ALC-Game & Fish/State Police

Appreciate everyone being here today I know some of your own a. A time schedule so we'll get this thing rolling and we'll start out now Preciado being here in our own right was to receive. Thank you Mr chairman my name is bill Brian the car on the Arkansas state police and I major Stacy roads with the criminal investigation division of the state police. Mr restaurant to be here today and as you know we recently testified before the Alzheimer's dementia Advisory Council and you expressed interest to us to brief the committee a little bit about our so we're learning member or program so we'll start off with that then I can only talk to you just a couple other trends were seen expected balancing as troopers. Aggravated driving our wellness program and then I'm just like to make a few closing comments at that time but we'll go ahead and start off with the amber words ourselves Mr chairman that's okay with you. you know we have a twenty one week trip school in during the our troops school we devote two hours of training or all timers dementia and we we contract with UAMS to do the training force and medical experts in a it's the training is provided by a UAMS Arkansas judge geriatric education called collaboration AGTC. And they the purpose of this instruction is provided general knowledge responses to our elderly community problems and and can contact we deal with those people have to the mission all timers. Basically they that the curriculum is an overview of Alzheimer's disease and dementia and you know they talk about that there's the three distinct stages of the dimension all timers one is pre clinical the next one is mild cognitive impairment and the third is all timers dementia. Also the course it also teaches us troopers and how to address and communication with those with dementia and Alzheimer's you know be good detective validation attitudes very important ported are non verbal communication and you M. S. works closely with us and and each each recruit when they graduate from true school you a mask is a card it talks about how to deal with dementia and Alzheimer's so these troopers able keep this in the briefcase and things like that you know we also we do this over or program in the amber alert and that's that's overseen by major Stacey Rosa the chrome with instigation vision so I will let her explain those two programs to you. So start with their silver alert programs are super low program was created by proclamation by governor at BB and two thousand and nine and in cooperation with the the sheriff's association and the police chiefs association the responsibility of activating the alerts was given to the state police and and we accept that responsibility and we get a lot of questions is why it was given to the state police and you know we got seventy two sheriff's department Senate you know as Ilyin and chiefs of police and we really needed some consistency in the back to the activation of those alerts I mean also to ensure that it wasn't up missed used. Our alert program is based on criteria and we it's a really simple criteria and the criteria is number one that there has to be they have to be legally adjudicated as incapable of caring for themselves. Or. At. Mentally. up. Mentally documented as having a condition such as Alzheimer's or dementia or if a caregiver or family member strongly believes that they're exhibiting signs of onset of dementia those are the three things that we first look for the other the other three things that we look for is who is reporting this person missing is that a loved one is it a care giver is it someone who who knows and understands this person and the reason that we do that is because just because someone's allergy elderly does not mean that that that they have these These issues and so the last thing we want to do is take away the dignity of our our our elderly population so that we make so we make sure that we can justify what we're doing and so what an alert looks like is if you have a family member or a loved one that suffers from dementia or just any cognitive disorder those are the two main ones that we see but we also see Parkinson's as another reason that we would activate the alert. But what you do is you would contact your local police department or sheriff's department whoever has jurisdiction and you would explain them then the circumstances. They would collect as much information and then they would reach out to the state police typically that's me and give me you know just the real deep down and dirty of what's going on and from there I make a call I make a judgment on that and those are that that. Kind of the two prongs that I look at is I want to meet both of those problems there are times when. Like diabetes diabetics we get a lot of call about diabetic patients and typically that's not something that we would consider a cognitive disorder but we evaluate that based on their you know are they Update on an insulin pump and we've even had doctors write letters so that we would issue that alerts the last thing we want to do is make a bad call and whether we should have issued the alert. I can tell you that in two thousand and twenty one we issued seventy seven we got over a hundred twenty request and we issued seventy seven alerts on that. I'll switch to R. L. amber alert program really quick because I know your time is valuable and I don't want to get up here and You know waste your time with a lot at useless information but our amber alert program was actually created before a silver alert program it was care created in two thousand and four through the help of Colleen Nicks whose daughter Shaul NO was abducted from a ball field in alma back in nineteen ninety five and are amber alert program it's a little bit different a lot of the