News Release Manager

“Duck blinds must go,” says Corps of Engineers

Published March 17, 2004
MEMPHIS, Tenn., March 17, 2004 – Duck hunters and other sportsmen who have blinds and other
structures on U.S. Government property within the Wildlife Mitigation Feature of the St. Francis Basin
Project, located in Clay, Greene, Craighead and Poinsette counties in Arkansas have until June 1, 2004, to remove them.

A Public Notice published by the Memphis District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, states in part,
“The United States considers these duck blinds and other structures to be illegally placed upon its
property and does hereby give notice that all such structures will be subject to removal by the United
States on or after June 1, 2004.”

“Federal laws prohibit placing private structures of any kind on Federal property,” Harris
Vandergriff, chief of the Memphis District’s Real Estate Division said. “Questionable conduct by some
sportsmen in recent years has forced us to begin actively enforcing these laws.”

Most of the mitigation feature is in 41 tracts of land located adjacent to the St. Francis River. Another
three tracts are east of Corning, Ark., adjacent to the Black River. The total area of mitigation feature is slightly more than 12,647 acres.

Questions regarding the location of these mitigation feature tracts may be directed to Realty
Specialist Chrystal Spokane at (901) 544-3604.
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Release no. 04-08