MAGNOLIA— The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission last week heard several presentations on wildlife and fisheries research projects during its monthly meeting, hosted by Southern Arkansas University.
In addition to projects presented by AGFC staff on the 2022 Arkansas bear season, commissioners heard presentations by two SAU students working through the university’s Outdoor Campus.
Dr. Chris Middaugh, research biologist for the AGFC, presented an overview of the agency’s recent research project, where black bears in the south portion of the state were outfitted with GPS-monitoring collars to observe their movements and behavior during the state’s first modem-era hunt in that region. This is the first year of a multiyear study to determine biological information and habitat use in this landscape.
According to Myron Means, AGFC bear program coordinator, 471 bears were harvested during the season, the fifth-highest harvest on record. An extremely early acorn drop in western Arkansas likely prevented a record harvest last year.
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