Some Arkansas citizens remained angry over the state government’s slow action. “The total want of protection has done its deadly work,” declared a Jacksonport citizen in July 1883. “Not even the surley bear can hold his own. Deer are butchered during the overflows (flooding) on the ridges and high places to which they resort for safety,” he explained. Even during the hot summer, bucks and does were killed, no matter the size. “The result is that venison is very scarce in Arkansas,” the man concluded. Arkansas needed to pass laws that protected game from overhunting and fishing. Writing from the banks of the White River, the Arkansawyer commented on the influence that sporting newspapers had on public sentiment toward game laws in the state, maintaining that “through the salutary influence of Forest and Stream, a strong favor of game protection has grown up, and in many places the lawless acts above complained of are restrained solely by the force of public opinion.”[1] Other Arkansawyers were not happy when wildlife protection laws did pass, as seen in the April 29, 1885 article below.
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[1] “Rod and Gun in Arkansas,” Forest and Stream, August 2, 1883, 183.
Arkansas Wildlife History 