questions I get asked about the difference between an amber alert program in a silver alert program is. Why don't we issue the wireless alerts on our silver alerts well an amber alert when we issue those is because a crime has been committed there has been a child that has been adopted and has been subjected to a crime. the criteria for an amber alert is there has to be an indication of objection they have to be an imminent danger they have to be under the age of eighteen we have to have clear identifiable information that can help us identify a suspect in the fifth one is that they have to have been entered into NCIC as missing. And so are amber alert last year in two thousand and twenty one we issued three. So far this year we've issued one amber alert. And so when we contrast the amber alert versus the silver alert program we we do a considerable amount of silver alerts as compared to the amber alerts There of the seventy seven silver alerts that we issued three of those persons were found deceased and so one of the things that we do at the state police is we try to gauge whether or not is there something that we could have done differently that would have helped to those three in in value waiting all of those alerts those three people the alert and we did we issued the alert and they were they would have helped they just would not help because they were lost in the woods. of the amber alert we've issued this year I can tell you so you might have seen on the news the hot springs incident where a woman was she was seventeen and she was objected at her place as she left her place of work on just some random Tuesday night the amber alert was effective in that when we did the wireless alert the information from the license plate was distributed and the objectors actually saw that it released the women so. Both of them have been extremely effective for what they were intended to do. Okay thank you if I could just a real quick just so you know if if it doesn't meet the criteria so or amber work we still have the missing persons that we do with the Arkansas state fusion center so it doesn't meet that criteria that me we just don't stop we get that the fusion center they put out a missing persons bolo and goes to all law enforcement or whoever subscribes to that that's with the fusion center also we you know we really enhanced our drone program. So a lot of times it especially with people of all timers dementia they wander off instead of having us the Firebird helicopter we have drones stationed around all over all over each C. ID company around the state so we're able to put the drone up it's got camera some of its got night vision so we're able to use the drones get something up aerial right away to see we can find the people who wandered off so you know I think that's very important that you know we we work with our sheriff's offices in PT's a lot but just don't think because of that meet the criteria these two we give up we we have other avenues were able to get that information out a lot of times you might see the news media pick up the missing persons and put that bulletin on the news so you know we will try our best law enforcement to assist any police departments or sheriff's offices. Would you want to take questions just on this before you get interview me go through and take. Let's let's just go ahead and go through and take questions at all right great the chairman and he just kind of talk about what trends were seen and then to update the committee and and what's concerning to us since may of twenty twenty one we have a total seven trooper shot at by by criminals one of our troopers was hit in the vest in the best save his life we had a whole total twelve incidents where we've had a fire or a fire weapons and in a lot of Amer's where suspects are ram in our car with their vehicles had another who stole a state police vehicle had a a rifle and shot gun in it And sometimes you just get in pursuit and they'll start shooting out of the the vehicle you know we had one in downtown Conway the machine in our trooper with the SKS rifle out the back window had another little rock whether she notice with a hand gun they have a large magazine drum in it so you know so our our our troopers like lieutenant colonel Tim canonical's is been here thirty seven years we never seen twelve instances in a year period of violence against state troopers so that's concerning to us these men and women of the state police to go out there every day put their life on the line and in the good lord's been looking over us that we haven't lost a trooper in some of the shoot outs but they're out there and and and you know in protecting our citizens in Arkansas enough testified before your before bed aggravated driving and what I mean by aggravated driving is people going over a hundred miles an hour in in twenty nineteen before co it we wrote one thousand sixty two tickets and twenty twenty first year co what we wrote two thousand twenty six tickets and twenty twenty one we wrote two thousand three hundred forty four citations and to date we've written one thousand four hundred sixty four tickets down a little bit but we're seeing speeds again up to a hundred we wrote ninety gets for a hundred fifty miles an hour so if you get out on the in that you know I'm sure you travel interstate some people be blowing by it I mean we wrote eighty seven tickets for a hundred five hundred thirty four tickets for a hundred three so we're out there especially you know we we bought some time host unmarked low profile vehicles and they're out there helping control some this aggravated driving. and as you all know that you know being a trooper's very tough job and the wellness is is very important to us so we created DPS create a wellness unit we have three of our Commission