§ 15-41-304 - Recreational hunting. - Arkansas Statutes

15-41-304. Recreational hunting.

(a) Subject to valid existing rights, commission-managed lands shall be open to access and use for recreational hunting except as limited by the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission for reasons of public safety or homeland security or as otherwise limited by law.

(b) (1) The commission shall exercise its authority consistent with subsection (a) of this section in a manner to support, promote, and enhance recreational hunting opportunities to the extent authorized by law.

(2) The commission is not required to give preference to hunting over other uses of commission-managed lands or over land or water management priorities established by state law.

(c) (1) To the greatest practicable extent, commission land management decisions and actions may not result in any net loss of land acreage available for hunting opportunities on commission-managed lands that exists on August 12, 2005.

(2) This subchapter does not apply to commission-owned lands under contract to private persons or entities.

(d) On or before October 1 of each year, the commission shall submit to the House and Senate cochairs of the Legislative Council a written report describing:

(1) The acreage administered by the commission that has been closed during the previous year to recreational hunting and the reasons for the closures; and

(2) The acreage administered by the commission that was opened to recreational hunting to compensate for the acreage that was closed during the previous year.

(e) This subchapter does not compel the opening to recreational hunting of national parks or national monuments administered by the National Park Service.