AmmoLand.com

AGFC Looking For Volunteers To Help With Bat Project

AGFC Looking For Volunteers To Help With Bat Project

Arkansas Game & Fish Commission

LITTLE ROCK, AR --(Ammoland.com)- Does your bathouse have bats?

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission is looking for volunteers that have bathouses currently containing bats that would be willing to participate in a population monitoring project.

Volunteers will be asked to count the bats as they fly in the evening during summer, according to AGFC nongame mammal biologist Blake Sasse.

“This project will help us obtain baseline population trend information for several species, such as the big brown bat, that are known to be vulnerable to White Nose Syndrome,” Sasse said.

“WNS is a disease associated with a newly discovered fungus that has caused disastrous declines in bat populations in the northeast,” he explained.

This problem was first documented at four sites in eastern New York in the winter of 2006-07 and has rapidly spread west and in the winter of 2009-2010 was confirmed in Tennessee, Missouri and Oklahoma, but hasn’t yet been seen in Arkansas.

Constructing bathouses is a relatively simple woodworking project and plans and tips for building and installing your own are available at http://www.agfc.com/data-facts-maps/publications/free-guides.aspx.

More information on WNS is available at http://www.agfc.com/wildlife-conservation/wns.aspx. If you’re interested in participating, contact the AGFC’s nongame mammal biologist, Blake Sasse at dbsasse@agfc.state.ar.us or call 877-470-3650.

Filed under: Conservation News by Ammoland No Comments »

Eagle-Eyed Archers From Eagle Mountain Magnet Claim World Archery Title

Eagle Mountain Magnet Archers

Arkansas Game & Fish Commission

ORLANDO, Fla. --(AmmoLand.com)- In less than a year, Eagle Mountain Magnet School’s archery team went from nonexistent to world champion. But doing well in archery competitions is old hat for this rookie team.

The team was formed one month before the Arkansas National Archery in the Schools Program’s state championship in February, where it took second place. The team finished eleventh at the national competition in Louisville, Ky., in May. The world competition, Oct. 9-10 at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., was the icing on the cake.

Coach Susan Parker is as new to archery as many of the students she introduced to the sport. She said bows used in the competition are different from standard hunting bows, although some of her students are bowhunters.

The fledgling team practiced weekends, and before and after school. They even practiced through the summer.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission provides instruction and safety training to team coaches and helps them with the grant process to pay for the official bows, targets and arrows. In its first year, the program has grown to include more than 26,180 students in 296 Arkansas schools, and it shows no sign of slowing.

“We have 12 schools waiting in the wings for grant money to get the equipment for next year,” said Curtis Gray, ANASP coordinator for the AGFC. “The program’s growth is just outstanding. And now we already have a world-champion team. I’d like to take credit for the success, but those kids are the ones who deserve the recognition. They really worked hard to achieve this success.”

For more information on ANASP and how to form a team, contact Gray, (501) 223-6437.

Filed under: Archery News by Ammoland No Comments »