troopers assigned to the wellness unit. Not only thank you rocked our troopers but I think it's really important as you look across the state a lot of police departments and sheriff's department don't have access to wellness unit so so far this year we've we've assisted twenty other agencies in Arkansas what critical incidents we go up there and we were especially a small department they don't have those resources so we get up there and help them deal with the stress and make sure that the wellness of their officers is is of importance so that we're very proud of our wellness you knew what it's done and not only helping us but assisting other law enforcement. It just kind in closing you know this is this is a good been historical year for the Arkansas state police we're very fortunate we won a lot of state and national awards last year the tourney jails awards we won forty six of the seventy five Attorney General trooper the year awards you know they do it by county and no one of our corporals mark blacker B. one trooper of the year overall our interstate criminal control team as part of the Gulf coast high to they won interdiction team of the year and also for the largest federal seizure and also the largest marijuana seizure. few months ago I had the honor to go to Seattle for the international association of chiefs of police state provincial section that's basically all the state police agencies in the US and trooper Spencer more side of Trudy he had won the southern region of ICP award we got to Seattle he that winning the national award for trooper of the year in the United States and and Spencer was the one I mentioned to her he got shot at its best stop stop the the round use able to return fire to the suspect Enter also won the American Association of state troopers award another national award and so we're very proud of Spencer and also Nick make the national center for missing endangered us center they recognize corporal mark blacker B. for with the national awarded it a child rescue if you remember the in lone oak or the they got in pursuit loca PD and also shot and mark was able to rescue the child on that won a national award but I'll just tell you this our troopers every day they do a great job you know I've been doing this job for director for almost eight years been forty seven years in law enforcement can't be more proud of the men and women they they go out there every day put their life on the line the most dedicated people I've ever seen as far as working for law enforcement. M. and last but no the least I want to thank you know the governor and the General Assembly for our pay raises if I don't know if you remember this is not a start with your committee well I testified in and I said long forces in a crisis and you said give us the data we got to the data and and that led to us getting our starting salary from forty two three fifty seven fifty four thousand I'm proud to report our recruiting numbers are up last year we had two hundred thirty nine people want to be a trooper we're up to over three hundred sixteen we're still getting numbers so it is working it's going to take time everybody is short and it's still a crisis but I just want to thank the governor and and the members of the General Sam simply forget supporting the rule of law and law enforcement with that I think that take any questions thank you Sir appreciate we're glad to glad to help with that you'll will desert will start with Senator Rice. Thank you Mr is it kept on roads. Majorette okay thank you I look at it stuff on my screen here major are you over said the for the whole state yes all right okay are you it's also over this just reference over crimes for children no Sir I'm not okay that's a different different division okay and car on just one thing when you're talking about troopers being shot at that came to mind the video is just come out lately of the lady that was locked in the back seat in a this was another state that was able to pull up I A. R. or something somewhere get it in and shoot and hit the thank you citizen man almost river do we have our vehicle secure or somebody locked in the backseat would be yes Sir we do with our our our rifles a shot and we have dual racks and they're locking racks okay thank you appreciate that information thank you of what you do. Mr. Go ahead thank you thank you Mr chairman current first of all I want I want to commend you and your command staff and sure enough troopers but the command staff if you would share with them how much they're appreciated and the work in their efforts and the M. in the image of law enforcement if they give in Arkansas and as a former trooper Carl I'd like to ask. Only incident that we're seeing the videos from up and mulberry. Before I make any comments about that is a former trooper the state police sergeant I'd like to see it would like to know is that is true. Espectro what we saw up there is we're hearing today that he spent as a Clerk at a convenience store in alma and then they called up with the and and I'll have some follow up Mr chairman but this is what we're seeing on TV. We didn't see five minutes before but before I make my comments about how I feel about that I will know if if that's. This is just for a representative would not have to be very careful this it is really a qualified and what we do is is we gather the facts and the evidence you know we have investigators there's thereafter again today and and I'm you know I don't think it's appropriate this time it is but what we do is you seen in the past the history the state police it doesn't matter if you're a citizen or a law enforcement officer we gather the facts turned over the prosecutor and we have charge law enforcement officers who miss behavior of behaved inappropriately again we have