The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has the answer to a most pressing holiday question: What to do with that tree in the living room.
Donate it to them and they will convert it into a fish habitat.
No, really and Game and Fish has been doing it for years, making it as much a local tradition as going to the Nutcracker or driving around looking at Christmas lights.
In central Arkansas, the easiest dropoff point is Riverview Park in North Little Rock. Better known as the park where skateboarders go, it is located at 2800 River Road. Other locations in central Arkansas include:
Lake Barnett – Reed Access
Lake Conway – Lawrence Landing Access
Greers Ferry Lake – Sandy Beach (Heber Springs), Devils Fork Recreation Area and Choctaw Recreation Area (Choctaw-Clinton)
Harris Brake Lake – Chittman Hill Access
Lake Pickthorne – Boat Ramp Access
Lake Overcup – Lake Overcup Landing
Cox Creek Lake – Cox Creek Lake Public Access
Lake Hamilton – Andrew Hulsey State Fish Hatchery Access Area
Jack Nolen – Boat Ramp Access at Fire Station
Sugar Loaf Lake – Boat Ramp Access
In a release, Game and Fish said old Christmas trees offer “small spaces and dense cover” and “make excellent nursery habitat for small fish as well as great places to fish.”
But, let’s see you’re a fisherman and have a spot for a tree. Well, you're in luck, because Game and Fish says you can take a tree from a drop-off point to make your own fishing habitat.
The key is the tree or trees need to be tied down with cinder blocks to help them sink.
Game and Fish also advised, “it’s best to sink the trees in groups. The trunks of the trees will last much longer, offering some woody cover long after a single tree’s attractiveness wanes.”
Donated trees should have all ornaments, lights and tinsel removed and, of course, artificial trees aren’t welcome.
Trees can be donated until the end of January.
Other dropoff points across the state by region.
Northwest Arkansas
Beaver Lake – Highway 12 Access, AGFC Don Roufa Highway 412 Access and Monte Ne Boat Ramp Access
Lake Elmdale – Boat Ramp Access
Bob Kidd Lake – Boat Ramp Access
Crystal Lake – Boat Ramp Access
North Arkansas
Bull Shoals Lake – Any U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boat ramp
Norfork Lake – Any U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boat ramp
Northeast Arkansas
Jonesboro – Craighead Forest Park Lake boat ramp
Lake Bono – Boat Ramp Access
Lake Walcott – Crowley’s Ridge State Park Boat Ramp Access
Lake Charles – West parking lot at Highway 25 Boat Ramp Access
East Arkansas
Horseshoe Lake — Boat Ramp Access
Wynne Sports Complex Family and Community Fishing Pond
Southeast Arkansas
Lake Chicot – Connerly Bayou Access Area
Lake Monticello – Hunger Run Access
Cook’s Lake – Potlatch Conservation Education Center at 625 Cook’s Lake Road, Casscoe, or the bus lot across from Grand Avenue United Methodist Church in Stuttgart
South Arkansas
Camden – AGFC Regional Office on Ben Lane, next to the National Guard Armory
Upper White Oak Lake – Upper Jack’s Landing
Magnolia – Columbia County Road Department Yard on Highway 371
El Dorado – City recycling center drop-offs: one behind Arby’s and one on South Jackson
Smackover – Recycling Drop-Off Center (these will be transported to El Dorado)
Southwest Arkansas
Bois d’Arc Lake – Kidd’s Landing or Hatfield Access
Millwood Lake – Cottonshed, White Cliffs Recreation Areas and the Millwood State Park ramp on the point
Dierks Lake – Jefferson Ridge South Recreation Area
De Queen Lake – Any U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boat ramp
Gillham Lake – Any U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boat ramp
Lake Greeson – New Cowhide Cove and Self Creek Recreation areas
South Fork Lake – South Fork Lake Access
Terre Noire Lake – Terre Noire Lake Access
Hope – AGFC Regional Office on U.S. Highway 67 East
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Let your Christmas Tree swim with the fishes
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The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has the answer to a most pressing holiday question: What to do with that tree in the living room.
