View Article - Arkansas Game and Fish Commission

Richland ValleyPays QuickDividendsFrom a modest beginning 30 yearsago, elk have thrived on the ArkansasGame and Fish Commission’sGene Rush Wildlife ManagementArea, mostly in Newton County andextending into Searcy County.Intensive habitat management hashelped elk and other wildlife. In 2008,Gene Rush WMA was expandedwith the acquisition of 2,880 acresin Richland Valley. Within monthsafter the tract was bought, it had newresidents such as elk and the trend iscontinuing.This picturesque property in westernSearcy County near the BuffaloNational River is called Richland ValleySonny Varnell Elk ConservationArea. Varnell, who lives at St. Paulin Madison County, was a commissionerwith the AGFC from 2003-08and pushed for the acquisition of theland from the Lunce Cash family. Thetract was added to adjacent Gene RushWMA, which increased to 19,947acres. The land is southwest of St. Joeand south of Woolum Access on theBuffalo River.The December 2010 elk hunt producedevidence of Richland’s attractionfor elk. Most of the 11 elk takenduring that public permit hunt camefrom the area. With the success ofintensive habitat improvement on theformer Gene Rush WMA as a guide,the Richland fields that were openpasture are being converted to diverseyear-round wildlife habitat. Thisincludes warm-season and cool-seasongrasses, as well as trees and shrubs.Along with more than 100 elk thathave taken up residence in RichlandValley, deer, turkey and bears are usingit. Squirrels are numerous and rabbitsappear plentiful.motorists who stop to watch a handful ofelk in fields.Roaming the ValleyAlthough Jones forecast elk hunting inArkansas, elk weren’t planned for BoxleyValley.When 112 elk were brought to Arkansasfrom December 1981 to early 1985, theywere released downstream from Boxley inthe Pruitt area near Arkansas Highway 7.They were turned loose by Jones and hishelpers – the “elk haulers” – on privateland close to the Buffalo National River.Jones, who enthusiastically hunted elkin Western states, knew the big animalsroamed widely. It did not surprise himwhen reports of elk in Boxley Valley began.The valley includes a series of pasturesfrom near Arkansas Highway 74 and thePonca low-water bridge south for about 8miles. The pastures are used for livestock,mostly cattle and some horses, by residentswho have arrangements with the NationalPark Service.Complaints of nuisance elk anddamage to landowners in areas outsideBoxley Valley have declined since huntingstarted in 1998. Elk and cattle competefor the lush grasses of these pastures. Mostdamage complaints come from parts ofBoone, Newton and Carroll countieswhere private-land hunts are held.In the early years, quotas of five elkwere filled. Elk dwindled in this area andthe quota was trimmed to three. In theDecember 2009 hunt, no elk were takenby hunters in zone A, but five were takenin the then-new zone B. In 2010, three elkwere taken in the merged zones A and B.In the early hunts on public land,zone 1 was the most productive. This isthe territory from Ponca downstream toArkansas Highway 7, including the Erbiearea of Newton County. Lower numbersof elk were taken by hunters in zones 2and 3, then zone 4 was created in SearcyCounty.In recent hunts, zone 3 has taken thelead as far as hunting’s concerned. Thiszone is primarily Gene Rush WildlifeManagement Area. The AGFC hasworked on food plots on the WMA,and the forest offers cover. By the way,the AGFC changed the term “zone” to“compartment” a couple of years ago.8 ARKANSAS WILDLIFE NOVEMBER • DECEMBER 2011