to you have to look at the totality of the circumstances and we will get together the whole story is presented to the prosecutors up to the prosecutor okay I have followed Mr do. Do you T. help tell tell me. How do you teach how to affect those who are asked what do you also to tell not to affect or over in it your training academy and is that true for the Arkansas law enforcement training academy which I know you all are involved in but do they teach you how not to make an arrest yes Sir we cover all aspects of it you know especially you know any force used by law enforcement has to be reasonable and we teacher ground fighting that that verse different type of training and as far as you have to fight someone on the ground but again you know you have to you know measured response the escalation is big because you know if you get your five you have to be able control your emotions and I know that class the from the press conference yesterday they train you know how to use force what is reasonable so. Okay. But one more follow up on that It's just disturbing. This time and the the three officers. Would do what they did to this man winners when there's three of trust just put handcuffs on him and I've been out there and I don't know the adrenaline starts flowing. But that in this time and this does not go one of this world is. The funding the police is coming for a. And the that you know as as as as as I said as a former law enforcement affirm that of just find that reprehensible the that somewhere somebody is not teaching these deputies said city police officers and here again that's been an ongoing problem the state police but you know. When I when I was out there the probably shouldn't say this but I'm good at that. I didn't want them involved with me in any of the rest because the degenerated into that sort consent one more follow up. In the get rid of our close room is kind of get get get to it okay okay do you have a protocol is to hal usan troopers in the little rock when it's not hot pursuit is there protocol the bill or sergeants or lieutenants check with before I'm just for a we're afraid that we're going as a trooper hurt inside the city limits of Little Rock also the interstate system. Yes Sir we we have a policy of another agency request that has to be made to request a supervisor in the supervisor has to a value wait talk with that department determines whether not will get involved in that pursuit we make that call but we just don't randomly join proceeds they have to clear that the supervisor for the. Yes Sir. We. President that yes Sir it's ours we own it. If the call hold your. Yes or they would have to contact the sergeant supervisor on duty and they would be in that supervisor state police with the authorizes getting engaged in the pursuit. Senator Stubblefield. Thank you Mr chairman current right what were we seeing any any of these types of speeds being driven but pre covid. A key I didn't hear the first part terms are we were we sent any type of these these high speeds that are driving on the under this hundred fifty mile an hour hundred five we sing a lot of this pre covid no Sir not in that speed ranger the number citations I think a lot of had to do with COVID were you know our our contact with the public was it early in COVID was restrict you know kind of unknown but we but it's just kind of a sense of losses that we're seeing also when you I'm sure if you drive forty on the way home to your to your district you'll see people coming by pretty quick and we're out there every day trying to enforce those laws. The drive seventy five naked grandma made pretty quick but is this sentence is this consistent across the country yes or send it to to a you know like a meat we got I. A. C. P. every year and and that's what we came up with term aggravated driving everybody across the nation seen it you know last year's are tougher talisman up I checked this morning we're thirty nine fatalities down from last year but it's a nationwide problem and then also pursuits we're seeing a lot more pursuits across the United States and and ICP is looking at that problem the best way to address our pursue problem. Thank you Mr chairman thank you have a grown up for one thing there to you and how many slow driving tickets in the left lane you'll given since it started to the house the house Speaker I think we have a more issue with that and I do that hi speed yes Sir we we have I have to get you the number I don't know off the bat but we have had requests from all before we pull those the ones in the left lane drivers be won't move over we have issued citations. Thank you Senator Ballinger. Thank you Mr my question I'm not positive that you have the answer but in light of the the video Crawford County everything that's going on the last session to the anyone with a bill that deals with the duty to intervene with law enforcement the training they should be getting each year and what I the I know that I visit with somebody on I thought that we were on the cusp of getting all of that implemented several months ago and and if you don't know the answer because that's not necessarily a department that's fine but do we know that we are doing that but training now that is up and going and so officer should be getting it every year yes we did do that once I was passed the when passed legislation duty intervene it was a training there's no civil penalty or criminal penalty so class does have a duty to intervene training and yeah I know state police a lot of law enforcement agencies have begin using that duty to intervene training so what we've been up going for a little bit on that yes Sir thank. Representive opened. Thank you current represent Mike Holcomb up I am. I have to run some legislation I believe this last session may have been