Arkansas duck hunters are facing a major issue before the season begins Nov. 21. After 14 months of drought, Arkansas Game and Fish only has enough water to flood less than half of the hunting land it manages.
Here’s what to know
With the first segment of duck season set to start in a few weeks, K8 News (@K8News) released a video and written report warning that AGFC Director Doug Schoenrock is telling commissioners and hunters to expect an unusually dry season.
@k8news Fourteen months of drought have taken their toll on Arkansas’s wetlands, and the effects will be felt much more by waterfowl hunters as the first segment of Arkansas’s duck season begins Nov. 21. Although the season is a month away, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Director Doug Schoenrock is preparing commissioners and the hunting public for an uncharacteristically dry season. ♬ original sound – K8News
Wetlands that hunters across Arkansas depend on have been depleted by the prolonged drought. Because AGFC can flood less than half of the hunting land it manages, public areas that rely on managed water for waterfowl habitat and hunting access will have limitations this season.
The prolonged dry stretch has also hit rice production hard. K8 News described rice as “a key food source for ducks” and reported that farming has fallen to a 40-year low.
More background
The report noted that “pumps can only do so much to help.”…