Magazine, licenses great gifts

It’s easy to brighten Christmas for outdoor enthusiasts with gifts from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

How about a subscription to Arkansas Wildlife, the award-winning magazine produced by Game and Fish.

Arkansas Wildlife is one of the country’s best conservation magazines and is full of great photographs and stories about the state’s natural resources. Subscription rates are $12 for a single year, $20 for two years and $25 for three years. The popular Arkansas Wildlife calendar is part of the subscription.

Visit www.agfc.com/ArkansasWildlife to view sample articles from the magazine and purchase subscriptions.

A gift certificate for an Arkansas hunting or fishing license may not sparkle and shine, but it’s one of the best gifts for that hard-to-buy outdoors enthusiast.

At only $10.50, a basic resident Arkansas hunting license is one of the least expensive in the country. With that license, a person may hunt any small game and take a single deer by whichever legal method they choose. For $25, however, the hunter will be entitled to all game species, including bear and turkey. The hunter is allowed the full statewide season bag limit of six deer. Federal and state duck stamps must still be purchased for waterfowl hunting.

Gift certificates for fishing licenses are just as reasonable. For $10.50, a gift certificate will cover all of a resident angler’s needs for the year. If they’re a trout angler, just add $10 to cover the resident trout permit.

The best part about getting a license is knowing money goes back into conservation. Not only do the funds from license sales go directly to conservation work throughout the state, but with every license purchase, Game and Fish is able to bring to Arkansas a greater share of federal taxes from guns, ammunition and fishing equipment that is earmarked for conservation in each state.

To purchase a gift certificate, go to www.agfc.com, and click the green bar at the top of the page that says “Buy Licenses | Check Game.” You can print out a gift certificate after your purchase for the lucky recipient.

Christmas shopping voids may be filled with a visit to any Game and Fish nature center, including the new one in Springdale. All of the items for sale have a common thread in that they are linked to nature. Animals, birds, butterflies, and more are found in toys, decorations, stocking stuffers, apparel, and coffee mugs along with books and entertainment choices.

Visit www.agfc.com/naturecenters to view each nature center’s page to find out more about its hours of operation and the experiences available.