The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is preparing the new Oakwood Wildlife Management Area for its first public hunting season, and Desha County partners are helping clear the road in.
Desha County Judge Wayne Smith and the Cypress Creek Drainage District are contracting renovation of a bridge crossing from Arkansas Highway 277 east of Dumas onto the 2,206-acre area. Assistant wildlife management chief David Luker said the Arkansas Department of Transportation had flagged the long-used bridge for repair; the county and drainage district stepped up so AGFC would not have to replace the infrastructure alone this year.
Luker said contractors were expected on site quickly, with work aimed at finishing by the Sept. 26 deer archery opener — and possibly before the early buck-only archery hunt starting Aug. 29. Oakwood entered the AGFC system through a land trade with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that established a public right-of-way hunters previously lacked.
