCA. Woody Arrowood provided thehonorsofannouncingthewinnersasHackerand Shewmake presented the awards to the students and posed for photos. This year’s Best of Showwinner was apaintingoftheArkansasstatebirdandtreeentitled “CommonBeauty.” Itwas paintedbyJosephGomez(12thgrade–JacksonvilleHighSchool).Hisartisonthecoverofthe2015calendarandallof thewinningart isfeatured in the interior. The calendars are availablethroughCreativeIdeas. TheartstayedondisplayattheWittSte-phens Center throughout May where over15,000 visited during themonth then pro-ceeded to the Forrest L. Wood Crowley’sRidgeNatureCenter (Jonesboro). The artcanbeseenfreeofchargeattheJanetHuck-abeeArkansas RiverValleyNature Center(FortSmith)untilJuly25beforemovingto

theGovernorMikeHuckabeeDeltaRiversNatureCenter (PineBluff) fromJuly27–August22.TheartwillalsobeonviewattheConservationAchievementAwardsBan-

quetatTheCenterofBryantonAugust23rd. Youwon’tbedisappointedwhenyouseethewonderfuljobthestudentsofArkansashavedoneonceagain.

2014 WOUNDED WARRIOR BASS TOURNAMENT

Photos provided by Wayne Shewmake, Kyla Kane and Johnny Sain2014 WOUNDED WARRIOR BASS TOURNAMENT


A Gatheringof Watersby Bob Morgan InlateSeptemberorearlyOctober,thefirstsnowfallsinthemountainsofSouthernColoradoandNorthernNewMex-ico.Atfirst,thesnowmeltsbeforethenextstormhits.Even-tually though, snowfall exceedsmelt.As theweeksgoby,storm after storm hits the mountains. The snow stacks up to 10,20,even30feetinplaces.Atremendousamountofwaterisstoredontopofthemountains!Whenspringarrives,dayswarmabovefreezingandthesnowstartstomelt.Forseveralweeks, new snow more thanmakesupforthemelt.Butasspringprogressesandtemperatureswarm,meltingwinsout.Whatonceformedawhitelayerforasfarastheeyecouldseebeginsrunningdownhill.Themeltwaterflowsinsheetsover land, then it comes together to form small rills.Rillsmergeandformriverlets.Theriverletsflowdownhill,allthewhileslowlyerodingcanyonsandvalleysintothemountain-sides. Riverlets join riverlets to form streams. Streams join streamstoformrivers.Andeventually,allthewaterfromthewatershedmergestogetherandflowstotheseainone,singlemightyriver.Itisa gathering of waters. Atleastthatisthewayitissupposedtowork.Inthedesertsouthwest of the United States, water is scarce and water use is heavy.Someofourriversnolongerreachthesea.TheColo-radoRiverhasbeen theposterchildofoveruse. IthasbeendecadessincewaterregularlyflowedallthewaytotheGulfofCalifornia.Aninterestingexperimentwasstartedthisspringtore-establishflowtotheGulfthroughcontrolledreleaseofwaterfromthegiantreservoirsontheriver. Wewillseehowthatworksoutoverthenextseveralyears.TheRioGrande,whichstartsinsouthernColoradoandflowsthroughNewMexicoonitswaytotheGulfofMexicoliketheColoradoRiver,attimesgoesdrybeforeitreachesitsdestination. Lastyear,agroupofpeopleinNewMexicodecidedtorestoretheflowoftheRioGrande.TheywantedtoseethatatleastsomewaterintherivermadeittotheGulf.Acan-teenwascarriedto theheadwatersof theRioGrandeandpartiallyfilled.Thenthecanteenwascarrieddownstream.Ateachconfluencewithanotherstream,theoriginalgroupof people met other people who had a small amount of water of that stream’sheadwater.Thewatersweremixed in thecanteen.Allthewaydowntheriver,peoplebroughtwaterfromtributariestothecanteen.Eventually,thecanteenwascarriedtothemouthoftheRioGrandewherethecontentswerepouredintotheGulfofMexico.Thegathering of the watersoftheRioGrandewascomplete. SharonandIhadtheopportunitytovisitthedesertsouthwestandtheRioGrandebasinthispastApril.Asitturnedout,Ihadbusinesswith theAmericanWaterWorksAssociationwhichrequiredmetobeinDenverfromMarch30throughApril2.Andwhattheheck, ifyouaregoingtodrive800milesyoumightaswellstayawhile.Bychance,therewasaworkshopti-

tled“AGatheringofWaters:HumanRelationshipwithWater”scheduled for the followingweekendat theGhostRanch inAbiquiu,NewMexico.Thisworkshopwasafollow-uptotheoriginalgatheringfromlastyear.SharonandIhadbeenlook-ingfortherightchancetovisittheGhostRanchforacoupleofyears.Andthiswastheperfectopportunity.Icouldjuxtaposethe highly technical aspects ofmyAWWAcommitteeworkwith the more spiritual side of water. Abiquiu is famous for being theNewMexicohomeofartistGeorgiaO’Keefeandthesubjectofmanyofherpaint-ings.TheGhostRanch is a23,000-acre retreatownedbythePresbyterianChurch;itsitsadjacenttoO’Keefe’shome.GhostRanch offers spiritual retreats andworkshops on avarietyoftopicsthroughthespring,summerandfall.OurworkshopstartedFridayeveningrightafterdinner. TheterrainaroundtheGhostRanchishighdesert.ItisthekindofcountrywhereWileE.CoyotechasedRoadRun-nerthroughhundredsofcartoons.WearrivedshortlybeforenoononFriday.Sincewecouldn’tcheckinuntil3p.m.,wetookahikeouttoChimneyRock.ChimneyRockisoneofdozensofhoodoos,largecolumnarrocksattheedgeofthemesas,intheranch.Itwascoolandbreezy;thetemperaturewasinthe40’s.WeclimbeduptowardtheMesa.Theclimbwarmedusquickly.Nooneelsewasonthetrail.Thevistajustkeptgettingbiggerandbigger,withseeminglydozensifnothundredsofsquaremilesofnothing.Atlunchtime,wefoundabigrocktoshelterusfromthewindandsettledin.Thesunkeptuswarm.Wemadelittleburritosoutoftortilla,avocadosandtomatoes.Shortlyafterlunch,wetoppedoutontheMesaandwalkedovertoChimneyRock.IsnappedafewphotosandSharonsketchedagnarlyoldjunipertree.Thenwewanderedbackdowntotheranchandcheckedin. AccommodationsattheGhostRanchare,well,rustic,butentirelyappropriateforthesetting.Ourneighborswerealsosettlingin.ShewasaretiredEpiscopalpriestandanartist.Hewasretiredengineer.Wewerefriendsrightoffthebat. OurworkshopstartedFridayeveningwithareproductionofthe“Gathering.”Wehadallbeentoldinemailstobringwaterfromourhome.Unfortunately,theemaildidn’tarriveuntilMondaypriortotheGatheringandwewerealreadyontheroad.Fortunately,SharonhadabottleofBeaverWaterDistrictwaterinthecar.WeputthatbottleasideandfilledanotherbottlewithDenverwaterfordrinking.Duringthe

introductorysessionof theGathering,eachofus, in turn,presentedourwaterbydescribingitsoriginandsomethinginteresting about its watershed. Thenwe poured our wa-terintoacommunalurn.InadditiontomywaterfromtheWhiteRiver,therewaswaterfromMinnesota,Illinois,Col-orado,California,NewMexicoandQueensland,Australia.ArtistBasiaIrlandbroughtabottleofpeethatshesaidrep-resentedthewaywetreatwater.(Visitbasiairland.comformoreaboutherwork.)Fortunately,shegraciouslydeclinedtopourherbottleintothecommunalurn,whichwouldbeused later in the workshop. I took a shortwalkout through thedesert beforebreak-fastSaturdaymorning.Thereissomethingaboutthedesertsouthwestthatbringsoutthespiritualsideofpeople.Maybeit is the inherentnaturalbeautyof thedesert region. IalsofindthenaturalbeautyoftheOzarkMountainsunsurpassed,butmyspiritual experiencediffersfromthemountainstothedesert.It’shardtoexplain.Maybeit’sthefactthatapersonisneverfarfromdeathinthedesert.Maybeit’sthesolitudeandsilence.Orperhapstherereallyissomethingspiritualgo-ingon.Regardless,I’veconcludedthatthedesertsouthwestexperienceisuniqueuntoitself.Isuggestyouvisitthere,ifyouhaven’talready,andmakeupyourownmind.

Butbacktomystory…. Aftermywalk,weallmetforbreakfastinthedininghall.Thenwewanderedoverto themeetingroom.Notsurprisinglysincewewere inNewMexico,mostof thepresentationscenteredon thevalueofwaterinawaterscarceregion.Ofparticularin-terest tomewere the presentations byDr.Sue JacksonfromGriffithUniversityinQueenslandandDr.JoseRi-verafromtheUniversityofNewMexico.Dr.Jackson’spresentationwasonthesignificanceofwatertotheindig-enouspeopleofAustralia.Dr.RiveragaveadiscussionofNewMexico’sAsequias.Asequiasarehanddugcanalsthatcarrywaterfromsnowpackinthemountainstoirri-gatedcrops.EverybodythatbelongedtoanAsequiawasentitled to use water in proportion to the amount of land thattheycultivated.Theonerequirementwasthattousethewater,youhad toparticipate in theannualcleanoutoftheAsequia--nowork,nowater.AsequiasdistributedwaterequablytofarmersinNewMexicoforcenturies.Itwasasustainablesystemgovernedbylocalcitizens. Continued on page 21...

Bob and Sharon and Chimney Rock

The completed MedicineWater Wheel at Ghost Ranch


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by Jared Schluterman

Over thepast fewyears Ihavehad thepleasureofattendingseveralregionaland,even, national conferences related to the fisheries and wildlife field. One of themore interesting conferences I have hadthe opportunity to attendwas this year’sNationalWildlifeFederationannualmeet-inginBaltimoreasthealternatedelegaterepresentingAWF. As theplane landed inBaltimore Ididnotknowwhat toexpect fromthismeet-ing.Most of themeetings I had been tohave been based around scientific talksandIwasabletogofromonetalktoan-other; this was not going to be the caseatthisparticularmeeting.Despitemyun-certaintyonhowthingswouldwork,Ididmy best to read over the resolutions andothertopicsIwouldbeaskedtocommentononceIwasinattendance. Aftergettingcheckedinatthehotel,AWFdelegateEllenMcNulty,whoalsoservesas1stvicepresidentoftheorganization,andImadeourway to our respective resolutioncommittee meetings. The two resolutionsthatIgottocommentondealtwithincreas-ing the amount of parental involvementin getting children out into nature and theneeded increase in the cost of the Federal Duck Stamp to compensate for the increased costforwaterfowlmanagement.Comparedtoseveralof theothercommitteemeetingsIheardabout, theonesI tookpart inwentextremely well. Each resolution was readover and any potential amendments to theresolutions needed were made and then the

committeewasadjourned.Ihadthoughtthiswouldbealong,drawnoutprocessbutthepeopleinmyparticularcommitteewereveryefficientandwantedtomakethemostoutoftimewehad.AfterthecommitteemeetingIhadsomedowntimewhilewaitingforEllentogetoutofherparticularcommitteemeet-ing.DuringthisdowntimeIwasabletodoa little exploring of the conference centerwhich wasmade up the former BaltimoreMasonic Lodge.A grandmarble staircase,woodpaneledwalls,highvaultedceilings,andintricatemuralscouldbefoundaroundevery corner of the complex. I had neverseensuchgrandeurputintoabuilding,andthe detail in the art work was some of the bestIhaveeverseen. Toendtheevening,allthedelegateswereinvitedtotheNationalAquariumforameetandgreet.Afterashortintroductionbythedirectoroftheaquarium,delegateswereal-lowed tospend thenext fewhours touringthemainpartoftheaquarium.Thisinitselfwasatreat.Whileportionsoftheaquariumwere closed, we barely got to see all theavailable exhibits. There were five floorsofexhibitsopentothedelegatesandthoseexhibitsrangedfromatropicalreeffocusedonblackfinsharkstofreshwatertankswithNorthAmericanfishtorainforesttanksthathoused eels and other unique fish. By thetime I arrived back at the hotel I was ex-hausted after events of the first day at themeeting. The next morning started off with thedelegates attending the opening session.At this session the delegateswere treatedto a presentation from local students on

