Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to Petit Jean River WMA as Petit Jean WMA. Permits are required for Petit Jean River WMA. We regret the error.

As of July 1, Arkansans looking to get out into nature will be slapped with a fee and a permit requirement at many of their favorite spots around the state.

Anyone 16 or older visiting an Arkansas Game and Fish Commission-owned Wildlife Management Area (WMA) or lake must now purchase an annual $10.50 conservation permit, regardless of whether they’re hiking, birdwatching, paddling or simply enjoying the outdoors. Previously, only anglers and hunters needed a permit to access Game and Fish lands. 

The rule change, made quietly and with little public notice, is sparking confusion online. 

The new requirement applies at 61 WMAs and 41 lakes. These are sites owned exclusively by Game and Fish, including popular spots like Lake Conway and Lake Wilhelmina, as well as Dagmar, Bell Slough, Petit Jean and White Hall WMAs. Cooperatively managed WMAs, such as White Rock (which AGFC co-manages with the U.S. Forest Service) and Devil’s Eyebrow Natural Area (co-managed with Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission), are not impacted. A full list of sites that require a permit can be found here and below. 

Which WMAs and lakes are fully state-owned and therefore require a permit, and which are collectively managed, meaning hikers and birdwatchers can still visit without worrying about any of this?

Given most Arkansans can’t distinguish between these two categories, the Arkansas Times compared the Game and Fish-provided list against a list from the agency’s 2025 book on wildlife management areas to tease out a list of locations where recreationists can still visit for free. You can find that list at the bottom of the story. 

Randy Zellers, a spokesman for Arkansas Game and Fish, said the decision, a few years in the making, is meant to capture the broader base of visitors who now use Game and Fish-managed sites, up from mostly hunters and anglers to more low-impact recreational users like campers and birders.

“We have a lot more people using WMAs for a lot more reasons now,” Zellers said. “We have a lot of people that go out kayaking, and we have a lot of people that go canoeing and hiking.” 

Arkansas Game and Fish is funded partly through a statewide conservation sales tax, federal excise taxes and hunting and fishing licences. Zellers said that anglers and hunters currently pay significantly more than other visitors to support natural areas, as excise taxes are levied on hunting and fishing equipment. “For about a century now, hunters and anglers have been the ones who have paid the bill for a lot of the conservation that takes place,” Zellers said. 

The broader permit requirements, Zellers said, are a chance for hikers, paddlers, birdwatchers and other recreational users to chip in on maintenance and conservation in Game and Fish areas. The WMAs and lakes require more maintenance than people may realize, including mowing, road grading, and boat ramp maintenance, he said. 

The news caught many birders, kayakers and hikers unaware. The rule received little public attention before taking effect. According to reporting by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, a legal notice on the rule change was published in the March 16 issue alongside hundreds of others. Many people only found out about the new requirements when they were quietly published in the 2026-2027 Fishing Guidelines. 

Some outdoor enthusiasts are up in arms with the change. Brian Thompson, president of the Ozark Society, an Arkansas-based organization that promotes conservation and education, criticized the change, saying charging for basic access to public lands would create unfair barriers. The organization was not notified of the rule change in advance.  

“As these wildlife management areas are public spaces, the Ozark Society believes that it is wholly inappropriate to charge a fee to hike, paddle, or bird watch in these places,” Thompson said. “These areas are part of our Arkansas heritage and the public should not be encumbered with fees simply to enter them. We need to encourage the next generation to appreciate these places that have been set aside for wildlife, and charging young families to access them is not good for Arkansans.” 

The Nature Conservancy, which partners with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission on a number of wildlife management areas, noted it understands “the need for reliable, long-term funding to take care of these lands,” while still calling on the commission to provide more clarity: “We think clear information about how the permit works and how the funds support the management of Arkansas’ public lands will help visitors better understand the change,” Arkansas Nature Conservancy Director Roger Mangham said.

As news of the rule change spread online, opposing camps emerged. Some commenters expressed shock and confusion, while others considered the fees a small price to pay to support conservation efforts. One commenter on Facebook, Amber Prater, felt the fee was a great way to “reduce wear and tear on the land.” Alan Gales, a hunter, commented on the same thread that “hikers, bicyclists… and sightseers have been using the WMA’s free, while hunters paid the rent! In my opinion, it’s about time to spread the cost.” 

Other commenters were apoplectic that Game and Fish made the decision about public lands without much public input. Wayne Irelon, writing on Facebook, said: “First, Arkansas game and fish doesn’t OWN public lands, they maintain it with public tax dollars and license.” Another poster, Nick Bartz, noted that hunters and anglers pay extra for a reason: They’re charged for the meat they harvest. 

