AGFC issues irrigation warning

May 31, 2023

Randy Zellers

Assistant Chief of Communications

LITTLE ROCK — Employees and contractors with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission will be conducting herbicide applications to the following lakes beginning June 5.

• Lake Atkins in Pope County
• Craig D. Campbell Lake Conway Reservoir in Faulkner County
• Lake Overcup in Conway County
• The Cabin Creek arm of Lake Dardanelle in Johnson County

Application of the EPA-approved aquatic herbicides should take roughly two weeks. The treatment causes no harm to wildlife, people or aquatic life, but water irrigated from the lake could kill gardens, flowerbeds and lawns if used on neighboring lands. By federal law, these herbicides have up to a 120-day irrigation restriction after application. The AGFC asks adjacent landowners to NOT irrigate for lawn or garden use with water from these lakes until October.

The use of aquatic herbicides is necessary to control the current problems with alligatorweed, a nonnative invasive aquatic plant species that can infest these lakes restricting access to boathouses, boat ramps and fishing locations and choke out native vegetation and fish populations.

For more information, please contact the AGFC Fisheries Office in Mayflower at 833-338-3636.