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The “Sunken Lands” were created and as a result of the New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811 and 1812. Strung out over about 30 miles through the St. Francis River Flood way, the area became nationally famous as a hunting and fishing area about 100 years ago.
The area is in Greene, Craighead and Poinsett Counties and is made up of scattered tracts of land within the St. Francis floodway, in excess of 30,574 acres.
It is owned by AGFC. About 10,000 acres is owned by the U.S. Corps of Engineers and is leased by the commission as part of the Management Area. Acquisition by the AGFC began on December 6, 1955 and continues through today.
With the exceptions of a few small tracts, the majority of the area lies within the main levees of the St. Francis River. Bottomland hardwoods make up the primary species of timber types associated with the area and include; White oak, red oak, hickory, locust, cottonwood, Bald cypress, tupelo, elm, sycamore and pecan.
Waterfowl hunting accounts for the majority of recreational days on the Sunken lands Area, however, small game including squirrel, quail and rabbit are abundant. Deer and turkeys are present in fair numbers and provide good hunting opportunity at times. Like some of the other Delta Region Management areas, uncontrollable flooding of the entire area hampers management efforts for terrestrial wildlife and limits population levels to relatively low numbers. Habitat quality is otherwise favorable and trophy class deer are taken every year, although over all hunter success is low as compared to other regions of the state where forested habitat is more plentiful.
Both cottontail and swamp rabbits are present in good numbers and offer excellent hunting opportunity around field edges and along levees and borrow pit right of ways.
Fur bearers and non-game mammals as well as neo tropical migrant birds migratory birds species inhabit the hardwood timber forests of the St. Francis River Floodway. The area is vitally important to many migratory bird species, as it represents one of the larger contiguous tracts of bottomland hardwood habitat in Eastern Arkansas.
Roads and trails designated for handicapped use with ATCs are marked with signs. Further information
and area maps are available from regional offices.
This area can be reached off several state highways from south of Paragould to Marked Tree. A major portion of the area is located east of Trumann in northeastern Poinsett County. Major access points are the Siphons Access off state highway 63 near Marked Tree; Oak Donnick Access, south of Trumann off state highway 63 near Tulot; and Stephens Landing off state highway 69 east of Trumann. The East Side of the area may be reached by either of two county roads off state highway 135 between Caraway and Rivervale. However, the best access to the interior of the area is by boat at ramps provided at Siphons Access, Oak Donnick Access and Stephens Landing, Mangrum Landing, Iron bridge Access and Lake City hwy 18 bridge access. Interior roads are limited to logging trails and are closed to all vehicular traffic, except for designated ATC trails for handicapped users. Signs designate these. Internal access requires boating from one of the launching areas or walking in from a vehicular access point. Area maps designating access locations are available at commission regional offices.
The lower end of the floodway contains the St. Francis Lake, which is a large open expanse of water. In reality, St. Francis Lake is a wide part of the St. Francis River. While the lake supports good populations of both game fish and rough fish species, and provides a large amount of fishing opportunity, Scientific state of the art management is difficult. This is because the “lake” really represents a riverine fishery as compared to a landlocked lake. Hence, ingress and egress of all kinds of fish to the “lake” are not controllable and cannot be artificially balanced and maintained by the same practices that are used on land locked lakes. The lake is fairly shallow due to accelerated silt deposits over the years, but still provides good catfish, bass, bream and crappie fishing. Access to the lake may be obtained from either the Siphons Access or Oak Donnick Access. Commercial fishing for buffalo, carp, and catfish is also a valuable resource of the lake and river.
Some isolated stands of old growth bald cypress still exist on the area, although most were cut for lumber early in the century. Such unique features are protected from cutting and are deferred from any commercial logging activities for any reason.
The area offers excellent opportunity for wildlife viewing and bird watching. The Payneway Moist Soil Unit located on the west side of the river, just north of the St. Francis Lake control Structure hosts a variety of shorebirds, eagles and several duck species. The area is flooded in October through February annually to provide wintering habitat for migrant birds and ducks. As many as 50,000 ducks are commonly seen on the area which is protected from hunting as a waterfowl rest area.
CONTACT INFORMATION
877-972-5438
For more information click HERE.
To view a map of this WMA click HERE.
For current REGULATIONS, LICENSING, & PERMITS click HERE.
Have you visited this WMA? If so, please leave a comment. Thanks.
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