Title 15 — Natural Resources and Economic Development

A.C.A. § 15-44-109Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

(a) Any person owning or controlling any dam or other obstruction across any river, creek, or other watercourse in this state is required to keep the dam or other obstruction open sufficiently to admit the free and easy passage of all fish ascending or descending the river or oth…

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to:(1) Withdraw, in any manner, any water from any public body of water in this state without first securely screening the intake pipes used in such withdrawal against the entry of any fish;(2) Lower the natural stage …

(a) Upon the request of any farmer with demonstrated damage to an agricultural crop from wildlife, the game warden shall assist the farmer by implementation of a control program to relocate or eradicate the wildlife which is causing injury to the crop of the farmer. (b) The progr…

(a) To encourage wildlife habitat conservation on private lands, the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission shall enter into licensing agreements for a duration of not less than ten (10) years for approved projects on privately owned lands. (b) The licensing agreements shall det…

(a) There is created an appraisal board in each county of this state composed of the game warden of that county and two (2) farmers who are landowners in the county appointed by the county judge and county agent. (b) It shall be the duty of the appraisal board to investigate and …

(a) The entire State of Arkansas is designated, and shall constitute, a sanctuary for wild fowl of all species except black birds, crows, and starlings. No person shall catch, kill, injure, pursue, or have in his or her possession, either dead or alive, or purchase, expose for sa…

(a) The entire areas embraced within the limits of any and all state parks of this state are designated and established as bird sanctuaries. (b) It shall be unlawful for any person to trap, hunt, shoot, or attempt to shoot or molest in any manner any bird or wild fowl or to rob b…

A.C.A. § 15-45-212Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

(a) The General Assembly declares that it is the public policy of the State of Arkansas to promote sound management, conservation, and public awareness of Arkansas' rich diversity of native plants and nongame animals. Many of these species, subspecies, or populations of animals a…

A.C.A. § 15-45-302Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

(a) All moneys contributed for Nongame Preservation Program purposes pursuant to the state income tax refund check-off system authorized by this subchapter and § 26-51-434 [repealed] and the interest earned thereon shall be expended for the purpose of protecting, preserving, and …

(a) When the purchase of lands by state agencies is considered as an appropriate strategy for the protection of certain nongame species, the lands considered shall be restricted to:(1) Natural communities, both terrestrial and aquatic, that exhibit the highest degree of integrity…

All balances in the Nongame Preservation Program shall be carried forward each year so that no part thereof shall revert to the General Fund of this state.

The incremental costs of administration of the contributions, not to exceed five percent (5%) of the Nongame Preservation Fund [abolished] during the first fiscal year of the Nongame Preservation Program and not to exceed one percent (1%) of the Nongame Preservation Fund [abolish…

A.C.A. § 15-46-101Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

A.C.A. § 15-46-102Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

The double-crested cormorant is hereby declared a nuisance and the Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission is requested to work with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Arkansas congressional delegation to permit bona fide fish farmers and other owners of private …

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Wildlife Recreation Facilities Pilot Program”.

(1) The General Assembly finds:(1) The control, management, restoration, conservation, and regulation of birds, fish, game, and wildlife resources of the State of Arkansas, including hatcheries, sanctuaries, refuges, and reservations, is vested in the Arkansas State Game and Fish…

(a) There is created a program to be known as the “Wildlife Recreation Facilities Pilot Program”. (b) The program shall be developed, implemented, and administered by the Rural Services Division of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission with the assistance of the Arkansas S…

(a) (1) The Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission voluntarily agrees to make available an amount not to exceed five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2011, and ending June 30, 2012, for the Wildlife Recreation Facilities Pilot Program for…

(a) The Arkansas State Game and Fish Commission and the Rural Services Division of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission shall report the status of the Wildlife Recreation Facilities Pilot Program biannually to the Game and Fish/State Police Subcommittee of the Legislative…

There is created and established at the seat of government of this state within the Oil and Gas Commission the “Office of the State Geologist”.

(a) The Office of the State Geologist shall consist of the State Geologist and his or her staff. (b) The office shall be under the direct control and supervision of the Director of Production and Conservation.

