6/6/2007

Elk festival to feature on-site permit drawing

JASPER – It’s June, so that must mean that Jasper and NewtonCounty residents are full of activity preparing for their annual Buffalo River Elk Festival. The festival is scheduled to begin Friday, June 29, and continue through Saturday, June 30.

An added attraction for this year’s hunt will be an on-site drawing for someone who makes application at the Elk Festival. Sign up, stick around and you may win a permit. For this permit, the lucky hunter must be present. Just like the other public land elk permits to be drawn, entrants must be an Arkansas resident.

The highlight of the festival is the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission drawing for elk hunting permits. Thousands of hopeful elk hunters applied for last year's hunting permits. The two-segment season will be held Sept. 24-28 and Dec. 3-7.

The drawings and most of the activities will be at the courthouse square in Jasper with a kids' fishing derby on the banks of the Little Buffalo River. There will also be a talent show, turkey shoot, Arkansas State Championship Elk Calling Contest, Miss Elk Festival Beauty Pageant and a Dutch oven cook-off sanctioned by the Arkansas Dutch Oven Society.

Successful elk hunting applicants will be able to take along non-hunting helpers, according to Mike Cartwright; elk program coordinator for the AGFC. "A hunter can hire a professional guide, but guides must have permits from the National Park Service if they guide on BuffaloNationalRiver land," Cartwright said. Hunters may also need an AGFC commercial guide license if they are charging for their services.The elk hunting permits will be issued for specific zones along and near the BuffaloRiver.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation will be present with several educational programs. For the hunting enthusiasts, drawings for elk permits will be held each hour starting at noon on Saturday.

The AGFC will be present with several educational programs. For the hunting enthusiasts, drawings for elk permits will be held each hour starting at noon on Saturday.