Arkansas Backcountry Hunters and Anglers stakes claim for public access <br />

Thursday, January 16, 2025

Arkansas Backcountry Hunters and Anglers stakes claim for public access

WALDRON — One little acre of land that might seem meaningless to most people can have an incalculable value in the grand scheme of things. Such is the case of an acre — actually slightly less — that came into the possession of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission in 2024 with the help of Arkansas Backcountry Hunters and Anglers.

That acre now in the AGFC’s hands eased the concern over access to 103 acres of Cedar Creek Wildlife Management Area in Scott County. The gravel road over that acre connects Arkansas Highway 28 with a new gate leading into the WMA a few hundred feet away.

“Point-nine (0.9) acres doesn’t seem like much, but when you look it, we use the (wildlife management area) as a base for multiple research projects,” Jason Mitchell, an AGFC wildlife biologist in the area, said. “The (USDA) Forest Service uses it as a helipad for its controlled burns, instead of having to fly to Mena to get the fuel and fly back. We also use it for a base for our equipment and our supplies working on U.S. Forest Service co-op areas. Getting blocked out of this (acquisition), we would have had to back up and punt.”

There is no other access into Cedar Creek WMA without building a permanent road through Forest Service land, Mitchell said. When that was mapped out, the AGFC was looking at 8.5 miles of dirt road “instead of the 250 to 300 feet it is now,” he said.

The AGFC had an easement with a previous owner beginning in 2015, but the easement wasn’t on the deed when the land changed hands. The parcel’s most recent owner, Thomas Steele of Searcy, informed Mitchell he wanted to sell to the AGFC.

Land acquisition for a state agency is difficult and time-consuming. Luckily, a volunteer national group with an Arkansas chapter, Backwoods Hunters and Anglers, was looking for a project like this that could help the agency. The BHA made its first purchase as a national organization and gave the acre to the AGFC in August 2023.

“It’s the first land acquisition for the whole organization,” Brad Green, a recent BHA Arkansas chapter board chairman, said during a dedication held on the property Nov. 22. “We were real excited when the opportunity came up to be able to partner and just preserve public access to public lands. A huge deal. That’s what we’re about and that’s what we all do here and we want to do more.”

Larry Haden, the Arkansas Chapter’s newest board chairman, said, “Everybody has their own species that they’re pursuing whether it’s quail, ducks, elk or whatever. BHA’s focus is public land, the land we’re actually on, and the ability to kind of adopt an area, and not only state but federal, around refuges and so forth. The focus on the land is kind of what separates BHA from a lot of other folks.”

James Brandenburg, who is on BHA’s Southeast Chapter board and has led the Arkansas Chapter, said, “Where we’re breaking new ground for our organization, it helped us as a chapter to be able to taste success. That’s very much appreciated. And I think that from our side, we would say thank you to y’all as an agency for using your professional expertise to help folks like us do good work.”

Easy access to Cedar Creek WMA also makes it easier for hikers and hunters to reach the west end of the 150,000 acres of Muddy Creek WMA to the south, an 800-yard jaunt from Cedar Creek. Muddy Creek is managed cooperatively by the AGFC and the Forest Service.

The BHA board members said the money used to purchase the parcel came from the Arkansas chapter’s annual fundraiser, the Black Bear Bonanza. This year’s event, its fourth, is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 1 at the Benton County Fairgrounds in Bentonville.

Jim Taylor, formerly with the Arkansas Wildlife Federation, purchased land on Cedar Creek and also uses the access road to his property. He helped pay for the new, yellow gate over the road leading into the WMA, according to Matthew Warriner, AGFC Wildlife Management Division assistant chief. Access into Cedar Creek WMA is by foot from the gate.

“We’ve been trying to get this for many years because we didn’t have secure access to the WMA, and we were concerned access could be shut off to the public and us at any time. Brad and I talked to Brad Green, it was like a spark, and within BHA it just ignited, and they ran with it. It was impressive. I didn’t realize until later on that as far as a national organization, this was their first land acquisition.”