LITTLE ROCK - The chance to hunt one of Arkansas’ most majestic animals is only afforded a few lucky people and the deadline is nearing to turn in an application for a 2005 elk hunting permit.

Applying doesn’t cost anything, nor does winning one of the 18 available permits, but the application period will end June 1 and applications will not be accepted if postmarked after June 1. The applications are available on the AGFC’s Internet website, www.agfc.com/hunting/elk/elk_hunt_app_2005.html, at license dealers, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission offices and other outlets across the state.

The 2005 hunting dates are Sept. 26-30 and Dec. 5-9 for zones 1, 2, 3, and 4 along the Buffalo River in northern Arkansas. These zones are mostly public lands of the Buffalo National River and the Gene Rush Wildlife Management Area. The dates are Sept. 26-30 and Dec. 5-9 for Zone A, private lands in Boone, Carroll and Newton counties.

Twenty permits, two of which will be donated to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, will be issued for hunting in zones 1, 2, 3 and 4. Only Arkansas residents may apply for them. One permit is earmarked for an Arkansas hunter under the age of 16.  Along with being limited to Arkansas residents, the elk permits won't be given to anyone who has accumulated 12 violations points in the Commission's point system for hunting and fishing violations. Duplicate applications won't be accepted, either. 

The Zone A elk permit is a separate process. They cost $35, and hunters must have signed permission from a landowner in Zone A to apply. There will be a quota of five elk for the September hunt and five for the December hunt. The hunts will end at sundown when the quota is reached.  

Improving elk habitat in the Buffalo River country is another benefit of the permit process. Many who apply for the permits send along voluntary donations to the elk program, and this money is used for food plots, prescribed burning and other habitat improvement work in the elk area. A donation to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission for the elk program is not a requirement for permit application. Nor does a donation improve anyone’s chance of being drawn for a permit.

Elk were restored to Arkansas in 1981 after an absence of more than a century. From 112 animals brought in from Colorado and Nebraska, the herd has expanded to about 450, with some elk spreading out from public land to private areas.