First Time at the Annual National Wildlife Federation Meeting

the recycling program they had imple-mented for a small section of their com-munity. Following the students, severalother speakers talked to thedelegatesandtriedtosetthetoneforthemeeting.Afterthe opening session there were regionalroundtablesessions.Duringthesesessions,delegates from specific regionswere abletomeetwiththeirregionalrepresentativesandtalkaboutissuespertinenttotheirstateand region.After the regional roundtablesanewsessiondeemed“themeroundtables”began.Theseroundtablesdealtwithtopicsbrought up by particular affiliates.Of theseveralsessionoptions,Iattendedtheonefocused on getting hunters and fishermanmore involved in the federation. Those leadingthissessionhaveheardfromhunt-ingandfishinggroupsthattheywerebeingput to the side while other environmental issues were becoming the main focus ofthe federation. Since the federation was foundedon these two stakeholdergroups,the leaders of this session felt the federa-tion should try to get these groups moreinvolvedinthefederation’sprocedures. At theActionFundLuncheon,delegatesweretreatedbyavisitfromthecurrentSec-retaryoftheInterior,SallyJewell.Shegaveashort speech on what the current administra-tionisdoingintermsofgettingtheyoungergeneration involved in the outdoors.AftertheSecretary’stalktherewastheoptiontoattend somebreakout sessionswhichdealtwith invasive species, communications, and water;ortherewastheoptiontomeetotherdelegatesoutsideoftheformalityoftheses-sions.DuringthisdowntimeImetdelegatesfromNebraskaandMissouriandspentsometime with them discussing varying issueswith their states. Followingthebreakoutsessionsdelegateswere treated to a presentation on the Hawai-ianMonkSeal.Thispresentationwasovera

20yearstudybeingconductedonthepres-ervation and restoration of the Hawaiian Monk Seal. Even though the presentationwas not very long, itwas a very informa-tive presentation on the trials the monk seals faceandwhatstepsarecurrentlybeingdoneto prevent the extinction of this species.Following the monk seal presentation theresolution session began. I have been partofotherorganizationsresolutionproceduresandhadpreparedmyself for a longdrawnoutdebateabouteveryresolutionbeingpro-posed.However,thiswasnotthecase.Iwassurprisedattheefficiencyandeasethereso-lutions were covered and voted upon. What Ithoughtwouldtakeseveralhourstocoverthe resolutions took just over an hour. After the resolution session Ellen and IdecidedtotrysomeofBaltimore’slegend-aryseafoodfordinner.Weweretoldabouta littleseafoodplacenearby thehoteland,after takinga shuttle to the restaurant, set-tleddownforanamazingdinner.Being inBaltimorewedecided togowith the freshhomemadecrab cakes.Following thedeli-cious meal we returned to the hotel to attend theBoardCandidatesReception.Thiswasanopportunitytomeetwithpotentialboardcandidatesandwasalsoanopportunityforthe NWF to raise money through raffles.WithalltheactivitiesthattookplaceIwasreadytogetbacktothehotelroomafterthereception and crash. Saturday’sbusinessstartedwiththeelec-tions of the new board members and theannouncement of Collin O’Mara, the newpresident of the NationalWildlife Federa-tion,whosucceededretiringpresidentLarrySchweigerwhoserved10yearsintheposi-tion.AfterashortspeechbyO’Maraclosingstatements were made and delegates werereleased to attend a variety of hands-onlearningsessionhostedbytheNWF. Continued on page 23...


www.facebook.com/Winelandknivesandcalls

www.winelandknives.com [email protected]

Phone: 479-264-1337

Custom Made Knives, Calls, Scabbards & Display Boxes

by Al Wolff

Queen Wilhelmina State ParkhosteditsfirstConservationSchoolDays on Thursday,April 17th atop RichMountain.Althoughthemorn-ing started out cool and brisk forthe nearly 200 students, teachersand chaperones from the Acorn and Menaschooldistricts, the tempera-tures rose from the ‘mid-40s to thelow ‘70s by the time the childrendescended the mountain to return to school, probably just in time togathertheirmaterialsandheadoutthedoorfor home. SpearheadedbyArkansasStateParkIn-terpreter(QueenWilhelmina)YvonneSir-ibouth,alongwiththeassistanceofArkan-sasStateParkInterpreter(CossatotRiver)ShelleyFlanary,theeventbroughttogethereducators fromvariousorganizationsandagenciestospeakwiththechildrenabouta variety of subjects during the week ofEarthDayandArborDay.Students fromthree different elementary schools and ahome school group were in attendance.Groupsof25-42childrenatatimewouldgo tooneofeight stations to listen toaneducator speak. Some educators presented a show-and-tell project while others let the studentsinteracttohelpteachthemaboutconservation. EducatorsrangedfromSandraChandler(ArkansasGeologicalSurvey),ChrisMor-gan(USForestService),JayJacobs(RichMountain Conservation District), KathyBeck(PolkCountyExtensionOffice),LizPhilpot & Erica (KeepArkansas Beauti-ful), PhilOsborne (ArkansasDepartmentof Environmental Quality), Harrell Sher-wood (Arkansas Forestry Commission),Ethan Nahté (Arkansas Wildlife Federa-tion)andaneducatorfromtheWatershedOutreachandEducationSection.Mostofthe same educators returned on May 2nd

Conservation School Days

todosimilarpresentationsfornearly260more students from the 5th and 6th gradeclassesoutofMena. At each event the students took a lunch break, enjoying the outdoors as they atefrom their brown paper bags. The edu-cators were treated to burgers grilled byKarenCookandDebNeedham.CookandNeedham also assisted in bagging over600pineseedlingsdonatedbytheArkan-sas Wildlife Federation (AWF) over thecourse of the two events. Enough treeswere provided so that each student who wanted to were allowed to take a free treehomeforplanting.AWFalsodonatedmorethan200blackwalnutandShumardoaktreestoQueenWilhelminaStateParkfor their own use. Overall, it appeared that the students not onlyhadagoodtime,butlearnedsomethingwhilegettingoutof the classroomanden-joyingMotherNature. For a first year oc-currenceandafirst-of-its-kindintheregion,Siribouth, along withArkansas State Parkemployees Flanary, Jack Faulkner (QueenWilhelmina State Park Front Desk Super-visor), Paula Magers (Superintendent) andSarahJones(AssistantSupervisor)madethetwo events a success. Hopefully they willrepeat the event next year andmake it anannualfield trip that the studentswill lookforwardtoattending.

Commission sets 2014-15 deer seasons LITTLE ROCK – The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission set the state’s deer hunting seasons last week, with modern gun deer season opening Nov. 8, archery season open-ing Sept. 27, and muzzleloader sea-son opening Oct. 18. The deer season dates are part of the 2014-15 general hunting regulations approved during the Commission’s monthly meeting.

SEASON DATES FOR THE 2014-15 DEER HUNTING SEASON:

ARCHERY All zones: Sept. 27-Feb. 28, 2015.

MODERN GUN: Zones 1, 1A, 2, 3, 6, 6A, 7, 8, 8A, 10 and 11: Nov. 8-30.

Zone 4: Nov. 8-9. Zone 5: Nov. 8-9 and Nov. 15-16. Zones 4A, 5A, 14 and 15: Nov. 8-Dec. 7.

Zones 4B and 5B: Nov. 8-16. Zones 9, 12 and 13: Nov. 8-Dec. 14. Zone 16, 16A and 17: Nov. 8 - Dec. 25.

MUZZLELOADER: Zones 1, 1A, 2, 3, 4A, 5A, 6, 6A, 7, 8,

8A, 10, 11, 14 and 15: Oct. 18-26 and Dec. 13-15.

Zones 9, 12, 13, 16, 16A and 17: Oct. 18-26 and Dec. 29-31.

Zones 4, 4B, 5 and 5B: Closed.

The statewide Christmas holiday modern gun deer hunt is Dec. 26-28. Youth modern gun deer hunts will be held Nov. 1-2 and Jan. 3-4, 2015. A pri-vate land antlerless-only modern gun deer hunt in zones 1, 1A, 2, 3, 6, 6A, 8, 8A, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 16A and 17 will be held Oct. 11-15. The commission also approved the harvest of feral hogs only during bear, deer and elk firearms seasons on cer-tain WMAs. The regulation permits some taking of nuisance feral hogs, without promoting the recreational hunting of feral hogs, on Commission-controlled property. *Arkansas Wildlife Federation Presi-dent Wayne Shewmake presented the AGFC’s Arkansas Stream Team with the group’s Water Conservationist of the Year award. Stream Team Program Coordinator Steve Filipek, as well as Stream Team coordinators Matthew Irvin and Ben Thesing, accepted the award on behalf of the program.


Size Dimensions 1-2 ads 3-5 ads (5% off) 6 ads (10%off)Centerfold 21.5"x11" -- -- --Full pg 10.25"x10.125" $400 $380 $3601/2 pg Horizontal 10.25"x4.75" $225 $215 $2051/2 pg Vertical 5.0556"x9.5625" $225 $215 $2051/3 pg Horizontal 10.25"x3.125" $165 $156.75 $148.501/3 pg Vertical 3.375"x9.5625" $165 $156.75 $148.501/4 pg 5.0621"x4.75" $145 $137.75 $130.501/8 pg 5.0621"x2.3125" $35 $33.25 $31.50(all sizes listed as Width x Height)

ColorInclude One spot color, additional $$50 $47.50 $45Four color, additional $100 $95 $90

Charges for covers:Inside front, additional $75 $71.25 $67.50Inside back, additional $50 $47.50 $45Back cover, additional $100 $95 $90

Arkansas Wildlife FederationP.O. Box 56380, Little Rock, AR 72215

Telephone: (501) 888-4770“Your voice for hunting, fishing and conservation since 1936”

ArkansasOut-Of-Doorsistheofficialpublicationof the Arkansas Wildlife Federation establishedin 1936, a non-profit, hunting, fishing, andconservationorganizationdedicated topromotingthewisestewardshipofournaturalresources.Itisanewsprinttabloidpublicationthatispublished6timesperyearforthefollowingissues:Jan.-Feb.,March-April, May-June, July-Aug., Sept.-Oct.,Nov.-Dec. The publication contains informationabout hunting, fishing and other outdoor-oriented activities. It also contains articles aboutconservation.It ismailedneartheendofthefirstmonth of each issue date to approximately 4500AWFmembersandithasanestimatedreadershipof13,500to17,500peopleeachissue.Thosewhoread thispublicationenjoy thegreatoutdoor,andtheyareinterestedinconservation. Circle the issue in which the ad is to run: JANUARY – FEBRUARY ISSUE, reserve space byJan.1.Camera-readyartdueJan.5.MailingdateneartheendofJanuary.MARCH – APRILISSUE, reserve space by March 1, Camera-ready due by

March5.MailingdateneartheendofMarch.MAY-JUNE ISSUE, reserve space byMay 1. Camera-readyartduebyMay5.MailingdateneartheendofMay.JULY-AUGUST ISSUE,reservespacebyJuly1.Camera-readyartduebyJuly5.Mailingdatenear the end of July. SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER ISSUE, reserve space by Sept. 1, Camera-readyare due by Sept. 5. Mailing date near the end ofSeptember. NOVEMBER-DECEMBER ISSUE, reserve space by Nov. 1. Camera-ready art dueby November 5. Mailing date near the end ofNovember. Advertising layout and space: Advertisingmaysendaslickorablackandwhitecopyofapreviousad,anegativeforblackandwhiteads,acolorkeyandfour-colorseparationsforcolorads,oradsmaybesentonadiskonCD(PDF,JPEGorEPS)totheArkansas Wildlife Federation. We utilize 90-linescreen,rightreading,emulsiondown.TheAWFcanassistinmakingtheadfortheclient.Dependingonamount of time to layoutad,theremaybeadditionalfees for this.

