Arkansas’s Fourth Alligator Season Begins In September
LITTLE ROCK, AR –-(Ammoland.com)- The first step in the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s process of the very popular alligator hunting season has just been finalized.
For the past several weeks, AGFC field crews have been busy conducting alligator spotlight surveys all across south Arkansas.
This population data, a harvest report from last year’s alligator hunt, a summary of last year’s nuisance alligator activities and a report on Arkansas’s farm-raised alligators will all be compiled into a single report that must be submitted to the U. S Fish and Wildlife Service by July 1. The USFWS will review the information and determine if there is cause to prohibit a conservative hunting season in 2010.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission passed the alligator hunting season dates in April. A total of 47 permits will be available with 36 of those coming through the computer draw process, Assistant Chief of Wildlife Ricky Chastain says. This is an increase of 17 total permits from the 2009 hunting season.
The proposed season dates for the 2010 alligator hunting season are: from 30 minutes after sunset on Friday, Sept. 17 until 30 minutes before sunrise on Monday, Sept. 20 and from 30 minutes after sunset on Friday, Sept. 24 until 30 minutes before sunrise on Monday, Sept. 27, 2010. The AGFC will begin taking on-line applications for the public land and private land at-large permits on June 21 and end the application period on July 9. Successfully drawn hunters will be notified by late July.
The mandatory hunter orientation classes will be held at the Hope Regional Office and the Monticello Regional Office on August 14 and at the Little Rock Headquarters on Aug. 21. Chastain said that he strongly urges anyone interested in a chance to participate in the alligator hunt to be very aware of the important dates in this process. “We really want the public to understand how this process must be condensed into a short timeframe and to be very prepared to respond to the timelines of the application period, as well as plan ahead for the hunter orientation workshops and hunt dates if successfully drawn,” he said.
The following permits will be available through the computer draw process:
Alligator Management Zone 1 (Southwest Arkansas)
Public Area Permits
- Dr. Lester Sitzes III Bois d’ Arc WMA – two permits
- Millwood Lake – two permits
- Lake Erling – one permit
- Little River – one permit(from below Millwood dam to Allen’s Ferry)
Private Land At-large Permits – ten permits
- Alligator Management Zone 3 (Southeast Arkansas)
Public Area Permits
- Lower Arkansas River Complex – twelve permits
- Private Land At-large Permits – eight permits.