CONWAY, Ark. — The world beneath our feet is changing as we know it. Cities are growing and becoming more urbanized but in that growth, there's also a call to action to not forget our wildlife.
"We've lost fish habitat, we've lost water volume and this plan will work by, we're going to dry the lake out, and we're gonna let mother nature really do a lot of it," said Trey Reid, Assistant Chief of Communications for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
This fall the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) will begin one of the largest infrastructure projects in the history of their agency which consists of a five-year plan to renovate Lake Conway.
"Our responsibility is to provide opportunities for Arkansans and manage the state's natural resources for the benefit of everybody including the fish and wildlife that use those and this is gonna make Conway an incredible fishery into the future," Reid described.
He also said that doing this is creating a better habitat for wildlife, and a better fishing environment for Arkansans.
"Fish need certain types of habitat to spawn. and you know, whether that's gravel and rocks or sandy areas on the bottom, all that's covered up right now, and so there aren't as many places for fish to spawn that so there's not as much productivity so there's not as many fish," he explained.
To help this project succeed AGFC is hosting a contest where you can reel in some big bucks for catching a large-mouth bass, brim, bluegill, and more.
"Anybody that catches one of our tagged fish as part of this contest and returns that tag to the game and fish, we will pay them $1000 bucks.," Reid said.
The contest ends on October 31 and if you'd like to learn more about AGFC's 5-year plan to renovate Lake Conway, please click here.