Name of business ��

Mailing address ��

Ad confirmed by (print and signature) ��

Telephone ��Fax ��

Arkansas Out-Of-Doors Advertising Agreement

...cont. from page 18 Other presentations included the use of art to spread themessageofwater,water eth-ics,andthediscontinuitiesandoutrightcon-tradictionsofNewMexicowaterlaw.Thateveningwewatchedthevideo“Watershed,”producedbytheRedfordCenter.(Watchthemovieatredfordcenter.org.) Sunday started with another hike. Thistime Sharon accompanied me and we walkedout intoaboxcanyon.Thecanyonsatbetweentwomesas.Nearlyshearwallsroseoneachside.Therewasasmallarroyodown the middle of the canyon. This ar-royowasthesourceofwaterfortheGhostRanch. If you followed the canyon all theway to the end, the twomesasmerged toformthe“box.”Wehikedallthewaytotheendoftheboxcanyonacoupleofyearsago,but this timewe stopped at the first creekcrossingandturnedback.Backattheranch,wegatheredforanothergreatbreakfastandthenheadedbackout totheboxcanyontobuildamedicinewaterwheel. The medicine wheel is sacred in NativeAmericanculture.Thewheelshavebeenusedfor millennia in traditional ceremonies. The wheel,accordingtoWikipedia,representsthenever-endingcycleoflife.Thatisentirelyap-propriate since about everything in our eco-systemfollowsacycleofsomesort.Theterm“medicine”doesnotrefertomedicineyougetfromthelocalpharmacy.Thetermreferstothevital force of nature and to the personal power withineachandeveryoneofus.Myunder-standingofthefunctionof thewheel thenisthat it focuses the force of nature onto its sur-roundingarea,butonlyifweuseourpersonalpower to activate the wheel. Themedicinewaterwheelisarelativelynewphenomenon.ThehistorythatweweregivenwasthatpriortoWorldWarII,medicinemenofNativeAmericansinthePacificNorthwestdisappeared into the mountains each springand conducted ceremonies at the headwaters of important water sources. Those ceremonies

helped toprotect theflowandqualityof thevital waters in the valleys below.After thewar, the traditionwas lost.Concurrently, thequantityandqualityofwatersintheregionalstreamsbegantodegrade.Duringthe1960s,eldersof thenorthwesternNativeAmericansinstitutedthemedicinewaterwheelceremonytoreconnectmankind to thenaturalcycleofwater.Thewheelisanappropriatesymbolaswatermovesinagreatcyclearoundtheearth,thehydrologiccycle. According toMarshall Jack (goldeneagl-eceremonies.com),thepurposeofthemedi-cine water wheel is to “energize, celebrateandhonorwater.”Themedicinewaterwheelis also a place to “deepen our relationshipwiththespiritofwater.”GoldenEagleCere-monieshasinitiatedaprojectto“createawebof 172,000 Water Wheels linked togetheracross the planet that serves to renew our sa-credrelationshipwithwater.”Ourmedicinewaterwheel at theGhostRanch completed1/172,000th of the vision. Sundayafternoonoururnofgatheredwa-terwascarriedoutintotheboxcanyonandpouredintothearroyowhereitbecamepartof the Ghost Ranch’s water supply. Thentherewasaceremonytodedicateandactivatethemedicine water wheel. Unfortunately, Ihad togetbacktoNorthwestArkansassoIdidn’tget tostickaroundfor thededicationceremony.NexttimeIwillplanbetter. Ipersonallycannotsaywhatissacredandwhatisnot.MybackgroundisJudeo-Christianstrongly influenced by Greco-Roman logicandreductionistscience.However,eveninmyJudeo-Christian heritage,water is frequentlyusedinChristiansacramentsandsymbolism.I venture out into speculation here, but myopinionisthatthebiggestchallengewefaceaswaterresourcemanagerstodayistogetpeopletothinkaboutandvaluewater.Withthatsaid,onemightdeterminethatanything that helps us renew our sacred relationship with water -- evenamedicinewaterwheelceremony--hasgottobeagoodthing.


UPCOMINGEVENTS

JULY 7-11Art and Nature Camp for Kids

9:00AMtonoon

JULY 18Gravette Boys and Girls Club Field TripWatershedSanctuaryandLearningCenter

JULY 21-25Watershed Camp for Kids

9:00AMtonoon

JULY 23Walmart and Sam’s Club Volunteer DayWatershedSanctuaryandLearningCenter

11:00AM

JULY 28Temple Shalom Field Trip

WatershedSanctuaryandLearningCenter

JULY 29-30Arkansas Environmental Education

Association’s Annual Expo: “NaturalEducationPartnerships”

For more information about events and programming, please contact Lauren

Ray, Education Outreach Coordinator, at mailto:[email protected].

Fear of the Serpentby Ethan Nahté

Reptiles.Snakes.Serpents.Thoseslitheringcreaturesthatseemto evoke somuch fear and loathing amongst the general popu-lous.NinetimesoutoftenwhenIreceiveanemailfromsomeoneaboutasnakethequestionis,“Whatwasthis?”andrarely,“Whatis this?”I’mgenerallylookingatanimageofasnakethathasbeensliced in twoorbludgeoned, typically to thepoint thatneither Inormysnakeexpertscantellwhattypeofsnakehasbeenpoorlyphotographed.Whenthesnakeisidentifiableitisalmostalwaysanon-venomoussnake. The samegoes forFacebook. I seeapostof asnakesomeonehaskilledandthepersonpostingtheimagewillaskwhatkindofsnakeitis.Thereare always the jokers stating the obvious, “Adeadone.”Butthereareplentyofpeoplehopingitisdeadandifitisn’tthatitshouldbe. Granted, snakes aren’t cute, fuzzy, cuddlycreaturesevenwhentheyareyoung.Unlikepup-pies, kittens, or even bears – an animal that cangrow to be quite large and dangerous if one findsoneselfonthewrongendofthehoneyjar,yetnoonewillsay“Oooh,yuck,gross,killit!”–snakesseemtogener-atelotsofanimosity.Isitthecoldeyes?Thefactthattheyhavenofeetandslither?Thethoughtthattheyareslimy(theyaren’t)?Thattheyaren’twarm-blooded?Theforkedtonguethatflicksinandout?Thestrangewaysthatsnakescanmove,glidingacrosstheground/floor,water,orthroughatreebranch?Someorallofthesetraitstendtomakehumansbelievesnakesareevil. Iwasneveroneofthosechildrenwhowouldgrabagartersnakeandputitinmypockettofreakoutmysisterormomatsomelaterpointof time,butIalsodidn’tgooutofmywayto tryandkillasnake.Ilearnedveryearlyonthatgenerally,ifIwentmywaytheywouldgotheirwayunlessthreatened,suchasalmostbeingsteppedupon.Iwouldfeelthreatenedandtrytoprotectmyselfaswellifsomecreaturemorethan20timesmysizecameclosetosteppingonme.I’veheardstoriesandoldwivestalesaboutsnakes“chasingaperson”butIbelievethemajorityofthosetalesaretheproductofanoveractiveimagination.Onsomeoccasionssnakeswillmovetowardsapersonbutthatistypicallyifthepersonisbe-tweenthesnakeandthesnake’sgetaway/hole.Onceagain,unlessthreatened,provokedorscared,mostsnakesareawareenoughto

knowthattheyaren’tgoingtoeatsomethingaslargeasahumanunlesstheyhappentobeaverylargepythonorboaconstrictor. Snakesaren’tevil.Asamatteroffacttheyserveanimportantpurposeinthefoodchain.Theircarnivorousdiet,bothvenomousandnon-venomous,consistsprimarilyofsmallercreaturessuchasslugs,worms,rodents,insects,scorpions,spiders,minnows,fish,and toads.Sometimes theywill eat birds, includingpoultry andeggs.Excluding the pythons and boa constrictors, larger snakesmayeveneatrabbitsandsimilar-sizedanimals.Onemajordietarysourceforkingsnakes,whichisaconstrictor,isothersnakes.Thisincludes venomous snakes which the speckled kingsnake is fa-

mousforpreyingupon.KingsnakesnativetoNorthAmericatendtobeimmunetothevenomofrattlesnakesmaking

themquitevaluabletokeeparoundonewouldthink. Buttherattlesnakeisalsojustaskeentoeatallof theabovementioned.True, theyareoneofthefourtypesofpoisonoussnakes(rattlesnake,copperhead, water moccasin/cottonmouth,coralsnake)foundintheUnitedStates.Ofthefour types, theybreakdown into sixvenom-ous species within Arkansas: three differentrattlesnakes (western diamondback, timber,andwesternpigmy),copperhead,watermocca-

sin/cottonmouthareallpitviperswhiletheTexasoreasterncoralsnakeemitsaneurotoxin.Thescarlet

kingsnakeand themilk snake (bothhave redandblackbandstouchingoneanotherwithyellowinbetween)isthesnakemostmistaken for a coral snake (red and yellow touch one an-other),soIseealotofpicturesofdeadkingsnakes. AccordingtotheArkansasGame&FishCommission,ifaspeciesisnotdiscussedinacurrentcopyoftheArkansasHuntingGuide-book,thereisnoopenseasonforthatspecies.(example:Itisillegalto shoota snake,because there isnoseason listed.)Granted, ifapoisonoussnakeisthreateningyou,yourfamilyorpet,onecouldhardlyblameyoufortakingthegardenhoetoit.Yetagain,steppingawayandlettingthesnakebeisthebestoptionand most of the pho-tos we receive at AWF are of the non-venomous sort. Plus records tendtoshowthatthemajorityofsnakebitevictims,frombothven-omousandnon-venomoussnakes,occurwhenapersonistryingtocatchthesnake.Don’tbeapartoftheDarwinAwards.Letthesnakebeunlessyouareaherpetologistorotherauthorizedpersonnelandhaveavalidreasonforhandlingthereptiles.Thesnakescangoondoingtheirjobofkeepingverminandbugsoutofyourhouseandyardandyoustandthepotentialtoliveanotherday…orattheveryleastgowithoutaduoofpiercingsinyourarmorleg.


