The Common Property, Forest, and Wildlife Committee Discussed The Upcoming Hot Springs Village Urban Deer Hunt Orientation and Committee Member Assignments
All deer hunters planning to participate in the Hot Springs Village Urban Deer Hunt must attend the mandatory orientation on Saturday, July 23, 2022, at the Woodlands at 1101 DeSoto Boulevard, Hot Springs Village. Those living outside the gates and wishing to attend the orientation will be allowed admittance into the Village, starting at 6:00 AM.
The Common Property, Forest, and Wildlife Committee (CPFWC) met on Monday, July 11, 2022, at 1:00 PM at the Police Training Center in Hot Springs Village to discuss the committee assignments for the orientation.
Three committee members will staff the reception/administration table – Anne Shears, Barton Langford, and Max Billingsley.
Scott McCord, Tom Impellizerri, Mark Quinton, and Michael Beaver will work the placard table, where the tags will also be issued. The placard table will be located in the Ouachita Room at the Ponce de Leon Center, which is located adjacent to the Woodlands Auditorium.
There will be a presentation, which last year was inside the Woodlands Auditorium. This year it will probably be the same.
Superintendent Todd Noles will give a general overview of the hunt and recognize certain attendees from Arkansas Game and Fish, Arkansas Bow Hunters Association, Hunters Feeding the Hungry, and HSV employees that help. CPFWC Chair, Scott McCord, will give the safety talk.
McCord, said, “It says in the rules that you can lose your hunting privileges if you don’t adhere to the rules. The rules are there for the benefit of achieving our objective – harvesting deer and doing it safely. I think it might make sense, and I want you all to weigh in, to have a – for lack of a better word – a roster of all the hunters and when they go through the line and pick up the paperwork, we want you to sign that you have received the rules and you’ve agreed that you will adhere to them and you are familiar with the consequences that are outlined in the rules and there may be even greater consequences that are listed in the rules. But there will be consequences.”
McCord said, “We have people leaving stands in the woods and I know they don’t want their stand to be confiscated.” The POA found a stand a few days ago where the tree was starting to grow around the straps. In the past year, approximately 13 or 14 deer stands were confiscated by the POA.
Noles said that he has not had anyone tell him they didn’t know they were not supposed to leave the stands. Noles said the hunters are given a paper copy of the rules to read and are advised of the rules during orientation.
Vice-chair, Tom Impellizzeri said that in the past certified hunters have shared their placards with other hunters who have not been certified. “We need to get a photo id – maybe their driver’s license – to verify who is coming into the Village,” said Impellizzeri.
The Chair said that if we have rule violators, we don’t want them hunting here. “If they are going to break the rules, there is a chance they may not be safe, either,” explained McCord.
McCord thought Impellizeri’s suggestion of tying the placard to the driver’s license number was a good idea. McCord said they will have a meeting with pertinent staff and gate personnel. McCord said, “We will lay out what our expectations are for the gates” and so forth.
Edited to add: The following information is from the Arkansas Bowhunters Association. “ORIENTATION NOTES All persons attending the orientations should be at the location by 7:30 a.m. the morning of the orientation. A briefing will begin at 8:00 a.m., there we will explain the rules and regulations for the city in which you are hunting. After the briefing, proficiency testing will begin along with registration and permit issue. If you have taken the IBEP Class on-line you will need to bring a copy of your completion certificate from the course before attending the field day portion of the class. If you have questions contact Dion Fernau 501-650-4155, Wade Tucker (501) 428-0016 or Carrie Crawford 501-733-9126.”
Report by Cheryl Dowden
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The following information is from the Arkansas Bowhunters Association. “ORIENTATION NOTES All persons attending the orientations should be at the location by 7:30 a.m. the morning of the orientation. A briefing will begin at 8:00 a.m., there we will explain the rules and regulations for the city in which you are hunting. After the briefing, proficiency testing will begin along with registration and permit issue. If you have taken the IBEP Class on-line you will need to bring a copy of your completion certificate from the course before attending the field day portion of the class. If you have questions contact Dion Fernau 501-650-4155, Wade Tucker (501) 428-0016 or Carrie Crawford 501-733-9126.”