LITTLE ROCK – The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission approved a motion to rename Bayou Meto Wildlife Management Area in Arkansas and Jefferson counties to honor George Dunklin Jr. at today's meeting. The area's official name is George H. Dunklin Jr. Bayou Meto WMA.

Dunklin served on the Commission from 2005 to 2012. During his term, he was involved in the renovations of both Halowell Reservoir and the Wrape Plantation, two of the rest areas that offer food for migrating waterfowl and help attract ducks to Bayou Meto WMA. He also has served as President and Chairman of Ducks Unlimited, and has been inducted into the Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame and the Arkansas Waterfowler Hall of Fame. He was named the Budweiser Sportsman of the Year in 2009, and donated the $50,000 awarded from that honor to additional habitat work on Bayou Meto WMA.
In addition to being a third-generation rice farmer, Dunklin has been deeply involved in conservation on a national and international level. He owns Five Oaks Lodge, near his home in Stuttgart, which has received a national reputation as the model for many of his habitat endeavors. Dunklin and his wife, Livia, have three daughters, Megan, Hilary and Lauren.
In other business, the Commission:
· Renamed the newly established Georges Creek Access on Crooked Creek to the Mark Oliver Crooked Creek Access in recognition of the former AGFC Chief of Fisheries.

· Granted a youth hunter elk permit to the Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation to raise money for education programs at the Fred Berry Conservation Education Center on Crooked Creek.

· Granted a youth hunter elk permit to the Arkansas Wildlife Federation to raise money for habitat enhancement and education in Arkansas.

· Granted an either-sex elk permit to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation to raise money for elk education and habitat management in Arkansas.

· Approved regulations changes to license system requirements involving point-of-sale license vendors and electronic copies of hunting and fishing licenses.

· Awarded Bill Howell, retiring enforcement captain, his service sidearm.

· Accepted a grant from the Diamond Pipeline Northern Long-eared Bat Mitigation Fund for acquisition of a 240-acre tract of land bordering Scott Henderson Gulf Mountain WMA in Van Buren County where the endangered species has been found.

· Approved the removal of obsolete, damaged and unusable inventory with an original value of $176,074 and a current net book value of $12,018.

· Heard a report on the 2016 Arkansas black bear harvest from Myron Means, AGFC large carnivore biologist.



Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
2 Natural Resources Drive
Little Rock, AR 72205