Little Rock, Arkansas – The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has received a $2.1 million federal grant that officials say will help protect and expand waterfowl habitat across the state while creating additional hunting opportunities for the public.
The grant comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and will support the AGFC’s Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Program. The funding is expected to be particularly important this year as Arkansas has lost a large amount of planted rice acreage because of a combination of commodity prices and recent weather conditions.
Rice fields can provide valuable habitat for migrating ducks, geese and shorebirds when they are left untilled and flooded after harvest. The AGFC plans to use the grant to encourage participating rice producers to keep waste rice available in their fields and provide limited public hunting access on qualifying private properties.
AGFC Director Doug Schoenrock said the program can benefit both agricultural producers and hunters while also helping wildlife during migration.
“Arkansas rice producers to forgo fall tilling, flood their fields to make waste rice available for migrating waterfowl and shorebirds, and allow limited public hunting opportunities on private land that would normally be inaccessible to duck hunters in the general public without a lease.”
Schoenrock said the need for additional wetland habitat has become more urgent after recent changes to Arkansas’ rice landscape.
“With the recent news that a combination of commodity prices and recent weather conditions have eliminated more than 800,000 acres of planted rice fields from Arkansas’s landscape, the need for flooded wetland habitat is critical to maintain healthy waterfowl populations throughout their migration,” he said. “This program is one of many steps the AGFC is making with private and federal partners to keep more habitat on the ground when the waterfowl need it most.”
The loss of more than 800,000 acres of planted rice fields represents a major reduction in an important source of seasonal habitat. For migrating waterfowl, flooded agricultural fields can provide food and resting areas at a time when birds are moving through the state.
The new grant builds on an earlier federal investment. Arkansas received an identical grant during the 2020-21 waterfowl season, and AGFC officials said that funding allowed the agency to significantly expand both available habitat and public hunting access.
“Arkansas received an identical grant to this one during the 2020-21 waterfowl season, enabling us to expand the hunting opportunities and habitat, from 11 fields to more than 50,” Schoenrock said. “With the help of the VPA grant, we expanded flooded wetland habitat for migrating ducks, geese and shorebirds by more than 3,000 acres, and did so while giving the Arkansas duck hunter more opportunities to enjoy a flooded rice field hunt than ever before.”
The program is part of a broader effort by the AGFC to work with private landowners and agricultural producers to improve habitat while finding ways to increase public access.
The agency’s Waterfowl Rice Incentive Conservation Enhancement Program, known as WRICE, was launched in 2018. The initiative encourages landowners to leave waste rice in harvested fields and flood those areas, with participants receiving incentive payments for taking part.
The approach provides an alternative to immediately preparing fields for the next planting season. By leaving waste rice in place and flooding the fields, landowners can create temporary wetland conditions that provide food and habitat for migrating birds.
The program expanded during the 2019-20 waterfowl season to include public hunting opportunities on qualifying properties. Those opportunities are managed through a weekend draw system, allowing hunters to gain access to private land that would otherwise generally be unavailable without a lease or other arrangement with the landowner.
The latest federal funding is expected to give the AGFC another opportunity to build on that work. Officials say the combination of habitat improvements and controlled public access can create benefits for multiple groups, from farmers and landowners to hunters and wildlife.
For Arkansas, the effort is especially significant because rice agriculture has long been closely connected to waterfowl habitat. When rice fields are flooded after harvest, they can serve a role similar to seasonal wetlands, making them valuable to birds during migration.
The $2.1 million grant therefore arrives at a time when maintaining those areas has become more challenging. With fewer planted rice fields available, state officials say partnerships with producers and federal agencies will be important to keeping sufficient habitat on the landscape.
The AGFC’s approach does not rely on a single program or funding source. Instead, the agency is continuing to work with private and federal partners to find ways to preserve habitat while providing recreational opportunities.
As the next waterfowl season approaches, the new grant will help support those efforts. By encouraging participating farmers to leave waste rice in fields, flood them and provide limited public access, Arkansas hopes to maintain important habitat for migrating waterfowl while giving hunters additional places to pursue ducks and other birds.
The previous grant demonstrated what the program can accomplish, expanding from 11 participating fields to more than 50 and adding more than 3,000 acres of flooded wetland habitat. The new $2.1 million award gives the AGFC another chance to expand that model at a time when the state’s waterfowl habitat faces new pressures.
