LITTLE ROCK – The quality of wildlife habitat in Arkansas is dependent upon decisions made by the many individuals who own and manage the land. Out of 33 million surface acres in the Arkansas, 29 million are under private ownership.
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Turkey Program Coordinator Jason Honey says the agency’s Acres for Wildlife program continues to target all wildlife species in the state, with special emphasis on ground nesting birds such as turkey and quail. “Landowners can play an important part in improving the habitat for wildlife in Arkansas by taking an active role in this program,†Honey says.
Native warm-season grasses and forbs are primarily selected to provide nesting, brood-rearing and escape cover for quail and other grassland birds. Along with the native warm-season grass project, landowners can also compete for additional funds to cover costs associated with prescribed fire, herbicide application and travel corridor establishment. The projects require at least five contiguous acres. Applications for the project can be made at any time.
Most landowners and managers are interested in the environment and in wildlife, but they often forget to include such considerations in their management activities or they don’t know what to do, Honey says. “In some cases, they unknowingly perform activities detrimental to wildlife and the environment. The results of these facts have been a great, often needless, reduction of habitat for all kinds of wildlife,†he explained.
The AFW program is intended to benefit all species of wildlife. It does not retire cropland or grazing land; neither does it open posted land to hunters. This is left entirely to the discretion of the landowner or tenant.
As an AFW cooperator (landowner), farmers and landowners can help Arkansas’s wildlife and the environment by managing all or a portion of your land for wildlife. The AFW program creates additional habitat and encourages considerations for wildlife needs, in conjunction with good farming, livestock production and forestry practices on the entire farm.
Landowners enrolling in the AFW program have access to an AGFC private lands biologist who can offer specific wildlife management recommendations for the property along with advice for landowners regarding other state, federal and private programs offering financial and technical assistance. Many program opportunities offer cost-share assistance and other incentives to improve or create habitat on private lands across the state.
For more information on the programs, call Honey at 877-470-3650 or go to http://www.agfc.com/species/Pages/SpeciesConservationPrograms.aspx.