session before where you had some lots of problems with racing on the street there gathering in parking lots look like fifty cars a time doing donuts those kind of things you have a big issue with that drag racing I think blocking expressways matter fact align it in big numbers did did that legislation to help you resolve some of those problems are we still faced with the same issue there not surprisingly the registration was very effective we don't see them blocking interstates anymore doing donuts and all at you still have the occasional two cars racing but as far as the big events and then taking over parking lots and all that I think the legislation we made that a felony if you have two or more people is made a difference okay thank you Sir. Senator Davis. Senator Davis. Thank you and I know that you mention your recruiting numbers were at but I'm curious if you have any numbers for retention and and what that what turnover looks like if you're actually keeping troopers for long periods of time we are a committee what we're seeing is I think of the latest number today is we're down to five hundred eighteen troopers were about thirty six down you know we'll have a true school in February we want to get that up to you know fifty or sixty try to get a class that size but. It's just kind of generation thing we're seeing we're seeing troopers leave with two or three years and they might become a hot shot driver install windows it's you know it's no rhyme or reason to it I think you know it definitely the races made a difference plus our insurance program and a retirement system and that's what we're really pushing we're doing something different this time recruiting we're actually paying the streaming service we made a recruiting video and streaming it at an interim crease our numbers but as you talk about your major cities across Arkansas are other state police agencies you know somewhere down a hundred the state police agencies you know larger down two hundred fifty three hundred troopers so it's very difficult to in today's environment for young person want to come in the law enforcement. Yeah that's what I was kind of curious about what that looks like if they're leaving at retirement age or leaving early just a few years and if how high that is compared to previous years right I think we're losing a lot you know under five years and then usually ten years we have been for ten years I usually stay with us in case something happens right to terminate the trooper. Okay saying no more questions. I guess you for all right again thank you all for the support of law enforcement in the state police and in our troopers really appreciate the race this is historic for us and so you all go down in the history books of a the state police's of supporting us so we really do appreciate your support for our agency thank you we appreciate you all. Next on the agenda is the game fish. Director both your brakeman current kernel had a lot of people with them to help out and you can by yourself. Yes Sir I'm fine so today I appreciate the offer from the colonel believe some of those guys of for me but yeah only only good things to talk about today. All right so I'm also do with the Director of the Arkansas gamefish Commission and up appreciative of the time to be here with you all today what we're to cover just a handful of things the first is kind of our FY twenty two year in review our newest strategic plan for the agency natural state tomorrow and also what hunting season looks like going forward it was really good to see a handful of you all at an event that we did on July twentieth at Robinson we wanted to do an event highlighting our annual report and also natural state tomorrow related to show you all our conservation partners and the members of the public that were there the return on investment that Arkansans had in the Arkansas game and fish commission and to and FY twenty two and pairing that with natural state tomorrow that we are as ambitious as we are accountable so in FY twenty two we were proud to we were proud originally six hundred thousand people through our education division we added eleven hundred acres to beryl Anthony wildlife management area in south Arkansas and five hundred and fifty acres to macro Madison wildlife management area in northwest Arkansas we we produced and released a shocking twelve point five million fish throughout the state through our hatchery system we turn the page on our on our Greentree road force these are household names like by me hurricane lake wildlife management area Dave Dawson Black River and we did this not only by completing the first phase of a major renovation effort at her again we did that on the southern GTR there and to a lot of people's surprise we did it ahead of schedule and on budget. And we also turn the page by by announcing publicly our desire and our plan to more proactively manage water levels on the G. two yards going forward until we can undertake the comprehensive renovation efforts that that that we need we help the your clubs throughout the state manage the quality of their deer herds representing one point three million acres of quality deer management we certified every single game I fish for us that we had through a third party for two reasons one to help us ensure that we're managing these for us to the best little possible but also to have some third party accountability looking over our shoulder so that so that we can show the public that we're doing exactly that we open up to new shooting ranges in Arkansas a partnership range of the city Warren and another partnership range with the city of Jonesborough and then just last month we announced a competitive or a fee to build our flagship shooting facility in northwest Arkansas. Of we increase public access to