New Options Highlight 2024 Arkansas Alligator Hunt Application Period

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansans hoping for a chance to chase Arkansas’s largest reptile species this fall will have some new hunting lands to apply for during this year’s alligator permit hunt application period. Applications for the 2024 hunting season are available at www.agfc.com from 8 a.m. June 15-11:59 p.m. June 30.

Hunters will be able to choose one of 10 hunting areas spread across south Arkansas on their application. Two new hunting areas are available in Alligator Management Zone 3 this year, with one permit available at Yellow Lake in the Pine Bluff Arsenal and six permits available for the newly formed Delta Wetland Complex (Lake Grampus, Lake Wallace, Lake Enterprise, Lake Chicot and Grand Lake). Two additional hunting areas were added to Alligator Management Zone 2 for the 2024 hunting season, marking this as the first year for public opportunities in AMZ 2. One permit will be available for Lake Columbia and another will be possible to obtain for Bragg Lake.

“Hunters applying for the Yellow Lake permit should also note that Pine Bluff Arsenal has special regulations to access the area,” Eric Brinkman, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission assistant chief of fisheries, said. “There are several other bodies of water on the PBA but alligator hunting will only be open on Yellow Lake.  Since a firearm (shotgun or shotgun-headed bangstick) is used to dispatch the alligator, permit holders will have to go through the PBA background check which is administered by their personnel. Only permit holders and their designated assistants will be allowed access onto the PBA, and everyone has to go through a checkpoint before entering or leaving the PBA.”

The following hunts are available for the 2024 hunting season:

Alligator Management Zone 1

• eight permits for Millwood Lake

• four permits for Dr. Lester Sitzes III Bois D’Arc WMA

• five permits for Little River

• one permits for Sulphur River WMA

• one permit for Lake Erling

Alligator Management Zone 2

• one permit for Bragg Lake

• one permit for Lake Columbia

Alligator Management Zone 3

• 19 permits for the Lower Arkansas River Wetland Complex (Arkansas River backwaters near Arkansas Post)

• one permit for Yellow Lake (Pine Bluff Arsenal)

• six Permits for Delta Complex

Each permit authorizes the harvest of one alligator, which must be at least 4 feet long. Alligator hunting is allowed 30 minutes after sunset until 30 minutes before sunrise during the approved alligator hunting season dates – Sept. 20-23 and Sept. 27-30. Each permit holder may have up to three assistants with them on the hunt, but only the permit holder is allowed to snare, harpoon and dispatch the alligator.

Applicants must be at least 16 years of age the day the hunt begins, and only Arkansas residents may apply. Applicants with 18 or more AGFC violation points are ineligible to apply. Alligator-hunt applicants must pay a $5 nonrefundable processing fee at the time of their application.

Anyone who has access to private land in Alligator Zones 1, 2 or 3 may purchase a private land alligator tag in addition to their big-game hunting license and be able to hunt during alligator season until the quota is met for their zone.

Each private land hunter must call the wildlife hotline (833-345-0398) every night before hunting to see if the quota has been met. If the quota is reached, the hunt ends early.

All alligator hunters must go through an online hunt orientation before going to the field. The orientation lays out the most important details and frequently asked questions about the hunt. The orientation and additional information about the hunt are available at www.agfc.com/alligator.

Visit www.agfc.com to apply for an alligator hunting permit.

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CUTLINES

THREE MEN WITH ALLIGATOR
Matt Goetz (middle) killed the biggest alligator of the 2022 Arkansas hunting season. This 13-foot, 6-inch alligator was harvested from public water in the Lower Mississippi River Complex of southeast Arkansas. Photo courtesy of Matt Goetz.

WOMEN AND MAN WITH ALLIGATOR
Melissa Phillips (right) harvested this 12-foot, 2-inch alligator with the help of her husband Heath Phillips and sister Shannon Vickers on the first night of Arkansas’s 2023 Alligator Season. The alligator weighed approximately 530 lbs. Photo Courtesy Melissa Phillips.