...cont. from page 19 The one session I found interestingwastheonefocusedonfundraising.Iwasalittledisappointedwhen Igot to the sessionbe-cause I thought itwould dealwith gettingsmallerdonations;however,thesessionfo-cusedmoreonacquiringdonorswhowouldbewilling to donate large amounts.WhileI learned some techniques for getting do-nations, I feel if theywould have coveredsmaller-scaledonationsitwouldhavebeenabetteruseoftimeofthoseattending. Intheafternoontherewassomefreetimefordelegatestoenjoythemselvesandexperi-encethecity.Idecidedtogototheinnerhar-borandspend thenicedaywalkingaroundsite seeing.While I was walking around Icame across the science center located adja-centtotheinnerharbor.Ispenttimeseeingwhat the science center had to offer. After spendinganhourorsointhecenterImade

my way back out to the harbor to exploremore of the harbor. I would have liked tohavespentmoretimeenjoyingtheparksandsurroundingareasbutIhadtomakemywaybacktothehoteltoattendtheawardsdinner.Thedinnerwasanamazingexperience.Be-ingable tosee the remarkableconservationworkothersaredoingaroundthecountrywasahumblingexperience. ThoughIhavebeentoseveralmeetingsoverthepastfewyears,andwillcontinuetoattendmeetingsinthefuture,Iwillneverforgetthismeeting. The people Imet duringmy shortstayinBaltimoreIwillrememberforyearstocomeandIhopeIgettomeetthemagain.TheinformationIgainedfromattendingthismeet-inghashelpedmebetterunderstandwhythereisaneedfortheNWFandthegooditistryingtoaccomplish.IhopeIwillbeabletogotothenextannualmeetingtolearnevenmoreabouthowtheNWFworks.

ST.CHARLES–PreservationofArkan-sas’srichandabundantwildlifehabitatusu-allytakesmultiplepartnersplusanindivid-ualdrivingforce. The lessonwasmade indelibleonGoodFridayinsoutheasternArkansas. Dale Bumpers White River NationalWildlife Refuge is the new name of thesprawlingcomplexofbottomlandthathostsenormousnumbersofmigratingwaterfowlin addition toyear-rounddenizens rangingfrom black bear and white-tailed deer tosquirrels, alligators, alligator snapping tur-tlesandaplethoraofsongbirds. TherefugeisanArkansastreasure.DaleBumpersisanArkansastreasure.IttookanactofCongresstoputhisnameontheref-uge,oneofjustafewinthenationbearingahumanlabel. ArkansasGameandFishCommissionDi-rectorMikeKnoedl calledBumpers a leg-endinthestate.“Hisconservationadvocacywill leave an indelible mark onArkansasforfuturegenerations.Itisfittingandlongoverduethathebehonoredforhisworktopreservethisuniqueregion,”Knoedlsaid. FormerU.S.Sen.Bumperswasthearchi-tect of an unusual and innovative land swap thatgreatlyincreasedthesizeoftherefuge. The three-party trade was 41,000-plusacres ofArkansas hardwoodbottomlands.transferredfromPotlatchCorp.totheU.S.FishandWildlifeService.inexchangefor17,000-plus acres of Idaho western pineland transferred from the U.S. Bureauof LandManagement to Potlatch. It tookplacein1993. Bumpers had leading roles in otherAr-kansasenvironmentaldevelopmentsasgov-

ernorandsenator.Thebattleagainstchan-nelizationoftheCacheRiverturnedduringhisgubernatorialterm.TheCacheRiverNa-tionalWildlifeRefuge,justnorthoftheref-ugenowbearinghisname,wasestablishedin1986withBumpers’actionsinCongress.Arkansas State Parks was revitalized andexpandedduringhisgovernorship. Health issues prevented Bumpers fromattending the naming ceremony at refugeheadquarters at St. Charles in ArkansasCounty.SonsBillandBrentwereonhand,alongwithU.S.Sen.MarkPryor,USFWSDirector Dan Ashe and USFWS Southeast RegionalDirectorCindyDohner. He (Bumpers) is a giant among conser-vationistsandavisionarywhofollowedanunconventional path to set aside some of Arkansas’slastwildplaces,Ashesaid.“ItisfittingthathewillbeforeverlinkedwiththeWhiteRiver.” After unveiling of a sign with the newname, Ashe and Dohner presented a smaller replicatoBillandBrentBumpers. BumpersisanativeofthesmalltownofCharlestoninwesternArkansas.Asattorneyforitsschoolboardinthe1950s,hehelpeditbecomethefirstSouthernschooltotakeinblackstudentsafterthe1954U.S.SupremeCourt integrationdecision.Hedefeated in-cumbentgovernorWinthropRockefellerin1970,won re-electionandwenton to fourterms,24years,asaU.S.senator,retiringin1999.He’samemberoftheArkansasOut-door Hall of Fame. Editor’s Note: Mr. Bumpers is a member of Arkansas Wildlife Federation and has been a long-time supporter of our organiza-tion. We congratulate him on this honor.

Dale Bumpers’ legacy stamped on White River refuge


The Elusive Red-Cockadedby Sharon Denise Stephens

Thesunhadnot risenas Iwalked the trailatTallTimbersRe-searchStationnear theGeorgia/Floridaline justnorthofKillearnLakes.Themorningdewwas at its lowest and thehumiditywasthick. I started tosweatas Imademyway to thepinewhere theelusiveRed-cockadedWoodpeckerwasroosting.JimCox,theDi-rectorofStoddardBirdLabatTallTimbers,honoredmyrequesttoseetheRed-cockadedWoodpecker(RCW)initsnaturalhabitat.IanticipatedwhatIwouldobserveaboutthewoodpeckerthatwouldgivemeknowledgeoftheforaginghabitsofthisbird. [Editor’s Note: Though this story takes place in Florida, Arkan-sas has programs to increase the population and habitat of RCWs as well. See the article in the Jan/Feb 2012 issue of AOOD about this near-threatened bird.] IarrivedatTallTimbersat5:50a.m.onaFridaymorning.RCWsarelateriserscomparedtootherbirdsbuthumansstillhavetobeanearly-risertoviewthem. TheovercastskydistortedmyviewofthepathMr.Coxandthestafftooktogettothewoodpecker’scavity.ThebugsstungmyheadandforearmbuttheirritationwasminimalcomparedtowhatIwasabouttowitness.WordscannotdescribehowdelightedIwaswhenIknockedonthetreeandtheRCWflewoutofitscavity.Theequip-mentIheldtonetthewoodpeckerwasanextendablefiberglasspolewithalargenet.Myfirstattemptfailed,however,becausethebirdwasquickandsuccessfulinitsattempttoavoidbeingcaptured. Mr.Cox,however,succeededinhisattempttocaptureabandedRCWforobservation.NormallyTallTimbersdoesnotcatchRCWsthatarealreadybandedbutMr.CoxcaughtabandedbirdsoIcouldgetanup-closeobservation.Hehandedthebirdtomeand,asIheldit,Iknewitwasindistress.Iwasabletofeelitsheartbeatinmyhand.IheldthebirdonlyafractionofasecondbecauseIdidnotwanttocauseitfurtherdistress.AsIgentlyplacedtheRCWbackonthepine,tomyamazementitwalkedinazigzagformationbackupthetree.Ihadneverwitnessabirddoingthis. AsIlearnedfromMr.Cox,RCWswillclimbwhenforagingasopposedtoflyingaway.WhentheRCWmadeitswaybacktoitscavity,thebreedingfemaleandhelperinthegroupcameback. RCWsmustdrilltheouterlayertreebarkofsolidgreenpinebe-foreitgetstoasoftred-heartcenter.ThismakestheRCWdiffer-entfromotherwoodpeckersthatexcavatedeadpines.ThecavitiesdrilledbyRCWsareusedbyflyingsquirrelsandwoodpeckersthatexcavatedeadpines.And,youwillbeabletofindexamplesofred-heart fungal disease evenwhere the burning has been neglected.Redheart disease serves to soften the pine, which makes seasonal burnscrucialtoRCWhabitat. MidstoryandunderstoryresponsestofireareimportanttoRCWs.Frequentfirekills smallhardwoodsbefore theyhaveachance togrow tall.When frequent fire ceases, the hardwoods increase inheightandeventuallyreachapointwheretheymayinterferewithwoodpeckerforagingaswellasuseofcavitytrees.Femalewood-peckersprefertoforageonlowertreesandhardwoodmidstoryis

thoughttohavemoreofanimpactonthem.Ifhardwoodsgetmuchabove15-25 feet andextendover a largeportionof the territory,femalewoodpeckersabandontheterritory. AccordingtoCox,“Firerecyclesvitalnutrients,suchascalcium,thatcanbecometrappedinplants.Adequatecalciumintakeisim-portantforbreedingfemalewoodpeckersbecausetheoutershelliscomposedofcalcium;andcalciumisimportantforeggproduction.Thereleaseofcalciumfollowingaburncanleadtolargerclutchesthe following years afterward. Prescribed fire has other benefitsinthesouthernpineforestsaswell,suchasreleasingnaturalseedbanksandreducingfuelthatwouldcreatescorchingwildfires”. In the southeasternUnited States where Longleaf Pines are inabundance,RCWsthrivebecauseprescribeburningservesasapre-scriptiontorestoretheaestheticbeautyoftheland.Otherbirdslikechickadees, titmice,andbluebirdsbenefitfromcavitiesexcavatedbyRCWs,makingthemakeyspeciesthathaveenormousecologi-calimportanceinsouthernpineforests.NatureisrestoredwhenthehabitatthatRCWscreateincreasesandotheranimalsthatrelyontheirecosystemreplenishtheforest.ToglimpseasunrisewithanexuberantRCWexcavatingasouthernpinetreeregeneratesthesoulbecausewoodpeckersandplantshavebecomeone. TallTimbersResearch Station&LandConservancy is locatedneartheGeorgia/FloridalinenorthofTallahasseeonLakeIamonia.TheResearchStationisawidelyregardedinformationresourcefortheareasoffireecology,gamebirdmanagement,vertebrateecologyandforestry.It’srecognizedasthehomeofthestudyoffireecologyandisanadvocatetoprotecttherighttouseprescribedfireforlandmanagement.TheLandConservancyisrecognizedasoneofthena-tion’sleadinglandtrusts,asithasprotectedtraditionallandusersinnorthFloridaandsouthGeorgiabyconservingmorethan160,000acres in thisregionthroughconservationeasements.TallTimbersalsoprotectsthousandsofacresofhabitatalongtheFlintRiverinSouthGeorgiathroughconservationeasementsonprivatepropertyalongtheriver.TheTallTimbersLandConservancyisthelargestregional land trust inFloridaandGeorgia.Formore information,visittheirwebsiteatwww.talltimbers.org. Author notes: Photos of southern longleaf pines are compliments of Tyler Macmillan of NWFWMD. Jim Cox, of Tall Timbers Re-search Station, was helpful in preparing this manuscript.