A.C.A. § 15-55-203Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

(a) (1) The State Geologist shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Governor.(2) The State Geologist shall report to the Director of Production and Conservation and the Secretary of the Department of Energy and Environment. (1) The State Geologist shall be appointe…

(a) It shall be the duty of the State Geologist, by and with the approval of the Director of Production and Conservation and the Secretary of the Department of Energy and Environment, to appoint trained geological assistants, engineers, and others efficient in the arts and scienc…

A.C.A. § 15-55-206Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

(1) The Office of the State Geologist shall also have the authority to:(1) (A) Enter into cooperative agreements with the United States Geological Survey in relation to programs concerning quality of water, occurrence of ground water, stream gauging, mineral investigations, topog…

(a) It shall be the duty of the Office of the State Geologist, in cooperation with the United States Geological Survey, to:(1) Investigate, or to have investigated, such of the natural resources of the state, consisting of the available waterpower of the streams, the clays of the…

From time to time, the Office of the State Geologist shall bring to the attention of the appropriate federal agencies, state and local industrial development agencies, and industrial interests the location and extent of minerals in the state which may be of value to, and benefici…

(a) It shall be the duty of the Office of the State Geologist to make reports as necessary to complete an understanding of the results obtained from investigations undertaken. (b) The reports shall be accompanied by maps, sections, and other illustrations as necessary to a comple…

(a) The State of Arkansas shall pay the portion of the field and traveling expenses, including salaries, as agreed upon between the Office of the State Geologist, with approval of the Director of Production and Conservation, and the United States Geological Survey. (b) The full a…

The Office of the State Geologist shall deposit all moneys received from the sale of its publications and from other sources into the State Treasury to the credit of the fund from which the office is operated, unless provisions shall have otherwise been made by law.

The Office of the State Geologist and the Office of State Technology shall grant access to and provide information determined by the Commissioner of State Lands to be necessary to successfully accomplish the Commissioner of State Lands' mission.

A.C.A. § 15-55-214Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

(a) The State Geologist shall, upon consultation with and approval of the Governor, establish and equip a chemical laboratory for the carrying on of this work and appoint suitable assistants; the State Geologist and his or her assistants are to constitute the geological corps who…

(a) The work of the geological survey shall commence as soon after the appointment of the State Geologist and his or her assistants as is practical. (b) The Office of the State Geologist shall have access at all times to the field notes and maps of the Commissioner of State Lands…

(a) When at any time during the progress of the survey the State Geologist or his or her assistants shall discover any considerable deposits of minerals, metals, ores, clays, oils, gas, coal, or anything else of value, situated upon lands of any citizen of the state, he or she sh…

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Lignite Development Act”.

(1) The General Assembly finds:(1) Lignite in Arkansas is a vast energy resource that is virtually untapped and is easily extracted;(2) Lignite could be used in a variety of ways, including:(A) Blending it with fuel products to augment imported coal that is currently used to gene…

(a) There is created a program to be known as the “Arkansas Lignite Resources Pilot Program”. (b) The Arkansas Lignite Resources Pilot Program shall be developed and administered by Southern Arkansas University, the Office of the State Geologist, and the Arkansas Economic Develop…

The Arkansas Lignite Resources Pilot Program may participate in federal, state, or industry grant opportunities that are available for the program.

Representatives from Southern Arkansas University, the Office of the State Geologist, and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission shall report the status of the Arkansas Lignite Resources Pilot Program periodically to the Legislative Council and the Joint Committee on Energy…

In every county in this state in which lands containing minerals still belong to the United States Government, the recording of mining claim notices of all kinds may be done with the ex officio recorders of the various counties in which the lands are situated.

(a) The fees for recording mining location notices shall be one dollar ($1.00) for notice, to be paid in United States currency, one-half (½) of which shall go into the county treasury to the credit of the record fund. (b) The fees for recording all other mining notices shall be …

On or before December 31 of any year in which the time in which the assessment work or improvement required by law to hold the claim expires, the owner of the claim or, in his or her absence, his or her agent or the party who was in charge of the work for the claimant may make an…

(a) When any owner or claimant of any mining claim on any of the lands subject to location as mining claims in this state under the laws of the United States shall have had possession of a claim for a period of three (3) years and shall have performed the necessary amount of annu…

(a) (1) It shall be the duty of the recorder of any county in which mining location notices and proof of labor performed are recorded to keep a suitable bound plat book properly arranged, showing all the legal subdivisions affected by notices, in which he or she shall keep a comp…