more than four thousand acres of water fell opportunity in the eastern part of these of in the eastern part of Arkansas through a program that we call W. rice this is a program funded by the federal government we receive national awards on that uses federal funding to pay private landowners to open up the rice fields for public access. and then we are what we are proud to say that we increase our own law enforcement compensation by fifteen percent across the board and this was directly connected to us seating the largest re recruiting class that we've ever had with twenty one cadets we leverage over five million dollars in external funding that does not include one point two million dollars raised by the Arkansas game and fish Foundation and that allowed us to manage three point eight million acres throughout the state at a cost to our Kansans of twenty five dollars per acre. So looking forward to what we call natural state tomorrow our long term vision for the Arkansas game and fish commission the the best way to sum it up is habitat first and people always so what does that look like played out on the landscape we want to create a culture of measurement and accountability and high performance within the Arkansas game and fish commission. Rather than viewing how we how we manage lands and waters through a lens of what we think we can get done this year we want to look five ten years down the road and in a very detailed way articulate where we want to be we want to divide our state into conservation opportunity areas articulate what desired habitat conditions look like there and and do we want a budget and execute in a long term and measurable way we want to add five thousand acres to our wildlife management areas system throughout the state we will restore thirty thousand acres to what we call desired force conditions of for prime habitat how we can undertake that. We're going to create a private lands division within the Arkansas game and fish commission we have a right now non private lands biologist that that fall under wildlife management division. and we would like to elevate that when you just look at the number of counties that we have in Arkansas seventy five and you do some very simple Marine Corps math you can figure out that that's about eight counties for one private lands biologist. Our neighbor of North in Missouri they have about about fifty five to sixty private lands biologist why are private land so important conservation in Arkansas the reason for that's to full one because ninety percent of the state is privately owned so if we attain absolute perfection in conservation management we will have only been successful on ten percent of the landscape and the other reason is that the number one thing for healthy public lands is healthy private lands. We're up we're also going to create a for recreational shooting division about the opportunity the past year to travel all over the state and everybody wants more from the Arkansas game and fish commission the thing that people want. More of the most badly is shooting access and so we've operated ranges throughout the state for decades and will continue to do that and partnerships with cities and with counties but we need to elevate our public shooting access in in Arkansas one to highlight the connection between conservation and hunting and also to help raise that next generation of safe and responsible hunters. we're going to conduct an agency wide infrastructure reset to look at where our facilities are and how old they are and whether these be a water control structures or ways or even buildings whether in the right part of the state performing at the level that we want them to. And then lastly in a very real way we're going to expand public access even if this is of of. You know bank fishing access at lakes and and ponds throughout the state or adding more acreage more access areas to our wildlife management areas in a way that does not in an undue way increase our our long term infrastructure needs. so lastly what is hunting season look like this year I should have said at the beginning I brought some some handouts here we have copies of our annual report and natural state tomorrow and we also have The New hunting season two thousand twenty two two thousand twenty three guidebook we did have a rig cycle this year and the most of the major changes rex wide revolve around bears of as many of you know Arkansas used to be known as the bear state we had one of the nation's healthiest populations of of of black bear and then you look back at the early nineteen hundreds we think there are less than a hundred it's then in the fifties and the sixties we at the Arkansas game and fish commission in partnership with the fish Wildlife Service we re introduced the black bear in the Ozarks and the Washita mountains open up our first hunting season in the eighties and the black bear is alive and well so we are going to move bear season up by seven days compared to where it's been in in years past in the Ozarks and the washer toss and we're very happy to say that we are going to the to open a bear season in south Arkansas of for the first time ever so we're very excited about that we did move water fallacies and back by one week but that will not take effect until next year. A but all of that along with their annual report and natural state tomorrow Office of handouts of here but they are also available on our website and that concludes my reports under. You just kind of request a little bit on what you're going to allow me to check yes so by me to wildlife management area is a thirty three thousand acre wildlife management area in Southeast Arkansas but what it's known for is the seventeen thousand acres of what we call GTRs Greentree reservoirs and these are It is very much