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Illinois Representative R. B. Kauffman visited Arkansas in 1879 on a visit. He felt compelled to write a letter to his local newspaper describing what he experienced during the trip. Besides claiming that Arkansas had received an undeserved reputation, he said the land was good and cheaply acquired, wildlife filled the woods, and the waterwaysContinue reading “Today in Arkansas Wildlife History: May 31 1879”

Ever since Arkansas conservationists came on the scene around 1900, they have argued that birds ate the insects that damaged crops. It was their mission to get the farmers to assist them in protecting birds. If bird protectors could show agriculturalists that bird protection helped stopped the ravages of insects on crops, then the farmersContinue reading “Today in Arkansas Wildlife History: May 27 Save the Birds”

In 1904, enforcement of game and fishing laws lay mainly in the hands of the local sheriff and his deputies. The editor of the Southern Standard in Arkadelphia pointed out on May 26, 1904, that the fish coming into the market there warranted investigation.

As early as 1873, some observers argued that Arkansas wildlife was disappearing. Some even suggested that authorities should preserve the game and fish somehow. Most Arkansawyers, however, dismissed the notion.

Another example of an attempt to pass local game laws. This one was in 1901. The argument against these laws stemmed from their prohibition of certain people from hunting but not all people. So, in essence, these laws discriminated. The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled against these laws.

Arkansas Governor Jeff Davis, Wild Ass of the Ozarks, pardoned Clay County Resident J. E. Eagan on May 23, 1906. A Clay County court had found Eagan guilty of violating the game and fish laws and fined him $50, a large sum in 1906.

Arkansas State legislators have a long history of passing county-specific game and fish laws. They only pertained to single counties. In other examples, if statewide laws passed, they exempted their county from the law. As observers can imagine, this was incredibly confusing for early Arkansas outdoorsmen. What was legal in one county, was not inContinue reading “Today in Arkansas Wildlife History: May 20 County Laws”

Sometimes poachers moonshined and moonshiners poached. In many cases, people who broke game and fish laws also broke other laws. After prohibition, several illegal liquor smugglers used the same routes to smuggle game and fish. In 1910, authorities broke up raided Warren resident J. N. Tracey’s place, and found gambling tables, liquor, and banned fishingContinue reading “Today in Arkansas Wildlife History: May 18 Whiskey and Fish”

By the 1920s, market hunters had almost exterminated the snowy aigrette. They killed them for their plumes to sell to the millinery or the hat-making industry. Walker Lake in Arkansas served as a rookery for aigrettes. It became Arkansas’s first Federal bird refuge. Unfortunately, it did not last long. Drainage efforts in the area toContinue reading “Today in Arkansas Wildlife History: May 17 Anne’s Aigrette”

As the Conservationist Movement grew in Arkansas, several county and local organizations appeared. Most of them were sporting organizations, like the Phillips County Club in Helena. However, several women’s organizations popped up too. Additionally, national organizations like the Izaak Walton League and the Audubon Society started chapters in Arkansas during this period. However, hundreds ofContinue reading “Today in Arkansas Wildlife History: May 16 County Organizations”