JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT/Edited News Release) – Rice producers interested in helping Arkansas’s wintering waterfowl populations while drawing a few extra dollars from their farming practices have an opportunity to earn as much as $150 per acre additional income through the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Waterfowl Rice Incentive Conservation Enhancement Program. Applications are available from April 15-May 15 at www.agfc.com/wrice.
Instead of tilling their fields after harvest, participating farmers are contracted to leave the post-harvest waste in the fields and flood them using either surface water or rainfall during winter. This increases the temporary wetland habitat required for many migrating ducks, geese and shorebirds to complete their annual life cycles in good health. The final requirement is that landowners allow the AGFC to conduct managed draw hunts on the property during each weekend of Arkansas’s duck season.
Private Lands Biologist David Graves coordinates between the rice producers and the AGFC to ensure excellent winter waterfowl habitat and public access. He says many producers who have participated in the past are ready to reenroll for the coming year, but all landowners will need to go through the evaluation process to ensure that any new participants have an opportunity to be a part of the program and the best habitat for migrating waterfowl and shorebirds is created.
“We’ve heard from many landowners that the process of working with us is much simpler than working with multiple leaseholders in duck clubs who have different goals for their hunt,” Graves said. “Our contracted fields serve as rest areas Monday through Friday and are only hunted on weekends. This keeps more waterfowl within these core migrating areas, leading to less hunting pressure on birds and increased hunt opportunities for our permit winners.”…