Arkansas appears to be one of only a handful of states requiring a general access permit for visitors to state-owned Wildlife Management Areas and lakes. Louisiana and Texas have similar requirements for recreational WMA users, while most other hiking permits are limited to heavily visited destinations, such as the Teton Crest Trail and the John Muir Trail, where they are used to manage crowding and protect natural resources

Increasing permitting requirements has generated intense public backlash in at least one state. In Utah, a 2025 law requiring anyone 18 or older to carry a valid Utah hunting, fishing or combination license to enter a wildlife management area sparked enough backlash that a proposed new law is under consideration that would replace permits with a free digital access permit.

Game and Fish is hoping to convince recreational users the fees will benefit them, too. Zellers said the permits will help track recreational users, enabling the agency to build more services for them. “If we see more representation of these users, then that gives us the means to justify putting in, you know, kayak slides, putting in new trails,” he said. 

The permit, called the AGFC WMA Lake Conservation Permit, is available on the AGFC website and must be carried as a printed copy or as a digital copy or  as a photo of the permit on a mobile device. Zellers acknowledged the permit is currently difficult to find online but said the agency is working to simplify the process. Over the next few months, Game and Fish employees plan to install signs with QR codes at WMA and lake entrances, directing visitors to purchase the permit.

Zellers said recreationists shouldn’t fear citation-writing rangers just yet. “This isn’t something that we’re looking to write a bunch of tickets on or anything like that. This is going to be a transition.” 

The following is a list of AGFC-owned wildlife management areas and lakes where the new permit will be required: 

• 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
• AGFC-owned lakes:
• Lake Ashbaugh
• Lake Atkins
• Lake Barnett
• Big Timber Lake
• Lake Bob Kidd
• Brunt Cane Lake
• 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
• Gillham Lake
• Lake Greenlee
• Gurdon Lake
• Harris Brake Lake
• Lake Hinkle
• Lake Hogue
• Horsehead Lake (Johnson County)
• Hubble Lake
• Lake Jack Nolen
• Lake June
• Keeland Lake
• Mallard Lake
• Marion McCollum Greenlee Lake
• Mercer Bayou
• Kike Knoedl Tri-County Lake
• Mom’s Lake
• Lake Overcup
• Tommy L. Sproles Lake Pickthorne
• Lake Poinsett
• South Fork Lake
• Lake Terre Noire
• Lake Saracen
• Sugarloaf Lake
• Tom’s Lake
• Wallace Lake
• Wells Lake
• Lower White Oak Lake
• Upper White Oak Lake
• Lake Wilhelmina

Wildlife management areas (WMAs) areas where permits are not required (based on our own internal analysis; will update as needed:

• Blue Mountain WMA
• Brewer Lake Cypress Creek WMA
• Cherokee Prairie NA WMA
• H.E. Flanagan Prairie NA WMA
• Cove Creek NA WMA
• Dardanelle WMA
• Fort Chaffee WMA
• Jim Kress WMA
• Mount Magazine WMA
• Ozark Lake WMA
• Sugarloaf Mountains–Midland Peak NA WMA
• Bearcat Hollow WMA
• Foushee Cove NA WMA
• Garrett Hollow WMA
• Greers Ferry WMA
• Piney Creeks WMA
• Sweden Creek Falls NA WMA
• St. Francis National Forest WMA
• Pine City NA WMA
• Railroad Prairie NA WMA
• Roth Prairie NA WMA
• Stateline Sand Ponds NA WMA
• Alum Fork NA WMA
• Camp Robinson WMA
• Caney Creek WMA
• DeGray Lake WMA
• Electric Island WMA
• Goat’s Beard Bluff NA WMA
• Jack Mountain WMA
• Lake Greeson WMA
• Maumelle River WMA
• Muddy Creek WMA
• Nimrod Lloyd Millwood WMA
• Buffalo National River WMA
• Devil’s Eyebrow NA WMA
• Devil’s Knob–Devil’s Backbone NA WMA
• Hobbs State Park–Conservation Area WMA
• Jones Point WMA
• Kirk Dupps Beaver Lake WMA
• Leather’s Glory WMA
• Norfolk Lake WMA
• Slippery Hollow NA WMA
• Casey Jones WMA
• Falcon Bottoms NA WMA
• Gum Flats WMA
• Hall Creek Barrens NA WMA & Kingsland Prairie NA WMA
• Lafayette County WMA
• Little River WMA
• Miller County Sandhills NA WMA
• Moro Big Pine NA WMA
• Nacatoch Ravines NA WMA
• Palmetto Flats NA WMA
• Poison Springs WMA
• Provo WMA
• Sulphur River NA WMA
• Warren Prairie NA WMA
• White Cliffs NA WMA