Bill Bridgforth has been involved in major developments in the Arkansas outdoors before, during and after his seven-year term as an Arkansas Game and Fish commissioner.
He said at the top of the list was the 1996 campaign for the conservational sales tax then with innovations funded by it.
Bridgforth was appointed to the commission in 1994, a time when money was short and conditions getting tighter. But there was hope with the quest for a fractional sales tax. This came about in November 1996 after a vigorous campaign in which Bridgforth, a Pine Bluff attorney, served as financial co-chairman.
When fresh funding began in July 1997, Bridgforth and his fellow commissioners focused on acquiring more land for public use and on education – priorities expressed by Arkansas people before the tax election along with more enforcement.
The land purchases were Grandview first, then Raft Creek and later Choctaw Island. All are now productive and popular wildlife management areas – Rick Evans Grandview WMA, Steve N. Wilson Raft Creek WMA and Freddie Black Choctaw Island WMA.
The need for outdoor education was met with the building of four nature centers — Pine Bluff, Jonesboro, Fort Smith and Little Rock. The first one to be constructed, at Pine Bluff, was named Gov. Mike Huckabee Delta Rivers Nature Center. Bridgforth said, “Gov. Huckabee’s (Arkansas) River trip in October 1996 was a pivotal pointing the sales tax campaign. It was very instrumental in the favorable vote for the tax.”
Bridgforth as a commissioner was closely involved with the creation of the 3-point rule in deer hunting. He said, “There was a lot of opposition to the rule at first, but this changed soon after we passed it.” Now a lot of deer clubs have rules even more restrictive than the 3-point.” Arkansas deer hunters have largely accepted what wildlife managers had been advocating for years – buck deer needed to get more age on them and the ratio of bucks and does needed to be more balanced.
Trout fishing catch and release areas were established on the White and Little Red rivers during Bridgforth’s tenure. Limited permit elk hunting began in 1998, and the elk along the Buffalo River became a year-rout tourist attraction.
Paid duck hunting guides, many from out of state, were removed from public management areas, making these popular spots more available to Arkansas waterfowlers.
Fall turkey hunting was eliminated. It later was reinstated for several years then closed again.
Bridgforth said,” When I was on the commission, we had two primary goals. One was to be conservative where the resource was concerned, and the other was to provide as much opportunity as possible for the men and women of Arkansas. I feel like we did that. We were unified in doing things first for the resource.”