Arkansas Approves $5 million for Habitat Conservation Practices

Program to provide incentive payments to landowners for forest management

BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA — Arkansas lawmakers have approved a $5 million transfer to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission for the Conservation Incentive Program. This program will provide payments to landowners across the state to undertake conservation practices for habitat improvements.

The AGFC successfully piloted a program in 2024 with $3.5 million, and the agency wanted to build on that success. Many of these practices directly benefit ducks and duck hunters, including winter flooding of rice fields, bottomland hardwood forest management, and wetland habitat management.

“Private landowners are critical partners when it comes to habitat conservation,” said Cyrus Baird, Delta Waterfowl’s vice president of government affairs. “In a state like Arkansas, where over 90% of land is privately owned, quality private land habitat benefits all duck hunters. We’re grateful for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and Arkansas lawmakers and their support for conservation.”

CIP Payments are capped at $20,000 per landowner. Commission officials expect the funding to be distributed amongst 450 to 650 private landowners throughout Arkansas. 

Delta Waterfowl is The Duck Hunters Organization, a leading conservation group founded in 1911 that uses science-based solutions to produce ducks, conserve prairie wetlands, and ensure the future of waterfowl hunting in North America. Visit our website.

For more information, contact Cyrus Baird.