Rotary Club

Rotary Club met Wednesday afternoon with speaker Eley Talley presenting. Talley works for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission in our Southwest Arkansas area and spoke to the fall season being underway and with that the current hunting seasons available.

Monday wrapped up the available alligator season with the quota having been met this year of 47 gators taken. Talley said that alligators aren’t necessarily a nuisance in the southwest Arkansas area but that this season is more so provided as a sporting opportunity.

Talley also spoke to the recent habitat work in our area and how much of it has been in prescribed burns around the Rick Evans Grandview Prarie Wildlife Management Area.

Of special interest in Talley’s presentation was the confirmed presence of a black bear found north of Center Point. No attempts to relocate the bear have been made as thus far its being there hasn’t presented any problems.

Talley closed by speaking on the recent turkey population data which has seen a slight decline in recent years. According to data the turkey population is still in a healthy state for the southwest Arkansas area despite lower numbers being seen. A robust number of years concerning the turkey population has made recent times to seem as if the turkey population is in a harsh decline when in fact they are still within a healthy range. Biologist within the AGFC attribute a slight decline to hatch failure as well as the natural affect harvesting a gobbler has on the reproduction process.