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Chronic wasting disease
Arkansas CWD Management Zone
32 counties, two tiers and the rules for deer and elk carcasses, feeding, testing and imports for 2026-27.
Photo: Phil Slattery (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Which Arkansas counties are in the CWD zone
The CWD Management Zone for 2026-27 takes in 32 counties. Boone, Carroll, Madison, Newton and Searcy form Tier 1, the same five counties that make up the core elk zone; the other 27 counties are Tier 2. Sevier and Grant joined the zone for 2026-27, and the AGFC map layer still shows the earlier 30-county zone, so this page follows the guidebook list. Tiers were read from the shading of the guidebook map.
CWD first detected in Arkansas in February 2016; detected in or near 32 counties (the CWD Management Zone list). Surveillance in elk since 1998 and deer statewide since 2002. Deer Zones 1, 2 and 6 sit wholly inside the zone, and many other zones are split by it, so the county a deer is taken in decides which rules apply.
Sources: CWD pages (Arkansas Game and Fish Commission); checked November 9, 2026.
The 32 CWD counties by tier
Each county links to its own page with deer zones, harvest and public land.
| County | Tier | Deer zones | Added 2026 | Deer 2025-26 | Elk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boone | Tier 1 | 2, 3 | 1,638 | Core | |
| Carroll | Tier 1 | 1, 2 | 1,053 | Core | |
| Madison | Tier 1 | 1, 2, 6 | 2,975 | Core | |
| Newton | Tier 1 | 2, 6 | 1,211 | Core | |
| Searcy | Tier 1 | 2, 6 | 1,931 | Core | |
| Ashley | Tier 2 | 12, 16A | 3,497 | ||
| Baxter | Tier 2 | 2, 3 | 2,726 | ||
| Benton | Tier 2 | 1 | 3,335 | ||
| Bradley | Tier 2 | 12 | 4,132 | ||
| Cleburne | Tier 2 | 6, 8 | 2,283 | ||
| Conway | Tier 2 | 6, 7, 8 | 2,211 | ||
| Craighead | Tier 2 | 4, 5 | 697 | ||
| Crawford | Tier 2 | 6, 7 | 2,921 | ||
| Franklin | Tier 2 | 6, 7 | 2,095 | ||
| Grant | Tier 2 | 12 | Yes | 4,007 | |
| Independence | Tier 2 | 3, 6, 8 | 3,019 | ||
| Jackson | Tier 2 | 4, 8, 9 | 692 | ||
| Johnson | Tier 2 | 6, 7, 8 | 2,877 | ||
| Logan | Tier 2 | 7, 11 | 2,421 | ||
| Marion | Tier 2 | 2, 3 | 2,534 | ||
| Mississippi | Tier 2 | 4, 17 | 250 | ||
| Pope | Tier 2 | 2, 6, 7, 8 | 3,485 | ||
| Randolph | Tier 2 | 3, 4 | 2,340 | ||
| Scott | Tier 2 | 7, 11 | 2,036 | ||
| Sebastian | Tier 2 | 6, 7, 11 | 1,713 | ||
| Sevier | Tier 2 | 13, 14 | Yes | 2,174 | |
| Sharp | Tier 2 | 3 | 2,736 | ||
| Stone | Tier 2 | 2, 6 | 2,161 | ||
| Union | Tier 2 | 12 | 5,486 | ||
| Van Buren | Tier 2 | 2, 6, 8 | 2,559 | ||
| Washington | Tier 2 | 1, 6 | 4,023 | ||
| Yell | Tier 2 | 7, 11 | 3,066 |
CWD rules for deer and elk hunters
Three rules change at the zone line. Antler restrictions disappear, so any buck is legal inside the zone. Feeding wildlife becomes unlawful except for the listed exceptions, chief among them bait for deer and elk on private land from September 1 to December 31 during an open season. And carcasses move by tier: an intact Tier 1 deer may travel only between Tier 1 counties, a Tier 2 deer only within Tier 2 or into Tier 1, and anything leaving the zone must be reduced to low-risk parts.
| Rule | What AGFC prints |
|---|---|
| Inside the zone | Inside the zone any buck may be harvested (antler restrictions removed); feeding wildlife unlawful except listed exceptions (bait for deer/elk on private land September 1-December 31 in open season); carcass movement limited by tier. |
| Carcass movement by tier | Intact carcasses from a Tier 1 county move freely between Tier 1 counties; only low-risk parts into Tier 2 or outside the zone. Tier 2 carcasses move between Tier 2 counties or into Tier 1; only low-risk parts outside the zone. |
| Parts from outside Arkansas | No importing or possessing any part of a deer, elk, moose, caribou or other cervid taken outside Arkansas except low-risk parts: deboned meat, antlers/clean skull plates or skulls, cleaned teeth, finished taxidermy, hides and tanned products (deer taken between the Mississippi River levees in Tennessee and Mississippi excluded). |
| Statewide rules | Rehabilitating deer or elk is unlawful. All elk harvested statewide must be checked and sampled (call 833-356-0824). |
| Free testing | Free CWD testing: refrigerated drop-off containers (head with about 6 inches of neck), taxidermists, AGFC regional offices (call ahead). |
| Bear bait in the zone | Inside the CWD zone before September 1, bear bait is limited to dog/cat food, pastries/breads, cooking oils and grease, non-wildlife meat scraps, popped popcorn, fish. |
Sources: CWD rules and baiting (Arkansas Game and Fish Commission); checked November 9, 2026.
