Arkansas Game and Fish Commission

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is almost done with a multi-year research project looking at the spread of chronic wasting disease among the state's deer population.

The weather outside might be frightful, but the live music is still delightful. On today's show, we learn more about a new listening session series at Underbrush Books in Rogers. Live music is also coming to us courtesy of the Ozark Mountain Music Festival. We also get an update on research on an illness that’s been spreading across the deer population across Arkansas.

Deer hunting season is in full swing in Arkansas, and that should mean something to anyone spending time outside this fall and winter. Trey Reid is a spokesperson for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and spoke with Ozarks at Large’s Jack Travis ahead of modern gun season, which began Saturday, Nov. 9. Reid says that everyone, hunters or otherwise, should focus on safety while recreating outdoors.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it would award more than $48 million in grants to 19 states and Guam as part of the Cooperative Endangered Species Fund to support land acquisition and conservation planning. $2.2 million of that went to Arkansas.

As development progresses throughout Fort Smith, the Janet Huckabee River Valley Nature Center seems to have been left behind. The Game and Fish Commission-run center has been untouched since its grand opening. Now, state officials and community leaders are raising funds for a renovation. Ozarks at Large’s Jack Travis visited the Nature Center to learn more about the space and how an update will better serve the community.

Last December, the Game and Fish Commission’s northwest Arkansas staff took advantage of low water levels in Beaver Lake to add new fish habitat sites to the reservoir.

Historic Cane Hill and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission are partnering for the 2024 Northern Bobwhite Quail and Eastern Wild Turkey Stamp art contest. Cane Hill executive director Vanessa McKuin speaks on the significance of the competition.

Carroll County Quorum Court rejected a moratorium to temporarily block the construction of a proposed private industrial wind facility in eastern Carroll County called Nimbus. Ozarks at Large's Jacqueline Froelich spoke with Caroline Rogers, the co-founder of “Stop Wind Farms in Arkansas,” about why her group opposes the new facility.

The state butterfly, the Diana fritillary, is considered to be at moderate to severe risk of extinction by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. Northwest Arkansas Master Naturalist Shawn Hunter became aware of the species' plight and dedicated herself to saving it. She spoke with Ozarks at Large's Jack Travis about her efforts and The Diana Project.

Increasing white-tailed deer herds are causing both wonder and worry in towns and cities on the Arkansas Ozarks. We gather insight from state and local deer experts.