Swim areas closed by ADH do not involve entire lake LITTLE ROCK – The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has been receiving calls from the pub-lic about swim beaches closed by the Arkansas Department of Health due to the presence E. coli bacte-ria. These closures only involve specific swimming areas and not the entire lake. Most of the ques-tions have centered on the safety of eating fish from these lakes. Fish in these lakes are safe to eat. Proper cleaning and handling is the key. It’s important both to clean and to cook the fish carefully. Always wash your hands after han-dling raw fish and don’t prepare any other food in the same area without a thorough cleaning first. E. coli is a type of bacteria that generally lives in the intestines of people and animals. Some E. coli can cause intestinal infection. Symptoms include diarrhea, ab-dominal pain and fever. For the latest in swim beach clo-sures go to: http://www.healthy.arkansas.gov/programsServices/environmentalHealth/MarineSani-tation/Documents/ClosedSwim-Beaches.pdf.


Prepare for a summer visit to the Crater of Diamondsby Waymon Cox

Greetings from Crater of DiamondsState Park! Summer is one of the mostpopularseasonstovacationattheCrater.However, caution should be used whenexploringthediamondsearchareaduringthehottestmonthsoftheyear.Afewsim-ple steps can help you prepare for a funsummeroutingtotheCraterofDiamondsoranydestination! Protecting yourself from heat exposurebeginsbeforeyouarriveatthepark,throughproper hydration.When you are outdoorsortakingpartinanyphysicalactivity,suchasdiamondmining,yourmusclesgenerateheat.Your body sweats as away to keepyoucoolandpreventoverheating,butovertimesweatingalsoreducesyourbody’swa-terlevel.Dehydrationcanresultwhenyourbody doesn’t have enoughwater to carryon its normal functions, so it is important tocontinuouslyreplacefluidslostthroughperspiration. Tohelpwardoffdehydration,begindrink-ingwaterassoonasyouwakeuponadayyouplantobeoutdoors.Takeregularbreaksduringthedaytocooloffanddrinkwater.ThevisitorcenterandDiamondDiscoveryCenteratCraterofDiamondsStateParksellbottledwater,andweencouragevisitorstobringalongicechests,stockedwithplentyofwater for the day.Sports drinks, juices,milk, and tea can also help replenish yourbody toapoint,but theymayalsocontainunnecessary caffeine, sugars, and sodium.Inshort,wateristhebestthingtokeepyouhydratedonahotday! Anotherconsiderationwhenpreparingforadayofdiamondsearchingissunexposure.Sunburn,acceleratedaging,andskincancerare just a few dangers of leaving skin un-protectedfromsunlight.Thepark’splowedsearch area features trees, covered picnic tables,andwashingpavilionswherevisitorscanescapedirectsunlightduringthehottesttimes of day, andmany people bring theirownumbrellas,tents,andcanopiesforper-

sonalshelter.Wealsorecommendwearingahat and sunscreen while outside at all times tolimitsundamageasmuchaspossible. Evenwiththeseprecautions,heat-relat-ed illness can be a major concern whileoutdoors during the summer. Musclecramps, heavy sweating, cold, pale skin,weakness, dizziness, nausea, and vomit-ingareallsignsandsymptomsofheatex-haustion that, if left untreated, can worsen andbecomeheatstroke. Forearlytreatmentofheat-relatedillness,move to a cooler location, lie down, and loosen any tight clothing.Apply cool,wetclothstoasmuchofyourbodyaspossible,sip water, and seek immediate medical at-tention in case of vomiting. If you experi-encesymptomsofheat-relatedillnesswhileatthepark,alertsomeonenearyouandseekhelpattheDiamondDiscoveryCenter, thebuildingnearesttothediamondsearcharea.Our park staff is trained to help visitors cool downsafelyandpreventtheprogressionofheat-related illness. CraterofDiamondsStateParkisopendai-lyfrom8a.m.to8p.m.duringthesummer,andmanyvisitorschoosetolimittheirdia-mondsearchingactivitiestotheearlymorn-ing or late afternoon, while temperaturesare somewhat cooler.KimberliteCafé andDiamondSpringsWaterParkarealsoopenfor the seasonandaregreatplaces tocooldownafterahotdayofdiamondsearching.Ifyou’replanningavisittotheparkoverthenext fewmonths,we hope you’ll take theproper precautions to make your diamondsearchingexperienceafunandsafeone!

Most recent significant precipitation: June7,2014

DiamondfindsfortheweekofJune1,2014(100points=onecarat):

June 2 – Jack Pearadin, Jefferson City,MO,49pt.white;27pt.brown

June3–AdamHardin,Norton,OH,3pt.white,8pt.white,15pt.white

June4–StacyStafford,BrokenBow,OK,48pt.white;AdamHardin,Norton,OH,28pt.brown;BobbyC.Jones,PlainDealingo,LA,9pt.white

June 6 – Geon & Hyun Kuk, Iksan-si,Jedlabuk-doSouthKorea,21pt.brown

Banquet Tickets On Sale!By Ethan Nahté

AWF’sannualGovernor’sConservationAchievementAwardsBanquetisrightaroundthecornerandticketsareonsaleonceagain.BearcatHollowisthisyear’sthemeandwithitAWFwillhavelotsofthingstoofferinthewayoftheliveauction:huntingtrips,bothinArkansasandinternational;ayouthelkhuntpermitfromAGFC,fishingtrips,avacationtoCostaRica,andmore.Plustherewillbealotofcoolitemsinthesilentauc-tion.SomeoftheitemsandtripscanbeviewedontheAWFFacebookpageortheofficialwebsite. The“WildlifeofArkansas”studentartwillbeondisplayoncemore.Alotofpeopleseemedtoenjoythatnewadditiontolastyear’sbanquet.AWFmemberswillbeavailabletodiscusssomeourcurrentprojectsortosignyouuptobecomeanAWFmember.PlustherewillbeplentyofvendorsaffiliatedwithAWFonhandtovisitfromthetimethedoorsopenat4:00PMuntil6:00PMwhendinnerisserved. Thisyear’sdinnerwillfeaturethesmokedCornishhenoncemoreaswellassmokedporkloinandpulledpork.Therewillalsobesomewildgameonhand;fresh,homemadebread;salad;veggies;andplentyofdesserts.Lastyear’sbanquetservedover600peopleatTheCenterofBryantbeforetheawardsceremonybegan. Theawardsceremonywillbegincloseto7:00PM.RonDuncanwithAGFCissched-uledtobeoneoftheguestspeakersalongwithJimDixonfromtheUSFS.Atpresstimethe judgingcommitteewas still consideringwho to award from thenominations thatcameinforthevariouscategories. Aftertheawardsceremonytheliveauctionwillbeginandtherewillbeachancetogetinlastminutebidsonthesilentauctionitems.Plus,ifyoufilloutyournameandcontactinformationonthebackofyourticketsyouwillbeintherunningforavarietyofgreatdoorprizes.TicketsareavailablethroughtheAWFofficeandmostoftheAWFboardmembers.Asingleticketis$25oryoucanpurchaseapairofticketsfor$40.Ticketswillalsobeavailableatthedoor.AllmoniesraisedfromtheeventstaywithinArkansasandhelp AWF continue their conservation efforts. Socomeenjoyadeliciousdinner,haveagoodtimeforthewholefamily(dressisca-sual),andgiveahandtothisyear’swinnersfortheireffortsinhelpingtokeepArkansasbeautifulthroughconservation.ContactAWF@[email protected] more information or to purchase tickets.


by Miles Grant

National Wildlife Federation, America’soldestand largestwildlifeconservationandeducationorganization,announcedlastnightat the annual NWF ConservationAchieve-mentAwardsgalathatitsBoardofDirectorshasappointedDelawareSecretaryofNaturalResources and Environmental Control Col-lin O’Mara to serve as the next PresidentandChiefExecutiveOfficereffectiveJuly7,2014.HewillsucceedLarrySchweigerwhois retiringMay2,2014afterservingfor10yearsasNWF’sPresidentandCEO. Secretary O’Mara will be joining NWFfrom the state government of Delawarewhere he has led the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and EnvironmentalControl since2009. In thatposition,Secre-taryO’Maraservedasthestate’stopenviron-mentalofficial,ledthestate’seffortstocon-serveandrestorewildlifeandfisheryhabitat,improveairqualityandpublichealth,ensureaccesstocleanwater,expandoutdoorrecre-ation and environmental education opportu-nities, and enhance the state’s resilience toextremeweatherandotherclimateimpacts. WhenSecretaryO’Marawasappointedin2009,hewastheyoungeststatecabinetoffi-cialinthenation.Overthepastseveralyears,hehasspearheadedarangeofinitiatives,in-cludingDelaware’s“NoChildLeftInside”/ChildrenInNaturecampaign,acomprehen-sive strategy to confront childhood obesityby reintroducing children to the outdoors;the First StateTrails and Pathways Plan, amulti-year initiative to expand and connectthe state’s trail system; and the DelawareBayshore Initiative, an effort to establishtheregionasaworld-classconservationandlow-impact recreation tourism destination for hunting, birding,fishing, hiking, canoe-ing,andkayaking,aspartofthePresident’sAmerica’sGreatOutdoorsInitiative. Inaddition,SecretaryO’Maraledthelarg-est investment in environmental infrastruc-ture inDelaware’s history, includingmorethan$200millioninwastewaterandstormwater systems, beach restoration, dam anddikerepair,drainageprojects,andparkandwildlife area. At the same time, he success-

fullyexecutedthefirstsignificantreorgani-zationofthestate’sDepartmentofNaturalResourcesandEnvironmentalControlsince1972,tomaketheagencymoreeffectiveatimplementing strategic priorities andmoreefficientincarryingoutitsmissionatatimeof limited resources. “Collinisatirelessleaderwithadeepun-derstanding of conservation issues and astrong, entrepreneurial spirit,” said DeborahSpalding,ChairoftheNWFBoardofDirec-tors. “His track record in implementing in-novativesolutionstoconservationchallengesand his experience inmanaging large, com-plexorganizationswithadiversestakeholderbasearekeyskillsthatwillbecriticalintakingtheFederationforwardinthecomingyears.” “Confronting the pressing conservationchallengesofthisgenerationwillrequirethatAmericans fromeverycornerofournationandeverywalkoflifeworktogethercommu-nitybycommunityandstatebystatetodrivechangeatthenationalandinternationallev-el,” said incomingCEOO’Mara. “TheNa-tionalWildlifeFederationhasaproudlegacyofbringingdiversegroupstogethertoprotectwildlife, advancing landscape scale conser-vation, expanding environmental education,promoting outdoor recreation from huntingand fishing to birding, kayaking and wild-lifewatching,anddrivingmeaningfulpolicychangeateverylevelofgovernment.Ilookforward to building upon Larry’s inspiringworkaswedoourgeneration’sparttoleaveahealthierandmoresustainableplanetforallwildlifeandfuturegenerations.” SecretaryO’Mara has served on numer-

