Exploring the Ozarks Outdoors: freshare.net

Teams from Harrisburg swept the top spots Friday and Saturday at the Arkansas Youth Shooting Sports Program championships at the Remington Gun Club. The AYSSP is sponsored by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

“It went better than ever,” said Mike Bonds, assistant chief of the AGFC Education and Outreach Division. “It was a smooth event.”

Regional competitions were held each weekend in May at the…[more]

Summertime is upon us and that means the increased use of all-terrain vehicles, or ATVs. Riding ATVs is an enjoyable recreational activity for many youths and adults, but safety should always be at the top of the summer fun list.

Research shows ATV usage is on the rise, leading to higher incidences of rider injury and mortality. Arkansas averages more than 15 ATV-related deaths every year and has…[more]

Three county teams took home the top prize in their respective categories during the spring installment of the Walk Across Arkansas competition. The three winning teams walked a total of 8,580 miles during the eight-week event.

The winning counties were Cleveland, Miller and Jefferson.

“This was the best season, yet, for the program,” says Dr. Margaret Harris, assistant professor of health/extension for the University of Arkansas,…[more]

Students from Oklahoma claimed two individual national championships and several other high standings at the National Archery in the Schools Program National Tournament May 8-9 in Louisville, Ky.

Kolt Perkins of Zaneis Elementary School near Wilson took the 6th-grade boys national championship and was the highest scoring elementary student with 292 points out of 300 and 23 bullseyes. The bullseye at the center of the target…[more]

Young people who participate in outdoor activities grow up to become adults who participate in outdoor activities, says Joshua Wright, Garland County extension agent with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.

According to a report by the Outdoor Foundation, about half of Americans in 2007 participated in outdoor activities. However, there was a decrease in youth, ages 6-17, with girls showing the greatest decrease.

Why…[more]

For the third year in a row, vendors at the Oklahoma Wildlife Expo will be offering their outdoor goods and services to sportsmen interested in the outdoors through its Outdoor Marketplace.

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’s fifth annual Oklahoma Wildlife Expo is slated for September 25-27 at the Lazy E Arena, just north of Oklahoma City. The Wildlife Department will be working with a range of organizations,…[more]

The weather has been a little unpredictable this year and we are still seeing frost warnings deep into April, but there is one undeniable fact: spring has arrived in the Ozarks. Despite gray days, color is starting to emerge everywhere. Early season flowers have begun to bloom, leaves are beginning to pop out and flowering trees are decorating hillsides.

So with that in mind, here are a few…[more]

Last weekend I took a trip to Arkansas with the good intention of getting in a little rainbow fishing. But you never quite know how the river will be and last weekend it was up high, boiling and murky, plus the wind was so strong coming through the valley that whitecaps were evident.

I use an eighteen foot jon boat with a 25 horse motor so the river…[more]

A total of 1,085 students from across the state shot 43,745 arrows April 1 at the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’s Archery in the Schools annual state shoot at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City.

Students at the state shoot came from 93 schools and competed in archery after a season of practice and competition in their respective schools as part of the Oklahoma Archery in the…[more]

Jill Szumigala had never thought of herself as Robin Hood until she competed in Missouri’s National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP) tournament March 7. Keli Smart apparently saw herself as a Superwoman, but it took NASP to make her realize that her superpowers might land her a college scholarship.

The two were among more than 5,000 shooters across the Show-Me State who are discovering that bows and…[more]