Elk permits to require fee

Application cost aims to discourage no-shows

Hunters who’ve applied for an Arkansas elk permit in the past will see one major change this year during the application period, which runs through May. Applying for a permit requires a nonrefundable $5 fee.

Under the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s new permit and license system, all permit applications will carry the same $5 fee.

“Elk, alligator and wildlife management area permits for deer and turkeys, as well as waterfowl hunt permits, for Steve N. Wilson Raft Creek Bottoms, Sheffield Nelson Dagmar and Freddie Black Choctaw Island West Unit wildlife management areas will now have this upfront cost,” said Brad Carner, chief of wildlife management for Game and Fish.

“We’re hoping the small fee will help eliminate some of the applicants who do not really have the intention of hunting under the permit if they’re drawn.”

Carner said there have been problems in the past with hunters drawing one of Arkansas’ few public land elk permits and then not showing up for the hunt or only hunting a morning or two and calling it quits.

“A few years ago, we made the stipulation that a person had to have a valid hunting license at the time of application because we had no-shows and people who would show up to the elk hunt orientation with no experience even shooting a firearm,” Carner said. “And we still have people applying for their wives, sons and daughters, who later decide they don’t want to go.”

Carner said not only do wasted permits take away from another hunter who would have made use of the opportunity, but it also affects management of the animals the permit hunts are based on.

“We have objectives as to how many elk, particularly cow elk, should be removed each year to maintain healthy populations and prevent more expansion of the elk herd.”

— Brad Carner, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission

“We have objectives as to how many elk, particularly cow elk, should be removed each year to maintain healthy populations and prevent more expansion of the elk herd,” he said. “Hunting is the best method to control those numbers.”

Carner said the total number of elk permits available for public draw will be set during the commission’s May 18 meeting, but he expects it to be the same number as last season. Twenty-six permits will be proposed for the online applications and an additional three permits will be reserved for on-site draws at the 20th annual Buffalo River Elk Festival on June 24.