LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansans who hike, paddle, birdwatch or camp on land owned by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission now need a permit to do it.
Effective July 1, anyone 16 or older using an AGFC-owned wildlife management area or lake must possess an annual WMA/Lake Conservation Permit, which costs $10.50. The requirement applies to visitors who do not hold a current Arkansas hunting or fishing license — for the first time extending a permit mandate to hikers, kayakers, mountain bikers, birdwatchers and other recreational users who previously accessed the areas for free.
The permit, listed under license code WMC, covers 61 wildlife management areas and more than 30 commission-owned lakes across the state, according to the AGFC. All waterbodies contained entirely within AGFC-owned WMAs also require the permit.
Who needs it — and who doesn’t
Anyone with a valid Arkansas hunting or fishing license is exempt; access to AGFC-owned WMAs and lakes is included with those licenses. The permit is also not required for:
- Anyone under 16
- People traveling through a WMA on a direct route or designated through-trail without stopping for a recreational activity
- Travelers on public roads (other than AGFC-maintained roads) or navigable waterways
The requirement applies only to land and lakes owned outright by the commission — roughly 12% of public land in Arkansas, according to AGFC spokesman Trey Reid. It does not apply to state parks, national forests, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lakes, leased-land WMAs, or cooperatively managed areas such as White Rock WMA, which the AGFC manages on U.S. Forest Service land.
The permit expires June 30 each year and is available online at agfc.com, through the AGFC mobile app, at regional offices and anywhere hunting and fishing licenses are sold. Because the permit is new, officials suggest asking for it by name — the “WMA and Lake Conservation Permit” — as some retail license vendors may not yet be familiar with it.
The new permit replaces the free WMA General Use Permit, which has been eliminated, and the $5 camping permit introduced in 2024, which was discontinued this year.
Why the change
AGFC officials say the permit gives the growing number of non-hunting visitors a way to help pay for the upkeep of the lands they use — mowing, road grading, boat ramp maintenance and habitat work that has historically been funded by hunters and anglers through license sales and federal excise taxes on firearms, boat motors and fishing gear.
“Hunters and anglers have sort of paid their way to use these areas and these resources for a long time,” Reid told THV11, adding that there previously was no funding mechanism for other recreational users.
The commission has also cited declining revenue from several traditional funding sources, including conservation sales tax receipts, federal wildlife restoration dollars and license sales.
Before adopting the rule, the AGFC received 8,447 survey responses: 41.5% supported the permit requirement, 24.7% opposed it and the rest expressed no opinion.
Quiet rollout draws criticism
The rule took effect with little public notice. A legal notice was published in the March 16 edition of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette alongside hundreds of others, and many outdoor users first learned of the change when it appeared in the 2026-27 fishing regulations. The Ozark Society, a statewide conservation group, said it was not notified in advance and has criticized the fee as a barrier to basic access to public land.
Reid has said game wardens were not actively citing visitors in the first weeks after July 1, though enforcement is expected to ramp up later in the year.
WMAs where the permit is required
Per the AGFC, the permit is required at the following commission-owned wildlife management areas:
- Bayou Des Arc WMA
- Bell Slough WMA
- Beryl Anthony Lower Ouachita WMA
- Big Lake WMA
- Blevins WMA
- Brushy Creek WMA
- Buck Island WMA
- Cedar Creek WMA
- Cut-Off Creek WMA
- Cypress Bayou WMA
- Dave Donaldson Black River WMA
- Departee Creek WMA
- Dr. Lester Sitzes III Bois D’Arc WMA
- Earl Buss Bayou DeView WMA
- Ed Gordon Point Remove WMA
- Ethel WMA
- Freddie Black Choctaw Island WMA Deer Research Area
- Frierson WMA
- Frog Bayou WMA
- Galla Creek WMA
- Gene Rush WMA
- George H. Dunklin Jr. Bayou Meto WMA
- Harold E. Alexander Spring River WMA
- Harris Brake WMA
- Henry Gray Hurricane Lake WMA
- Holland Bottoms WMA
- Hope Upland WMA
- Howard Hensley Searcy County WMA
- Jamestown Independence County WMA
- Lake Conway WMA (formerly Camp Robinson SUA)
- Lake Overcup WMA
- Lee County WMA
- Little Bayou WMA
- Little River WMA
- Loafer’s Glory WMA
- McIlroy Madison County WMA
- Mike Freeze Wattensaw WMA
- Oakwood WMA
- Ozan WMA
- Petit Jean River WMA
- Prairie Bayou WMA
- Rainey WMA
- Rex Hancock Black Swamp WMA
- Rick Evans Grandview Prairie WMA
- Ring Slough WMA
- River Bend WMA
- Robert L. Hankins Mud Creek WMA
- St. Francis Sunken Lands WMA
- Scott Henderson Gulf Mountain WMA
- Seven Devils WMA
- Sheffield Nelson Dagmar WMA
- Shirey Bay Rainey Brake WMA
- Spring Bank WMA
- Steven N. Wilson Raft Creek Bottoms WMA
- Stone Prairie WMA
- Sulphur River WMA
- Trusten Holder WMA
- Two Bayou Creek WMA
- Village Creek WMA
- W.E. Brewer Scatter Creek WMA
- White Hall WMA
Lakes where the permit is required
- Lake Ashbaugh
- Lake Atkins
- Lake Barnett
- Lake Bob Kidd
- Cane Creek Lake
- Lake Cargile
- Lake Charles
- Cox Creek Lake
- Lake Conway
- Crystal Lake
- Lake Des Arc
- Dr. Lester Sitzes III Bois d’Arc Lake
- Lake Elmdale
- Lake Frierson
- Gurdon Lake
- Harris Brake Lake
- Hindsville Lake
- Lake Hinkle
- Lake Hogue
- Horsehead Lake (Johnson County)
- Hubble Lake
- Lake Jack Nolen
- Mallard Lake
- Mercer Bayou
- Mike Knoedl Tri-County Lake
- Mom’s Lake
- Lake Overcup
- Tommy L. Sproles Lake Pickthorne
- Lake Poinsett
- Lake Saracen
- Sugarloaf Lake
- Lower White Oak Lake
- Upper White Oak Lake
- Lake Wilhelmina
Several southwest Arkansas destinations are on the list, including Sulphur River, Little River, Spring Bank, Ozan, Blevins, Hope Upland, Dr. Lester Sitzes III Bois D’Arc and Rick Evans Grandview Prairie WMAs, along with Mercer Bayou, Bois d’Arc Lake, Gurdon Lake and the Upper and Lower White Oak lakes.
The complete permit information and purchase link are available on the AGFC’s website at agfc.com.