kind of the crown jewel of our water fell opportunities in Arkansas you can just take a drive through the Humphrey area of and you can see that this isn't just Arkansas treasure is a national treasure. there's people from all over the world come hunt there and there's lots of folks from Louisiana Texas Oklahoma Alabama Mississippi that own property around by me to because it it it is the world's best G. G. are flooded timber dot com of the the problem with by media and our other GTRs is they were not used for Act production around the turn of the of the century because they were natural drainage points right they just couldn't be cleared and far back then like they could now so we inherited these GTRs because. There is nothing better else to do with them so then we took that one step further and beginning in the fifties and the sixties we added the infrastructure necessary to artificially hold water on them during duck season. Give us for from the fifties and the sixties to now you know ten fifteen twenty inch rain events in April may June and July these are things that happen every year now and so years of of artificially holding water on the GTRs to include by me to has it has place an incredible toll on the health of the red oaks there so we've been talking about this for a long time even when I was a kid that we've got to do something about by me to about a Donaldson and so to answer your questions Senator on by a meetup we've requested fifteen million dollars in our profundity. That will help us accelerate our renovation of of that wildlife management area of that fifteen million dollars is sorely needed and essentially what we'll do with the renovation is we will take a hard look at what infrastructure is there what levees are there and how do we pass more water through through the wildlife management area so that when we can drain water all right or when we need to drain water that we can This is also directly connected to the by me to irrigation project if you just look at the little by me to river it floods through it flows through the wildlife management area we have one water and we have one water control structure that holds water there and then it'll go downstream to like the rate L. pump station and the over arching goal of with us and with AG and with the court is with the irrigation project to increase the surface water opportunities there through farmers so of the most difficult thing about by me to is two things one it's treasured by so many people this isn't just about duck hunters but it's also about the economic impact that that just that one wildlife management area brings to Southeast Arkansas every single year and the other reason is it's a thirty three thousand acre wildlife management area huge but is fed by a watershed of seven hundred and fifty thousand acres so so anytime it rains in Conway or Greenbrier or Jacksonville all that water at some point will find its way to our by me wildlife management area of but with your for funding of we should have the resources to undertake it we just need the weather to cooperate so we can keep the tree's hanging on and so we can get the work done that we need to. Thanks thank you Senator Ingram. Also one of the the land office that you what would be typical services that they would all sure so our private lands biologist or kind of your one stop shop for anything conservation wise that you want to do with your private lands they will do anything from help you with predator management to feral hog management they'll come in and write a management plan for you if you want to manage for pollinators it's going to manage for water fell if you under manage for deer and they also serve as an important liaison between us and in our CS. and in R. C. S. is the federal agency that helps landowners get the federal farm bill benefits to help manage your land for conservation purposes. Yes Sir. Senator Johnson director you said you were going to evaluate those structures. So what's the dollar amount. Four well that it's difficult to articulate a total dollar amount until we have the light our data and the hydrology to see how many feet of this levy need to come out how big this water control structure needs to be whether we just need to pull the water control structure out completely but we think for D. for by me to just the ballpark probably runs for fifteen to twenty million dollars. So you're asking for the funds before you ever do the evaluation. Yes and no we don't have a a hard concrete dollar amount but we do know from the lessons that we've learned at her can lake wildlife management area that we renovated the first phase we know what work needs to be done additionally the health of the red oaks there is at such a point where we don't know how many more wet seasons we have left and so we think the the total construction period if the weather cooperates could be four to six years. If we lose the redux then we're talking about an eighty year turnaround. To the track in there and tore down the structure you and drain it you wouldn't have to worry about to read tried. Yes Sir. Thank you. Yes Sir and if I could just add to that if we were purely worried about the red oaks R. drive image issue but we're not we're we're concerned about managing the health of the red oaks and concerning what's best for four ducks four red card for squirrels four four four dear we're concerned with a natural sources and we're also concerned with our outdoorsman. And and so the sure we we can go in there and we can start ripping things out but it if we're never able to hold water there again there would be lots of folks all throughout the state very animator better. Any other questions. Seeing none. Thank you thank you Sir. J. Hendren said any other business. Nine this meeting is adjourned.