Collin O’Mara Appointed President and CEO of National Wildlife Federation

by Al Wolff

Spring isalwaysanextremelybusyandhectic timeforAWFmembers,evenmoresothanusual.InadditiontoalloftheregularprojectsthatAWFworkson,it’salsothattimeofyearwhenEarthDayandArborDayhappen,typicallyduringthesameweek,andsomeAWFvolunteersgovisit schools,parks,andvariousother locations to talkwithhundreds,ifnotthousandsofstudentsandgiveoutthousandsofseedlingtreesfromCloudMountainForestryforfree,atreeavailabletoanystudentwhowantstotakeonehomeateachArborDay&EarthDayevent. EthanNahté(CreativeDirector)andLolaPerritt(RegionalDirector)didapresenta-tionforseveralclassroomsatPerritt’sformerstompinggroundswheresheusedtoteachatCarverMagnetElementarySchool(LittleRock).Theduodidaslidepresentationandshow-and-tellforeachgroupastheydiscussedtheusesandimportanceoftrees. Meanwhile,intheRiverValleyarea,WayneShewmake(AWFPresident)andJaredSchluterman(AWF’sNWFAlternateDelegate&formerPresidentofATUFisheries&WildlifeSociety)joinedwithotherATUFWSmembersforcombinedtablesatArkansasTech’sannualEarthDayevent. NahtéalsomadetwoappearancesatQueenWilhelminaStateParkduringAprilandMayfor thepark’sfirst-everConservationSchoolDays(seeaccompanyingstory thisissue). BetweenthetwoeventsonRichMountainNahtémadehisannualappearanceatLakeHamiltoninHotSpringsalongwithseveralotherorganizationsas600studentssplitintoeightgroupsrotatedfromstationtostation.Theeventbussesinevery5thgraderinGar-landCounty.Nahtéspokeontheimportanceofnativetreesashabitatandforage.AfterthestudentsmadeitthroughthestationstheyweretreatedtohundredsofslicesofPapaJohn’sPizzabeforeplantingtheannualtreeatEntergyPark.Thisyearaselectedmemberfrom each school helped to plant a white oak. Shewmake,alongwithmembersoftheU.S.ForestService,ArkansasForestryCom-mission,andDardanelleMayorCarolynMcGeedidapresentationbeforetheentireDar-danelleElementarySchoolforArborDay.ThisisanotherannualeventthatShewmakeandsomeothershaveparticipatedinseveraltimeswheretheyeducatethestudentsbutalsoplantatreeonschoolproperty. Perritt,Shewmake,Nahté,alsoassistedAWFaffiliateCreativeIdeasonMay3rd for the annual“WildlifeofArkansas”StudentArtContestAwardsCeremony(seeaccompany-ingstorythisissue). JustoveramonthlaterAWFwasco-hostingthesecondannualWoundedWarriorBassFishingTournament(seeaccompanyingstories). AWFthenheldtheirquarterlymeetinginJasperattheCliffHouseInnonthefirstdayofsummerbeforeadjourningandgoingonafloattripontheBuffaloRiver.Ourapolo-gies to anyonewho saw last issue’s calendar announcing themeeting inLittleRock.Plans changed afterAOOD went to print. The updated event details were posted on FacebookandtheAWFwebpage. AWFfinishedoutthemonthofJulywithShewmake,Perritt,JerryCrowe(2ndVicePresident)andtheirfamiliessettingupattheJasperElkFestivalwhileEllen&PhillipMcNultymadeanappearanceattheSpringRiverSportsmanClubinCherokeeVillage,ARasthegrouprenewedtheiraffiliationwithAWF.

AWF Out & About


Nameofhonoree ____________________________________________________________ Nameofdonor _____________________________________________________________

Address ___________________________________________________________________ Address __________________________________________________________________

City ________________________________State ____________ ZipCode _____________ City _______________________________ State ____________ZipCode _____________

Visa ________ MasterCard ___________ CreditCard# ____________________________________________________________ ExpirationDate _____________________________

Memorial _____ Honorarium ____________ AmountofGift$ _____________________ *The Arkansas Wildlife Federation can accept checks, and Master Charge or VISA Credit Cards *

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Thank you for supporting wildlife conservation! Send to: Arkansas Wildlife Federation, P.O. Box 56380, Little Rock, AR 72215; or call 501-888-4770We now accept MC/Visa/AMEX/Discover

Youcanrememberalovedonewithamemorialgiftorhonorariumtothe Arkansas Wildlife Federation.

MEMORIAL GIFTS: Ifyouwouldliketoremembersomeonewholovedwildlife,andthegreatoutdoorsofArkansas,youcanmakeagiftinthatperson’sname.Whatabeautifultribute to their memory. Your memorial gift will continue the work of theArkansasWildlifeFederationandkeepalovedone’sspiritalivethroughwildlifeconservation.

HONORARIUM GIFT: Areyoupuzzledwhattogivefriendsorfamilymemberswho“haveeverything?”Willanordinarygiftjustnotbeenough?Then,considermakingadonation to theArkansasWildlifeFederation in theirhonorandacknowledge theirspecial day, birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, or whatever they are celebrating.Your gift is a special recognition to this individual or family in support of wildlifeconservationprograms.Giftsof$100ormorewillreceivewildlifeprint.Alldonationswillreceiveataxdeductiblereceipt.

MEMORIAL GIFTS & HONORARIUMRemember Loved Ones "Forever"

Make a Difference “Forever Memorials or Honorariums” Right Now by Completing this Information Below:

Letter to the Editor: Hog Stench Ruins Tradition By now, most of Arkansas knows about the factory hog farm of 6,500 pigs located in the Buf-falo River watershed on Big Creek in Mt. Judea. You’ve read about the pollution and the threat to America’s first National River. But what you haven’t heard is how the C&H Hog Farm affects local people living at ground zero. Last week I took my mom and aunt to the old Sexton Cemetery in Mt. Judea. It’s a sweet tradi-tion; they gather their whisk brooms and clean-ing supplies and go to the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried, and sweep off and wash the headstones, remove last year’s deco-rations and replace them with their new, care-fully selected flowers. They fuss over the flowers, trying to arrange them to their prettiest and secure them so a strong wind won’t blow them away. It’s more precious to me every year, watching their little crooked backs tending the resting places of their family and where they too will rest someday. We arrived at the cemetery, and it looked lovely. It was all mowed and manicured, with the big trees serenely shading the quiet plot of

ground. I like coming here. My father and broth-er, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and great-grandparents, who were the first white people to settle in Big Creek Valley, are all bur-ied here. If you could just take it all in with your eyes, it’d be a perfect scene; but we stepped out of the car to a horrendous and overwhelm-ing stench of hog manure. It turned a wonderful tradition into an ex-tremely unpleasant task. I had to tie a scarf over my face to breathe as we worked quick-ly to escape back into our car. Ordinarily we would stay a while after decorating and share memories or funny stories of our loved ones, or just quietly ponder and enjoy the sweet smell of blooming honeysuckle. But not this time. It seems our concerns have become a reality — truly sad indeed. This Memorial Day, I mourn not only our loved ones who have passed on, but also I mourn our loss of enjoyment of traditional outdoor activi-ties, which is a loss of life as we’ve known it, in our little valley. Pam Fowler, Jasper, Ark.

ousboardsincludingasCo-ChairoftheNaturalResourcesandAgri-cultureSubcommitteeofthePresident’sTaskForceonClimateAd-aptationandPreparedness,pastChairof theRegionalGreenhouseGas Initiative, past Chair of the Ozone Transport Commission,ChairoftheClimateandEnergySubcommitteeoftheEnvironmen-talCounciloftheStates,ExecutiveCounciloftheChesapeakeBayProgram,theSustainableEnergyUtilityOversightBoard,StateWa-terSupplyCoordinatingCouncil,theDelawareCancerConsortium,OpenSpaceCouncil,NutrientManagementCommission,theCenterfortheInlandBays,andthePartnershipfortheDelawareEstuary. Prior to his current position,O’Mara served as the CleanTechStrategistfortheCityofSanJose,California,wherewastheprimaryarchitectoftheCityofSanJose’sGreenVisionandastheDirectorofSyraStatfortheCityofSyracuse,NewYork,whereheoversawtheCity’sperformancemanagementandaccountabilityprogram. AnativeofSyracuse,NewYork,O’MarawasaMarshallSchol-arattheUniversityofOxford,aUniversityFellowattheMaxwellSchoolofCitizenshipandPublicAffairs,andaPresidentialScholaratDartmouthCollege.HeisaCattoFellowattheAspenInstitute,aU.S.GreenBuildingCouncilLEED(LeadershipinEnergyandEn-vironmentalDesign) accredited professional, and completedStan-fordBusinessSchool’sExecutiveManagementPrograminEnviron-mentalSustainability. O’Mara’sselectionistheresultofanationalexecutivesearchun-dertakenbytheNWFBoardofDirectorswithRussellReynoldsAs-sociates.SaidSchweiger, “Iampleased thatCollin sharesNWF’scommitment toaddressingclimatechange,protectingwildlifeandconnectingkidswithnatureandIwishhimwell.”


Recent Storms Cause ‘Greensnap’ in Arkansas Corn Crop LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Storms, rainandhighwinds that rolled throughArkan-sas in recent days damaged parts of thestate’scorncrop inacoupleofways.Oneis “greensnap,” which happens when thecornstalksnapsatanodeduetohighwinds.Theotherproblemiswhencornplantsblowoverbutdon’tsnap.Thebiggerproblemiswithgreensnap. Blown-over plants are probably theresult of rootsgivingway inwetgroundandcanoftenstraightenupwithminimalimpactonyield,saidJasonKelley,wheat

andfeedgrainsextensionagronomist forthe University of Arkansas System Di-vision of Agriculture. “The smaller theplants are, thebetter theywill straightenup,”Kelleysaid. Greensnapmostoftenoccurswhenplantshave been rapidly growing and the stalksare brittle.Arkansas cornfields have expe-riencedgoodgrowing conditions andhighfertility levels, bothofwhich can increasegreensnap problems. Assuming a northwindwas blowing, fields planted east andwest typically have more damage thannorth-southfields. “Somefields innortheastArkansas in iso-latedareashavebeenreportedtohave75per-centormoregreensnapdamage,”Kelleysaid. Mostoftheplantsaffectedbygreensnapfromthisstormappeartobewithinacouple

ofweeksoftasseling. Plants at this stage have little ability tocompensate since themaximumnumber ofkernels has already been set,” Kelley said.“Theremaystillbeasmallamountofcom-pensating that a plant can do, but it is notnearlyasgreatasifthedamagehadoccurredearlier in the season. Yield loss associated withgreensnapisnearlydirectlyproportion-althepercentageofplantsthatbroke.” Kelleysaidthereisnogoodsolutionforfields thathave sustainedheavygreensnapdamageandsuggestedthatinsurancecover-ing suchdamage is thebest-case scenario.

“Fields not covered by insurance becomemoredifficulttodealwithsincereplantingcornorgrainsorghumthislateintheseasonisnotgoingtoprovideoptimumyields,”heexplained.“Ifreplantingofanysortisdone,cornstalkshreddingwouldlikelyhavetobedonetobeabletoplantanothercrop.” Thebestoptioninmanyfieldswithmod-erategreensnapwouldbe tokeep thecorncropbecauseareducedyieldduetogreen-snapmaybeasgoodorbetterthanreplantedcornoralategrainsorghumcropsincenear-lyalltheexpensesarealreadyintothecorncrop,Kelleyadded.

