Last updated March 2023

General info

Contact

Sarah Baxter
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
2 Natural Resources Drive
Little Rock, AR 72205
Phone: 501-776-0218 Ext 2113
Sarah.Baxter_AT_agfc.ar.gov

Is a state permit required for banding?

Yes. The permit application specifically includes released at point of capture and released with mark/tag. In addition, the Arkansas regulations define take as: “TAKE – To shoot, kill, injure, trap, net, snare, spear, catch, capture or reduce to possession.”

Permit application form

• General info
• Requirements for permit
• Application Form
• Renewal – No separate form. Permits are not technically renewable, as they must be reviewed by staff for each period. However, consecutive permits can be requested with a completed application form noting the number of the previous permit. Every effort will be made to process applications to maintain continuous coverage, provided reapplication is made at least thirty (30) days prior to permit expiration. A report of collections up to that point must accompany the request. Collections during the remaining 30-day period should be included in the following year’s report, if “renewal” is granted, or as an addendum submitted within sixty (60) days if permit is not “renewed.”
• Threatened and Endangered: See item 6 on application
• Salvage: See item 9 on application

Threatened and endangered species 

Note – these lists change over time. Be sure to consult with the state agency.

Permits for collection or handling of threatened or endangered species or those designated by AGFC as “Species of Special Concern” will be granted only if the need is well justified. In Arkansas, the following bird species are considered to be of “greatest conservation need”:

Sharp-shinned hawk (breeding population) (Accipiter striatus)
Rufous-Crowned Sparrow (Aimophila ruficeps)
Henslow’s Sparrow (Ammodramus henslowii)
Le Conte’s Sparrow (Ammodramus leconteii)
Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum)
American Black Duck (Anas rubripes)
Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga)
Sprague’s Pipit (Anthus spragueii)
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)
American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus)
Smith’s Longspur (Calcarius pictus)
Sanderling (Calidris alba)
Dunlin (Calidris alpine)
Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus)
Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Calidris subruficollis)
Whip-poor-will (Caprimulgus vociferous)
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)
Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus)
Sedge Wren (Cistothorus platensis)
Northern Bobwhite (Clionus virginianus)
Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus)
Tri-colored Heron (Egretta tricolor)
Swallow-tailed Kite (Elanoides forficatus)
Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii)
Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus)
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata)
Purple Finch (Haemorphous purpureus)
Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina)
Least Bittern (Ixobrychus exilis)
Migrant Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus migrans)
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)
Swainson’s Warbler (Limnothlypis swainsonii)
Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nyctanassa violacea)
Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)
Bachman’s Sparrow (Peucaea aestivalis)
Red-Cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis)
American Golden Plover (Pluvialis dominica)
Black-Bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)
Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinicus)
King Rail (Rallus elegans)
American Woodcock (Scolopax minor)
Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea)
Interior Least Tern (Sterna antillarum athalassos)
Bewick’s Wren (Thryomanes bewickii)
Bell’s Vireo (Vireo bellii)

State lands

Included if requested

Prior notice

Not to state; just to the land manager where you intend to work

Regulations

See Arkansas Game and Fish Commission – Code of Regulations – Section 14