Arkansas border lakes see substantial habitat help from Bass Pro Shops grant

June 22, 2022

Randy Zellers

Assistant Chief of Communications

ROGERS — Aquatic habitat projects on Beaver, Bull Shoals and Norfork lakes will see a major boost in the next two years, thanks to the help of a $275,000 grant from the National Fish Habitat Partnership.

The partnership funded nine projects totaling nearly $1.6 million established through proceeds from the Bass Pro Shops U.S. Open Amateur Bass Fishing Championships held in 2021. The projects funded through this opportunity are high-priority focus areas of the Reservoir Fish Habitat Partnership.

“At least 25 projects were proposed for these grants from many different states,” Jason Olive, AGFC Fisheries chief, said. “Our biologists in northwest and north-central Arkansas worked together to submit a habitat project proposal that not only received funding, but received the highest funding amount of any project selected.”

The funding for the project will be used to bolster the extensive fish attractor and fish habitat projects the AGFC has been conducting to fight the long-term effects of declining habitat in aging reservoirs. Much of the natural cover in these lakes has disintegrated over the decades since these reservoirs were established. The new cover being placed provides habitat and refuge for fish and will improve fishing.

“Reestablishing woody cover can offer some benefits for fish at a local level, but it plays a major role in concentrating fish into predictable locations for our anglers,” Olive said. “The funding for this grant was derived directly through the U.S. Open Amateur Bass Fishing Championship, so it’s fitting that this project will go directly toward enhancing some of Arkansas’s more well-known large-scale tournament destinations. We will continue to keep our anglers informed throughout the use of these grants, so they can get the most benefit from these projects as they unfold over the next 18 months.”

Visit https://www.agfc.com/en/news/tag/fish-attractor_1 for more information on AGFC Fish Attractor Projects or subscribe to the AGFC’s weekly fishing report at https://www.agfc.com/en/news/category/fishing-report.

Visit https://fishhabitat.org for more information about the National Fish Habitat Partnership.