TEXARKANA –Ty Patterson neededjust threewords tosumuphisabbreviatedterm as anArkansasGame andFish com-missioner:“Shortandsweet.” Patterson,ofTexarkana,servedthefinaltwoyearsofanunexpiredtermonthecommissionwithJune30hisfinalday.Hewasvicechair-manoftheagencyandpresidedovertheMayand Junemeetingsof thecommissionat therequestofChairmanRonDuncan. Reflectingonhisterm,PattersonsaidthescopeandcomplexityoftheGameandFishCommissionwere astounding to him afterhisappointmentbyGov.MikeBeebe. “I had no idea how big the commissionwas andhowmany things itwas involvedin,”hesaid.“Somethingthathelpedmealotwas the other commissioners.We bonded.They are all different people, but thewaythey come together is impressive. This issomethingIwillalwayscherish–theclose-ness and the relationships with the other commissioners.” Pattersontouchedonauniquenessofthecommission. Seven appointed membersfrom all parts of Arkansas, plus a non-vot-ingeighthone, thescientificmemberfromtheUniversityofArkansas,come together,agree and sometimes disagree then set thepolicies to steer the conservation agencythatwillcelebrateitscentennialnextyear. “GameandFishisa$90millionayearop-

eration.Itcoverssomanydifferentfields,”hesaid.InPatterson’stenureasacommissioner,he worked with his fellow commissioners onseveralmajorpersonnelissues,includingachange indirectors.Theendingofa longlandmarksuitagainstthefederalgovernmentresulted inavictoryfor theGameandFishCommission.Thiswasthedestructionoftim-berbyprolongedfloodingontheDaveDon-aldson Black River Wildlife ManagementArea in northeast Arkansas. Also in Patterson’s term, deer huntingsuccessesreachedarecordhighin2012andalmostmatched it in 2013.Themulti-yearslumpinturkeyscheckedbyhuntersturnedaroundinthespring2013and2014seasons. Patterson has interests in several automo-biledealershipsandespeciallyenjoysduckhunting,turkeyhuntingandbassfishingonboth lakes and rivers. He said, “I’m fromsouthwest Arkansas, and Ron Duncan intro-ducedmetofishingforsmallmouthbassonthe streams in the mountain areas. This has beenspecialtome.” Pattersonhasthreechildren–Evelyn,11,Jackson, 10, andMartha, 6. “Thegirls aremoreintofishingthanhunting,butJacksonreallylikeshunting,”hesaid. Headded,“Iwanttothanktheothercom-missionersforworkingwithme,andIcer-tainlythankGovernorBeebeforappointingmetotheGameandFishCommission.”

25 hunters win public land elk permits for upcoming 2014 season JASPER – For 25 lucky hunters, the highlight of the Buffalo River Elk Festival was the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s drawing for public land elk hunt-ing permits. The two-segment season will be Oct. 6-10 and Oct. 27-31. Elk hunting on private land is restricted to one zone, consisting of all private land in Boone, Carroll, Madison, Newton and Searcy counties except for a por-tion of Boxley Valley. The private land hunt will end the evening of Oct. 31, or the evening that the 28 elk quota (8 bulls, 20 antlerless) is met; whichever comes first.

Rodney Dodson, Fouke, Zone 1, either sex, Oct. 6-10 Olivia Lowe, Conway, Zone 1, antlerless, Oct. 6-10 Brian Smith, Bismarck, Zone 4, antlerless, Oct. 6-10 Kenneth Brown Sr., Magazine, Zone 1, antlerless, Oct. 27-31 Adam Carlton, Mulberry, Zone 1, antlerless, Oct. 27-31 Kolbey Wood, Clarksville, Zone 2, youth either sex, Oct.27-31 Warner Henderson, Jonesboro, Zone 2, either sex, Oct.27-31 Jay Criswell, Alexander, Zone 2, antlerless, Oct. 27-31 Jordan Johnson, Little Rock, Zone 2, antlerless, Oct. 27-31 Adam Keeth, Rogers, Zone 2, antlerless, Oct. 27-31 Robert Cooper, Concord, Zone 2, antlerless, Oct. 27-31 Robert Brown, Cabot, Zone 2, antlerless, Oct. 27-31 Jack Keeling, Hot Springs, Zone 3 youth, either sex, Oct. 27-31 William James, Benton, Zone 3, either sex, Oct. 27-31 William Stearman, Waldron, Zone 3, antlerless, Oct. 27-31 Derek Mallen, Cabot, Zone 3, antlerless, Oct. 27-31 Andrew Guffey, Pangburn, Zone 3, antlerless, Oct. 27-31 Michael Dillard, West Fork, Zone 3, antlerless, Oct. 27-31 JJohn Williams, White Hall, Zone 3, antlerless, Oct. 27-31 Jaden Fraser, Vilonia, Zone 4, either sex, Oct. 27-31 Stan Jones, Hoxie, Zone 4, antlerless, Oct. 27-31 Bryan White, Mountain Home, Zone 4, antlerless, Oct. 27-31 Rita Foster, Viola, Zone 1, either sex, Oct. 27-31 Bobby Launius, Camden, Zone 2, antlerless, Oct. 6-10 Kent Ruddick, Garfield, Zone 3, antlerless, Oct. 6-10

PUBLIC LAND ELK PERMIT WINNERS:

Ty Patterson ends term as a Game and Fish commissioner


Progress Made to Protect State Waters from Pig Wasteby Becky Gillette(Eureka Springs Independent, Reprinted with permission)

TheBuffaloRiverBillthattheArkansasPublicPolicyPan-el’s Citizens First Congress championed in 2013 legislation,andwhichRep.WarwickSabin (D-LittleRock),Rep.KelleyLinck (R-Yellville) and Rep. Greg Leding (D-Fayetteville)sponsored and passed into law, has now reached a major point of implementation, said JohnS.Whiteside, policydirectorofthe APPP. “Among several provisions,Act 1511 created the Com-mitteefortheStudyofConcentratedAnimalFeedingOper-ation(CAFO)Procedureswithappointedstakeholdersfromacross the state,” Whiteside said. “That commission metlast year several times and eventually published a reportandrecommendedasetofrulechangestoimproveprotec-tions for theBuffaloandeveryriver inArkansas fromtheimpactofCAFOs.” OnMay8,theArkansasDepartmentofEnvironmentalQual-ity(ADEQ)announcedithadfiledaPetitiontoInitiateRule-makingtoadoptallrecommendationsofthecommittee. “This isgreatnewsnotonlyfor theBuffaloRiver,butalsoall bodies of water in the state,”Whiteside said. “AlongsideourefforttobanallfutureswineCAFOsintheBuffaloRiverWatershed,thisiswelcomedadditionalgoodnewstowardspro-tectingallthebeautifulwatersofArkansas.” Thefirstpublichearingontheproposedregulationswillbeat2p.m.July14,attheArkansasPollutionControlandEcologyCommission meeting room at 5301 Northshore Drive, LittleRock. LinWellford, aGreen Forest residentwho has been activewithseveralwatershedprotectiongroups including theOzarkRiverStewards,saiditispositivethatmovementisbeingmadetowardsprotectingallOzarkriversfromthedegradationinher-entinallowingCAFOstooperateastheyarecurrentlyconfig-ured–open, leaking lagoons,morenutrients than thegroundcan absorb, no accounting for the lack of topsoil or the frac-turedsubstraterightbelowthesurface. The legislation came about after a 6,500-head CAFOswine facility was secretively located near the Big CreektributarytotheBuffaloNationalRiver.Becauseoftheirfastgrowth, pigs generate waste in much greater volume thanhumans.TheamountofwastegeneratedbyC&HHogFarmsisequivalent to thatproducedbyacityof35,000.There isno wastewater treatment plant for the waste that smells so baditcanmakepeoplefeel ill.Thewaste isstoredinsew-age lagoons that are legally allowed to have 5,000 gallonsperdayofseepageintotheground.Thatcontaminationisin

additiontothewastewatersprayedoutonagriculturallandssurroundingthefacility. CurrentlyADEQhasamoratoriumonanyadditionalCAFOsintheBuffaloRiverWatershed.ApublicmeetingisplannedonthatissueJune17inHarrison. “Thisisachanceforpeopletocomeandsupportthetempo-rarybanandinsistitbemadepermanent,”Wellfordsaid.“ThecommentperiodforpeopletogototheADEQsiteandexpresstheirviewsonthetemporarybanonCAFOsintheBuffaloRiv-erwatershedgoesuntilJuly1.Youcangotothewww.Buffalo-RiverAlliance.orgwebsitetofindalinkdirecttothecommentsite.” Wellfordsaidwhileitisencouragingthatrulesareinthepro-cessofbeingadopted topreventotherCAFOs in theBuffaloRiver watershed and other sensitive watersheds in the state, as yetthereisnoclearwaytolegallyshutdownC&HHogFarms. CurrentlyateamledbykarstgeologistDr.JohnVanBrahanaistestinggroundwaternearthefarm. “The dye testing is showing clear and fast transmission ofgroundwateraround thefarm,butDr.Brahana’s teamhasnotbeen allowed to test on the farm itself, andmost particularlythe leaking lagoons,”Wellfordsaid.“Engineershavestated itappearsthelagoonsleakattherateof3,400gallonsperday,butnooneknowswherethatleakageisgoing.Becauseofthecon-volutedstructureoffracturedkarst,itcouldtakearound-aboutroute,butthenatureofwatershedsisthatallliquideventuallymakesitswaydownhill,sothereislittledoubtwhereitwillendup.” TheBuffaloRiverWatershedAllianceandAudubonrecentlydidacampaignthatresultedinmorethan1,500cardsandlet-tersprotestingtheC&HfacilitybeingsenttoCargill,whichiscontractedtopurchasethehogsfromC&H. InalettertoAudubon,MikeMartin,directorofcommunica-tionsforCargill,saidtheyareinagreementthatnobodywantsto see theBuffaloRiver adversely impacted from any sourc-es, including those thathaveapparentlybeen impacting it foryears. “Webelieveagricultureandotheruses,especiallyrecreation,cancontinuetosuccessfullycoexistinthisarea,”Martinwrote.“TheownersofC&Hsharethatdesireanddonotwanttoseetheriveradverselyimpactedfromanysource.Theyhavelivedintheareatheirentirelives,theyswiminBigCreekandtheirchildrenattendthelocalschoolinMt.Judea. “WhileC&Hmeets,orexceeds,allstateandfederalrequire-ments,includingenvironmentalsafeguardswellbeyondregula-tionrequirements,we,thefarm’sownersandothersareexplor-ingadditionalmeasuresthatcouldpotentiallyfurtherenhancethosesafeguardsalreadyinplace.Wecontinuetoevaluateop-tions.Wewilltakeyourcomments,andthoseofyourmembers,into consideration aswe continue our ongoing assessment ofthesituation.” Wellford said the fact that Cargill asked to meet withmembersoftheallianceshowstheyaretakingprotestsse-riously, “But it is clear that we need to continue to keeppressureonthem.”

Duck stamp sales in Arkansas reach an all-time high LITTLE ROCK – Waterfowl huntinglast season set a record in Arkansas. The number of hunters was an all-time high,andthisdoesn’tnecessarilymeanhuntingsuccess was at a peak. Sale of duck stamps is the yardstickused for hunter participation. Federalduckstampsareofficiallymigra-torybirdhuntingandconservationstamps.Arkansas calls its duck stamp a waterfowl stamp.Botharerequiredforanyhunter16oroldertogoafterducksandgeese. For the 2013-2014 waterfowl huntingseason, 97,117 stamps were sold in Ar-kansas, displacing the previous record of95,863 posted in the 2002-2003 season,accordingtotheArkansasGameandFishCommission.Thepastseason’ssaleswere55,935forresidentstampsand41,182fornon-residentstamps.Inthepreviouspeakof 2002-2003, saleswere to 62,405 resi-dentsand33,458non-residents. Roughly 40 percent of the stamp salesfor 2013-2014 were for non-residentstamps, an indication that hunters from other areas continue to find Arkansas afertile place for their waterfowl activities. Thispercentage isnoticeablyhigher thanin2002-2003whenless thanone-thirdofthe stamp sales went to non-residents. Luke Naylor, AGFC’s waterfowl pro-gramcoordinator,said,“Thenon-residentstamp sales this past season were an all-time record for Arkansas. The resident stamp saleswere the third highest on re-cord, so this tells us that our waterfowl huntingishighlypopularwithbothArkan-sans and with non-residents. Arkansasduckstampsaleshaveclimbedsignificantly since 1992, a low point inmodern times for Arkansas duck hunt-ing. Then, less than 40,000 stamps weresold.The sales climbed steadilyuntil thepreviouspeakin2002-2003thendippedabit for several years until rising again in2007-2008 The long-term average for duck stampsales inArkansas is about 67,000 with a70-30ratioforresidentsandnon-residents.


