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Duck numbers similar to 2025, waiting on rain at home
Ask an Arkansas duck hunter about a mixed bag, and they’ll picture a strap filled with gadwall, teal and shovelers alongside their prized mallards and pintails. Heading into this fall, "mixed bag" better describes the mood.  Surveys in the Prairie Pothole Region, where most of Arkansas’s ducks are hatched, indicated fair habitat at the start…
3 days ago
Former Commissioner Sonny Varnell Dies 
Sonny Varnell, 87, a member of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission from May 2003 through June 30, 2008, died Sept. 21 at home in St. Paul (Madison County) after a lengthy illness. Varnell was appointed to the Commission by Gov. Mike Huckabee to complete the term of Bill Ackerman of Fayetteville. Ackerman was appointed…
September 29, 2026
Beat the Heat: Nighttime Safety Tips for Arkansas Boaters and Anglers
As scorching summer days continue across Arkansas, anglers and boaters alike are taking to the water after dark to beat the heat. Whether casting for bass or enjoying a quiet late-evening cruise under the stars, a night on The Natural State's reservoirs offers cooler temperatures and peaceful, uncrowded lakes. However, navigating after sundown brings hidden…
September 1, 2026
School of Conservation Leadership designation bestowed on 31 State Schools
Thirty-one Arkansas schools, ranging from Pre-K to 12th grade, have been designated as a School of Conservation Leadership for 2026-29 and were honored by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Education Division on Thursday at the AGFC’s Little Rock headquarters. Many schools sent representatives who nearly filled the auditorium, while others from around the state…
August 6, 2026
Observer publisher takes first and second in Arkansas SPJ investigative prize
Mountain Home Observer publisher Chris Fulton won first and second place in the A-Mark Prize for Investigative Reporting in Arkansas, which carries $15,000 in prize money. The Arkansas Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists announced the winners Saturday, July 25, at its Diamond Journalism Awards banquet at Next Level Events in downtown Little…
August 4, 2026
Greenwood native Hampton receives 2026 Monty Carmikle Award
Heath Hampton has only been back in the state as an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission game warden for two years, but his exemplary record in that brief time earned the Arkansas native the 2026 Sgt. Monty Carmikle Game Warden of the Year honor at the agency’s Enforcement Awards banquet July 16. AGFC commissioners, Director…
July 23, 2026
Westside Warms Up, Returns to Top Spot in Shooting Sports Final
Danny Price was feeling a little deja vu early in the Youth Shooting Sports senior state championship. The Jonesboro Westside coach watched his No. 4 Warriors Red squad start out poorly, by its standards, missing 13 of 125 targets and barely eking by in the first round of the 64-team tournament Saturday at the Arkansas…
June 5, 2026
Hot shooting highlights regionals; junior and senior YSS state tourneys set
Four weeks of terrific trap shooting in regional tournament competition at the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation Shooting Sports Complex in Jacksonville have led to this: 64 junior and 64 senior teams in the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Youth Shooting Sports program competing for a state championship in those divisions, plus a horde of…
May 29, 2026
Boredom leads to state record skipjack for Ozark teen
Jeared Barnett was growing bored with trying to catch catfish in the Arkansas River on a Wednesday in early April. He was fishing below Lock and Dam 12, the Ozark Pool. He loves catfishing, he says, but he decided enough of that after only a couple of blue catfish. What he landed instead put the…
May 22, 2026
Listen Up! It’s Calendar Time
The Arkansas Wildlife calendar has featured an array of critters and information since it was introduced in 1984, but the 2026-27 edition includes a new way to enjoy the outdoors, indoors. For the first 10 years or so, the calendar featured artwork by artists, most of them from Arkansas, who captured the character of the…
May 7, 2026

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