Meeting in Wynne on Sept. 10, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission unanimously approved naming the state’s newest wildlife management area Pat Fitts Oakwood WMA.
The 2,206-acre tract opened earlier in 2026 after a land trade with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The former Oakwood Unit lacked a public right-of-way; former AGFC Director Pat Fitts worked to open the area before retiring in 2021. Deputy Director Brad Carner said the naming recognizes work that took five years to finish in a region where large public access is hard to secure.
Commissioners also approved a $5.1 million budget increase for the Private Lands Habitat Division. About $5 million comes from a governor’s set-aside for the Conservation Incentive Program, with $100,000 completing this year’s Waterfowl Rice Incentive Conservation Enhancement (WRICE) program that pays rice producers to flood fields and opens limited public draw hunts.
The meeting also covered wind and solar energy review roles under Act 945 and first-year Legacy Lunker bass fingerling production at Joe Hogan State Fish Hatchery.