May/June 2014 ISSN0884-9145POSTMASTER: Send form 3579 to:P.O. Box 56380, Little Rock, AR 72215

ArkansasOut-of-Doors

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THEARKANSAS WILDLIFE FEDERATION

Arkansas Out-of-Doors is published 6 times per year by Arkansas Wildlife Federation, P.O. Box 56380, Little Rock, AR 72215. Third Class postage paid at Russellville, AR and additional mailing offices.POSTMASTER: Send address change to Arkansas Out-of-Doors, P.O. Box 56830, Little Rock, AR 72215, or call 501-888-4770.

This is the official publication of the Arkansas Wildlife Federation. Printed matter includes hunting and fishing news, sporting information, articles on pertinent legislation, with special emphasis on environment and pollution problems. All Arkansas Wildlife Federation members are entitled to receive one copy of each issue of AOOD for one year.Permission is granted to reprint any news article or item printed in Arkansas Out-Of-Doors with credit, please.

Creative Director............................................... Ethan Nahté

Editor in Chief ......................................... Wayne Shewmake

Layout/Design ..........................................Chris Zimmerman ZimCreative

Views and opinions, unless specifically stated, do not necessarily represent the positions of the Arkansas Wildlife Federation.

Deadline Information:

Unless other arrangements are made with the editor, copy for club news, features, columns and advertising must be in the Arkansas Wildlife Federation office by the close of business (noon) on the 20th of the month preceding publication. Thank you for your cooperation.

Arkansas Wildlife Federation Officers and

Board of DirectorsSeptember 1st, 2013 to August 31st, 2014

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE President: WayneShewmake,

Dardanelle 1st Vice President:EllenMcNulty,PineBluff

2nd Vice President:JerryCrowe,Dardanelle

Treasurer: GaryW.Bush,Marion Secretary: ClaySpike,Benton Executive Director: Vacant Creative Director: EthanNahté

BOARD OF DIRECTORS AT LARGE JimWood,Dardanelle Dr.CharlesLogan,LittleRock BobbyHacker,LittleRockMikeArmstrong,LittleRock LucienGillham,Sherwood JerryCrowe,Dardanelle JaredSchluterman,Russellville LaurenRay,SpringdaleWayneShewmake,Dardanelle EllenMcNulty,PineBluff ClaySpikes,Benton GaryBush,Marion

REGIONAL DIRECTORS Director of Region 1 (Northeast

Region): PattieDuchene,Augusta Director of Region 1 Alternate

(Northeast Region): LindaCooper,Augusta

Director of Region 2 (Southeast Region): Vacant

Director of Region 3 (Central Region): LolaPerritt,Mabelvale

Director of Region 4 (Southwest Region): Steve Filipek, Little Rock

Director of Region 5 (Northwest Region): MaryLouLane,Dardanelle

NWF Special Projects:EllenMcNulty,PineBluff

NWF Regional Representative: GeralynHoey,Austin,TX

PRESIDENT EMERITUS ANDFIRST LADY EMERITUS: BobandRaeApple,Dardanelle

NATIONAL WILDLIFEFEDERATION DELEGATES: Delegate-EllenMcNulty,PineBluff Alt.Delegate-JaredSchluterman,

Russellville

ADVISOR TO PRESIDENT RalphOldegard,Mt.Home LarryHedrick,HotSprings CharlesMcLemoreJr.,Bryant

AFFILIATE CLUBS:ATU Fisheries & Wildlife Society AustinKlais,President-

Russellville, AR

Arkansas Chapter of American Fisheries

Arkansas Trappers Association GaryHelms,President-Texarkana,AR

Cane Creek Hometowner’s Assoc. ShirleyBeavers,Sec./Treasurer–Scranton, AR

Creative Ideas President:SharonHacker-Little

Rock, AR

Friends of Pontoon Park

Friends of Bigelow Park

Friends of Delaware Park

Greene County Wildlife Club RickWoolridge,President-Paragould

Little River Bottoms Chapter, Arkansas Wildlife Federation

VickersFuqua,President MikeYoung,Secretary&Treasurer

Mt. Magazine Ranger District

University of the Ozarks - Clarksville JamieL.Hedges,DirectorofOutdoor&EvironmentalExperiences

Spring River Sportsman WallySchultz-CherokeeVillage,AR

Westark Wildlife G.DavidMatlock,FortSmith

White River Conservancy GaynePrellerSchmidt,Augusta

Wounded Warrior Project - NE Arkansas

MikeRichardson,Pocahontas,AR

Yell County Wildlife Federation JamesManatt,President–

Dardanelle

Yell County Youth Conservation Club

RandyCole,Dardanelle,AR

Arkansas Wildlife Federation Staff Creative Director -EthanNahté

Editor in Chief-WayneShewmake

Contributing Writers–WayneShewmake,Dr.RobertMorgan,Johnny,Sain,Jr.,EthanNahté,AlWolff,AGFC,KevinTuckfield,Dr.RitaLittrell,WaymonCox,JerryShields,JamesManatt,JaredSchluterman,MilesGrant,HollieSandersAGFC,BeckyGillette,SharonDeniseStephens,andJessicaRainwater

Contributing Photographers –MikeWintroath,EthanNahté,WayneShewmake,JessicaRainwater,LisaTaylor,JamesManatt,GeralynHoey,JohnnySain,Jr.,KylaKane,AndrewStevens,andDr.RobertMorgan

Arkansas Wildlife Federation Address:

P.O.Box56380 LittleRock,Arkansas72215 Office:501-888-4770//Cell:501-414-2845


by Dr. Rita Littrell Arkansas, as The Natural State, is aptlynamed.Inwhicheverofthesixgeographicregionsyouchoosetoliveortravel,youwillfindverybeautifulvistas.Rockoutcroppingsoverlookingwindingrivervalleys.Majesticsunsetsoverricefields.Woodedroadspass-ingsmallfamilyhomesteadsorforestsfilledwith pines and hardwoods. Water resources include lakes, rivers, streams, and water-falls.Ournaturalbeautyistrulysomethingofwhichweshouldhavegreatpride.Sev-eralofourArkansasParks, suchasMountMagazine or Lake Fort Smith, have had afaceliftandprovideupscalefamilystaysorgreatplacesforreunionsorchurchoutings.Many parks provide fun and educationalvisits throughout the year. You can learnabout history or experience ourwonderfuloutdoors. The options in our state are almost limitless.Andsomethingthatyou,asanAr-kansan,willhopefullyexperience. Areyouinterestedinfindingajewelthatis tucked away in the northwest corner ofthe state? One of our natural treasures ofwhichyoumaynotbefamiliarishiddenjusteastofLakeFayetteville.ItistheBotanicalGardenof theOzarks orBGO.This smallbut remarkable garden truly is a hiddenjewelyouwillwant tovisit timeand timeagain once it is discovered. Just the otherdaywhenIwasvolunteeringintheButter-flyHouse, a visitor from centralArkansascommentedthatshehadforgottenjusthowbeautiful and ever-changing the gardenswere.Thissmallbotanicalgardenprovidessuchanunexpectedtreatthroughmostsea-sonsoftheyear.Thegardenisacollectionof 12 themed gardens providing examplesand ideas for your own yard. More than80,000visitorsayearhavediscoveredhowrelaxingawalkthroughcanbetohelpyouunwind from a hectic and busy life. Con-nectingwithnaturecanbeverytherapeutic.Inadditiontojuststrolling,gueststakeedu-cational classes or attend concerts. Special events include Chefs in the Garden where youeat anddrinkwhilevisitingwithyourfriendsandroamingthroughthegardens.Inthesummer,concertsareheldontheGreatLawn.Peoplebringpicnics,chairsanden-joymusicinthemostidyllicsettingaround.Ichallengeyoutofindanythingmorepeace-fulthangoodmusicwithfamilyandfriends

in a gorgeous setting. Children climb andfrolic in the Children’s Garden. Vegetablegardeners gazewith envy at the large andbeautifullydisplayedmammothvegetables.Simplysitonabenchandwatchthechick-enscluckandpeckastheyforagefortheirdinner.Stroll through theshadegardenforplant ideasor relaxon theporch swingoftheOzarkNativeGarden.Find the hiddensculptures tucked away in private corners.Some created by local artisans includingSusanRegan thedirectorofgardendesignattheBGO.Currentlyunderconstructionisthe KlingamanArboretumwhich will dis-playmany species ofArkansas trees. Par-ents or grandparents, be sure to take yourkids to the weeklyLittle Sprouts programor to the FireflyFlingeventinlateJuly.Ifyouaretravelingwithagroup,tourscanbearranged.Thiswillbethebest$7youhavespentinalongwhile.Andforabetterdealorjusttoshowyoursupport,buyamember-shipwhichisreciprocalwithotherbotanicalgardensintheUnitedStates. While there, don’t miss the ButterflyHouse.Thisisafairlynewattractionwhichdiffersfrommostbutterflyhouses.Hereyou

will findonly native species of butterflies.Thesearewhatyouusedtofindinyourownyard.WhatyoucanstillfindwhenyoutrektheArkansas outdoors in rural areas.VisittheButterflyHousetowatchthebutterfliesfluttering and nectaring on the floweringplants.Observe the butterfly uncoiling theproboscis, it’s built-in straw, and sippingnectar that provides the energy needed toflap its wings over 100 times per minute.Watchthefemalebutterfliesgluethefragileeggs onto their host plants. Each butterflylayseggsononeortwotypesofplants.Sothehouseisfilledwiththehostplantsneed-edforeachspeciesofbutterfly.Searchtheplants forvery interestinganddiversecat-erpillars. Some are brightly colored whileothers look hairy or spinney. Some havebigfakeeyesandwrapleavesaroundthem-selvesforcover.Photographerscomebackrepeatedly to catch the best shots of thesebeautiful anduniquecreatures.Classesof-feredattheBGOhelppeopletounderstandtheimportanceofmaintainingdiversehabi-tats that support the lifecycles of our flut-tering friends that, along with bees, serveas pollinators formany of our foods.Andifyoureallywanttolearntomakeadiffer-ence,learntoserveasaButterflyNannyor

createabutterflygardenatyourownhome. So,pleasestop inandsurroundyourselfwithArkansas’ natural beauty in a serenesetting.YouwillleaveimpressedandeagertocreateyourownnaturalspacesthatmimicourNaturalState.Whetheryouarelocalorpassingthrough,wehopetoseeyouthere.http://bgozarks.org/ (Editor’s Note: The BGO is located @ 4703 N. Crossover Rd., Fayetteville, AR 72764. Visit the Link to Plan Your Visit at their website for directions.)

Hidden Jewel in the Ozarks