Donate it to them and they will convert it into a fish habitat.
No, really and Game and Fish has been doing it for years, making it as much a local tradition as going to the Nutcracker or driving around looking at Christmas lights.
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In central Arkansas, the easiest dropoff point is Riverview Park in North Little Rock. Better known as the park where skateboarders go, it is located at 2800 River Road. Other locations in central Arkansas include:
Lake Barnett – Reed Access
Lake Conway – Lawrence Landing Access
Greers Ferry Lake – Sandy Beach (Heber Springs), Devils Fork Recreation Area and Choctaw Recreation Area (Choctaw-Clinton)
Harris Brake Lake – Chittman Hill Access
Lake Pickthorne – Boat Ramp Access
Lake Overcup – Lake Overcup Landing
Cox Creek Lake – Cox Creek Lake Public Access
Lake Hamilton – Andrew Hulsey State Fish Hatchery Access Area
Jack Nolen – Boat Ramp Access at Fire Station
Sugar Loaf Lake – Boat Ramp Access
In a release, Game and Fish said old Christmas trees offer “small spaces and dense cover” and “make excellent nursery habitat for small fish as well as great places to fish.”
But, let’s see you’re a fisherman and have a spot for a tree. Well, you're in luck, because Game and Fish says you can take a tree from a drop-off point to make your own fishing habitat.
The key is the tree or trees need to be tied down with cinder blocks to help them sink.
Game and Fish also advised, “it’s best to sink the trees in groups. The trunks of the trees will last much longer, offering some woody cover long after a single tree’s attractiveness wanes.”
Donated trees should have all ornaments, lights and tinsel removed and, of course, artificial trees aren’t welcome.
Trees can be donated until the end of January.
Other dropoff points across the state by region.
Northwest Arkansas
Beaver Lake – Highway 12 Access, AGFC Don Roufa Highway 412 Access and Monte Ne Boat Ramp Access
Lake Elmdale – Boat Ramp Access
Bob Kidd Lake – Boat Ramp Access
Crystal Lake – Boat Ramp Access
North Arkansas
Bull Shoals Lake – Any U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boat ramp
Norfork Lake – Any U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boat ramp
Northeast Arkansas
Jonesboro – Craighead Forest Park Lake boat ramp
Lake Bono – Boat Ramp Access
Lake Walcott – Crowley’s Ridge State Park Boat Ramp Access
Lake Charles – West parking lot at Highway 25 Boat Ramp Access
East Arkansas
Horseshoe Lake — Boat Ramp Access
Wynne Sports Complex Family and Community Fishing Pond
Southeast Arkansas
Lake Chicot – Connerly Bayou Access Area
Lake Monticello – Hunger Run Access
Cook’s Lake – Potlatch Conservation Education Center at 625 Cook’s Lake Road, Casscoe, or the bus lot across from Grand Avenue United Methodist Church in Stuttgart
South Arkansas
Camden – AGFC Regional Office on Ben Lane, next to the National Guard Armory
Upper White Oak Lake – Upper Jack’s Landing
Magnolia – Columbia County Road Department Yard on Highway 371
El Dorado – City recycling center drop-offs: one behind Arby’s and one on South Jackson
Smackover – Recycling Drop-Off Center (these will be transported to El Dorado)
Southwest Arkansas
Bois d’Arc Lake – Kidd’s Landing or Hatfield Access
Millwood Lake – Cottonshed, White Cliffs Recreation Areas and the Millwood State Park ramp on the point
Dierks Lake – Jefferson Ridge South Recreation Area
De Queen Lake – Any U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boat ramp
Gillham Lake – Any U.S. Army Corps of Engineers boat ramp
Lake Greeson – New Cowhide Cove and Self Creek Recreation areas
South Fork Lake – South Fork Lake Access
Terre Noire Lake – Terre Noire Lake Access
Hope – AGFC Regional Office on U.S. Highway 67 East
Lake Dieffenbacher – Bobby Ferguson Park Pavilion