Deer zones that cross the CWD zone
Deer zone lines and the CWD zone do not match, so a zone can be wholly inside, partly inside or wholly outside. The table lists every private land deer zone with at least one CWD county; inside those counties the CWD rules replace the zone antler rule.
| Deer zone | CWD overlap | CWD counties in the zone |
|---|---|---|
| Zone 1 | Whole zone | Benton, Carroll, Madison, Washington |
| Zone 2 | Whole zone | Baxter, Boone, Carroll, Madison, Marion, Newton, Pope, Searcy, Stone, Van Buren |
| Zone 3 | Part | Baxter, Boone, Independence, Marion, Randolph, Sharp |
| Zone 4 | Part | Craighead, Jackson, Mississippi, Randolph |
| Zone 5 | Part | Craighead |
| Zone 6 | Whole zone | Cleburne, Conway, Crawford, Franklin, Independence, Johnson, Madison, Newton, Pope, Searcy, Sebastian, Stone, Van Buren, Washington |
| Zone 7 | Part | Conway, Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Logan, Pope, Scott, Sebastian, Yell |
| Zone 8 | Part | Cleburne, Conway, Independence, Jackson, Johnson, Pope, Van Buren |
| Zone 9 | Part | Jackson |
| Zone 11 | Part | Logan, Scott, Sebastian, Yell |
| Zone 12 | Part | Ashley, Bradley, Grant, Union |
| Zone 13 | Part | Sevier |
| Zone 14 | Part | Sevier |
| Zone 16A | Part | Ashley |
| Zone 17 | Part | Mississippi |
Other Arkansas zone pages beside the CWD rules
Bear zones
Zones and quotas
Spring turkey zones
Zones and counties
Alligator zones
Quotas and nights
Elk hunting
Core counties, permits
WMA permit hunts
Parsed WMA hunts
WMA rules
Bag, blinds, hours
Draws and permits
Application windows
Legal shooting hours
County seat times
White-tailed buck standing alert in golden grass with its tail raisedPhoto: Shenandoah National Park (Public Domain Mark 1.0)
Five white-tailed deer grazing in a winter field in Baxter CountyPhoto: Gordon (CC BY-SA 2.0)
White-tailed deer and a spotted fawn touching noses on a green lawnPhoto: Lisa Zins (CC BY 2.0)
CWD Management Zone questions
Which 32 counties make up the CWD Management Zone this season?
Ashley, Baxter, Benton, Boone, Bradley, Carroll, Cleburne, Conway, Craighead, Crawford, Franklin, Grant, Independence, Jackson, Johnson, Logan, Madison, Marion, Mississippi, Newton, Pope, Randolph, Scott, Searcy, Sebastian, Sevier, Sharp, Stone, Union, Van Buren, Washington and Yell.
What is the difference between Tier 1 and Tier 2?
Intact carcasses from a Tier 1 county move freely between Tier 1 counties; only low-risk parts into Tier 2 or outside the zone. Tier 2 carcasses move between Tier 2 counties or into Tier 1; only low-risk parts outside the zone.
Are antler restrictions lifted in the CWD zone?
Yes. Inside the CWD Management Zone any buck may be harvested.
Is feeding deer allowed inside the CWD Management Zone?
Feeding wildlife is unlawful inside the zone except the listed exceptions, including bait for deer and elk on private land from September 1 to December 31 during an open season.
What parts of an out-of-state deer may come into Arkansas?
No importing or possessing any part of a deer, elk, moose, caribou or other cervid taken outside Arkansas except low-risk parts: deboned meat, antlers/clean skull plates or skulls, cleaned teeth, finished taxidermy, hides and tanned products (deer taken between the Mississippi River levees in Tennessee and Mississippi excluded).
Where does AGFC take deer heads for free CWD testing?
Free CWD testing: refrigerated drop-off containers (head with about 6 inches of neck), taxidermists, AGFC regional offices (call ahead).
Which counties were added for 2026-27?
Sevier and Grant, both in Tier 2.
When was CWD first found in Arkansas?
CWD first detected in Arkansas in February 2016; detected in or near 32 counties (the CWD Management Zone list). Surveillance in elk since 1998 and deer statewide since 2002.
Do elk need CWD samples?
Call 833-356-0824 immediately; check online within 12 hours; present the head to an AGFC biologist for a CWD sample.