Arkansas bear season kicks off Sept. 13

Arkansas’s bear season kicks off Sept. 13, and hunters should check out some of the new regulations from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission if they plan to be loaded for bear this year in The Natural State.

Both residents and nonresidents are now required to have a bear permit to pursue and check a bear in Arkansas. The new Resident Bear Permit (TBEAR code in the license system) is free. The new Nonresident Bear Permit (NRB) costs $300. These permits are in addition to a Sportsman’s License (license code CS or RS) for residents or a Nonresident Annual Hunting License (NBG) for nonresidents. Both permits are available through the AGFC’s new license system online, through license vendors and through the AGFC’s mobile app.

According to AGFC Bear Program Coordinator Myron Means, the permits are an effort to learn more about bear hunters’ experiences and successes in The Natural State.

Southwest Arkansas now has its own bear season following a 2022 decision from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

Last year the commission approved a number of proposed regulation changes, including establishing a bear season in Bear Zones 3 and 4.

Modern Gun Bear Hunting is now allowed in Bear Zones 3 and 4 through a limited quota hunt. Zone 2 encompasses northern Sevier and Howard Counties as well as all of Polk. Southern Sevier and all of Little River are in Zone 3, which historically has prohibited the hunting of bears. That, however, changed following the updated AGFC regulations.

Visit www.agfc.com/bear for more information on bears and bear hunting in Arkansas.