Wednesday, May 12, 2021
Spring is the most popular season to paddle Arkansass rivers, bayous and lakes. Thats why the May/June issue of Arkansas Wildlife magazine includes a comprehensive guide to Arkansas Water Trails.
Water trails combine the relaxation of time on the water with the excitement of fishing and viewing wildlife, Kirsten Bartlow, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission watchable wildlife coordinator, said. Its also a little easier to see wildlife up-close from a canoe, as many species rarely see any threats coming from the water.
Bartlow manages the program, which has established 14 water trails across the state from Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge, a few miles from Louisiana, to Crooked Creek, not far from Missouri. She relies heavily on partners such as the Arkansas Canoe Club, The Nature Conservancy, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Arkansas Watertrails Partnership and many others to bring these projects to fruition.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced the availability of a Draft Compatibility Determination for commercial fishing within Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge.Â
A release noted the public comment period would end March 5, however Amanda Wilkinson, visitor services and park ranger for South Arkansas Refuges Complex, later amended that date to Friday, March 12.
Interested parties are encouraged to review the draft determinations and provide written comments to the refuge manager.
A compatibility determination is the end result of a process whereby the refuge manager reviews a proposed use on a refuge and determines whether the use is compatible with the purpose for which the refuge was established. If determined to be compatible, then the use may be permitted. If the use is determined incompatible, then it is not permitted to occur on the refuge. Policy issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in October 2000 requires that compatibility determinations be