Field Trips    

1. Cache River National Wildlife Refuge  

This trip will be a guided tour by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees on Cache River National Wildlife Refuge.  Students will experience bottomland ecosystems, moist-soil management, and wetland ecosystem management.  Students will also visit the Bayou DeView area where the Ivory Billed-Woodpecker was reportedly discovered.  

2. Law Enforcement  

This trip will be led by both Arkansas Game and Fish Commission conservation officers and federal law enforcement personnel.  Students will get exposure to job duties and responsibilities of conservation officers in the natural resources law enforcement field.  

3. Oak Savannah Restoration  

This trip will be a guide tour by Arkansas Game and Fish Commission personnel on oak savannah restoration sites on Camp Robinson Wildlife Management Area.  Students will learn how oak savannah habitats are managed, and they will get to experience areas that have been managed and areas that have not.  Students will also learn how wildlife communities benefit from oak savannah restoration.  

4. Environmental Education

This trip will include a tour of the new Witt Stephens, Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center, with a focus on the wide variety of outdoor recreational opportunities that our state’s fish and wildlife resources provide. Exhibits highlight the role of fish and wildlife management and many of the projects conducted throughout the history of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. The location along the Arkansas River allows many watchable wildlife activities within an urban area.  For more information see the nature center website: http://www.centralarkansasnaturecenter.com

5. Wild Foods – Edible Trees and Plants

Many of our grandparents and parents used wild plants for food and medicine.  We all know about Sassafras tea and the glorious taste of wild blackberries but we have perhaps forgotten how extensively wild plants can be used.   In this workshop participants will not only learn to identify several species of Arkansas native vegetation but will also learn how to prepare a few dishes.  For example,   acorns make great flour you can incorporate into scones and biscuits.  The course incorporates concepts of conservation, history, culture, and plant identification while learning to walk on the wild side.

6. Woodland Ecosystem Restoration

This trip will be led by the U.S. Forest service in the Ozark – St. Francis National Forest.  Students will examine the use of fire in the Ozark Highlands, ecosystem restoration, wildlife and forest health, and how the U.S. Forest Service plans to accomplish their goals.  Students will take a look at an unmanaged forest and forests that are in desired condition post management. 

7. Black Bear Management

This trip will expose students to bear management in Arkansas, including ecology, biology, and nuisance bear trapping methods.

8. Mammal Trapping Techniques 

This trip will expose students to a wide variety of mammal trapping techniques.  Students will learn trapping methods for fox, coyote, and bobcat, beaver, small mammals, etc.

9. Wetland Ecology and Waterfowl Research

Students will join Arkansas Game & Fish Commission waterfowl and wetland biologists for a tour of one of the state’s preeminent waterfowl rest areas – Bayou Meta Wildlife Management Area.  Topics discussed will include wetland restoration, moist-soil management and managing for wintering waterfowl.

10. Stream Restoration

This trip, led by the Arkansas Nature Conservancy, will expose students to stream restoration in Arkansas.  Students will examine management practices related to restoration of streams.

11. Black Bass Program & Fish Diseases

Arkansas Game & Fish Commission biologists will discuss habitat managment and various pathogens for Arkansas black bass populations.

12. Aquaculture

Tour the premier Arkansas aquaculture facility and learn the principles of fish husbandry.

13. Bobwhite Bonanza

Visit restored bobwhite quail habitat in northern Arkansas and learn about capture, research, and management techniques.

14. Bottomland Hardwood Management

Tour 5 Oaks near Stuttgart, 10,000 acres of privately owned, flooded timber and rice fields, managed for wintering waterfowl.  Principles of bottomland hardwood restoration, green-tree reservoir management and winter waterfowl nutritional requirements will be discussed.

15. Chemical Immobilization of Large Mammals  

Use of drugs to chemically immobilize large mammals is important in large mammal research and management.  Therefore, appropriate knowledge and use of injectable anesthetics is important, especially from a safety, ethical, and legal standpoint.  During this field trip, the basics of large mammal chemical immobilization will be discussed and demonstrated, including ethical, safety, and legal issues, as well as drugs and dosages and the correct use of drug delivery equipment.  Students will have the opportunity to shoot several different types of dart rifles and pistols.