Commission renames Madison County WMA to honor McIlroy family
Posted on Sunday, February 3, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/61890/
LITTLE ROCK — Commissioners from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission recently renamed the Madison County Wildlife Management Area to honor the previous owners of the land. The McIlroy family of Fayetteville owned approximately 15, 000 acres in the county where the WMA is now located. The area will be known as the McIlroy Madison County WMA.
During the 1940 s, 55 deer from Wisconsin and Sylamore, Ark. were released on the property. In 1957 the AGFC purchased just over 7, 500 acres from the McIlroy family at a cost of $ 10 per acre. The current WMA boundaries are now almost exclusively located within the original 15, 000 acres owned by the McIlroys.
The area is typical rugged Ozark Mountain terrain with numerous steep mountains and hollows. Elevations range from 1, 100 to over 1, 600 feet above mean sea level. The area is extensively forested in upland hardwood and shortleaf pine timber stands. There are numerous small streams on the area that are all tributaries of the nearby Kings River which skirts the eastern boundary of the area.
The commission also approved a $ 75, 000 appropriation for repaving roads, parking surfaces, trails and other infrastructure at Camp Ouachita on Winona WMA in Perry County. The AGFC is presently pursing a Special Use Permit with the U. S. Forest Service to manage Camp Ouachita in the public trust as a conservation education center.
The camp is adjacent to Lake Sylvia and has camping facilities, a great hall, cabins and over 10 miles of hiking trails. It is the last surviving Girl Scout camp in the U. S. built by Civilian Conservation Corps. The USFS and Department of the Interior recently spent over $ 2. 5 million on restoration of the camp.
In other business, the commission:
• Approved $ 36, 000 from the Marine Fuels Tax fund to renovate the boat ramp at Lake Millwood State Park in Little River County. The current ramp will be removed and the bank will be re-sloped where a wider ramp will be constructed.
• Heard a report from the 2007 elk hunting season. A total of 27 elk were taken during the season. The breakdown included 15 bulls and 12 cows. The largest of bull weighed in at 855 pounds, the largest antlers were an 8 x 8 and the largest cow weighed 553 pounds.
• Approved an $ 82, 800 budget increase to complete dam renovation on the AGFC’s Lake Hindsville in Madison County.
• Honored wildlife officer Ken Key with the Shikar-Safari Wildlife Officer of the Year award. Key is based in Camden and patrols south-central Arkansas. Award winners are selected on the basis of their professional relationships with hunters, anglers and landowners in their districts, their job performance and dedication to the wildlife law enforcement profession and participation in activities outside of daily enforcement work.