Shirey Bay Camping Area

public land records

Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.

Shirey Bay Rainey Brake WMA designated camping area, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. LEGAL BASIS -- AGFC 2026-27 General WMA Regulations, agfc.com/regulations/general-wma-regulations/ read 2026-08-16, verbatim: "Unless otherwise noted under a specific WMA, camping is limited to no more than 14 consecutive days and must be in a designated camping area." Also: "It is unlawful to camp or use any campsite for more than 30 days total during one calendar year"; camps "may not remain unoccupied for more than 48 hours"; "Creating a disturbance after 10 p.m. is not allowed"; it is unlawful to possess alcoholic beverages on Commission-controlled WMAs. FIRE: you may not "burn any noncombustible materials in campsites", "burn wood, brush or grass outside of designated campsites", or "leave a fire unattended or allow one to escape from control". THE 'UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED' CLAUSE IS LOAD-BEARING -- individual WMAs override these numbers, so read that WMA's own page at agfc.com/wma/ before publishing a stay limit. ACCESS PERMIT, NOT A CAMPING FEE: AGFC's general WMA regulations state "All campers 16 and older on AGFC-owned WMAs must have a valid hunting or fishing license or a WMA/Lake Conservation Permit ($10.50)." That is a right-of-access permit for the whole area. AGFC publishes NO separate per-night camping charge for these sites, and its own GIS marks this point 'No Fee Site' -- which is why fee=0. I did NOT open the AGFC page for Shirey Bay Rainey Brake WMA this fire -- only the general WMA regulation above and AGFC's GIS support this row. Read agfc.com/wma for that area's own camping paragraph, stay limit and seasonal closures before publishing. Hunting seasons run on these areas. Check agfc.com/wma for current season dates, permit hunts and any closure before you go, and wear hunter orange in season. AGFC's own 'last_verified_date' for this point is 2016-01-27 -- the agency has not re-checked it since, so treat it as possibly stale. COORDINATE PROVENANCE: the latitude and longitude on this row are AGFC's own, taken from the public ArcGIS service https://gisec2.agfc.com/arcgis/rest/services/GIS/AGFC_DATA/MapServer layer 1 ('Public Use Facilities'), queried 2026-08-16 for ftype IN ('RVs Allowed - No Hookups','Tents Only','RVs Allowed - Hookups','RVs Allowed - Hookups and Dump'). This is the agency's mapped facility point, NOT a field visit and NOT a geocode. The fee flag on this row is AGFC's own 'fdescrip' column reading 'No Fee Site'. AGFC does not publish per-site facility detail, so the presence of a table, fire ring, toilet or trash service is UNKNOWN and is not claimed here. NO WATER SOURCE IS CLAIMED -- treat any lake, river or bayou nearby as NON-POTABLE. AGFC's facility type for this point is 'Tents Only'. Nearest town: Lynn ~5.5 mi. 'Nearest town' is STRAIGHT-LINE distance to the nearest OpenStreetMap place=city/town/village and is NOT a driving distance; in the Delta bottoms and the Ouachitas the road in can be far longer. Ingest 2026-08-16. STATUS=pending: this is a lead for review, not published. --- NIGHT-SHIFT REVIEW 2026-08-18 (reviewer=nightshift-verified) --- RE-CHECKED 2026-08-18. I re-queried AGFC's live ArcGIS layer 1 today -- the source that produced this row -- and this point is unchanged: same objectid, same name, same 'No Fee Site' flag, same facility type, and its latitude/longitude match this row to within a metre, so nothing has moved or been retired. Its 'Associated WMA' field still names this WMA and its owner field still reads AGFC. I ALSO OPENED THE WMA'S OWN PAGE TODAY, https://www.agfc.com/wma/shirey-bay-rainey-brake-wma/, which the original note said had not been checked. It has an explicit 'Camping' heading which says verbatim: "Camping is permitted in designated areas only. Many primitive campsites are on both sides of the area. Mosquitoes and biting flies are a major nuisance to campers during warm weather. Large numbers of campers occupy the campsites every fall at the beginning of squirrel season. Campers enjoy the combination of squirrel hunting and fishing in the area lakes or in Black River" -- the WMA's own confirmation that its designated camping areas are real and used. WHAT THE PAGE ADDS: 11,308 acres in Lawrence County, divided by the Black River -- about 3,000 acres on the east side near Portia, 7,000-plus across the river to the west near Lynn. (The same page ALSO says "This 10,711 acres WMA is located southwest of Walnut Ridge on Highway 25 west" -- AGFC's own two acreage figures disagree, so do not publish a precise acreage.) "Over half the area is subject to overflow by the Black River with at least one flood event per year on the average", and "The Shirey Bay Rainey Brake Flood prone region may be closed when an emergency exists due to high water. For information, refer to the current regulations guide or call the Jonesboro Regional office." Also verbatim: "Mosquitoes and biting flies are a nuisance and insect repellent is a necessity. Poison ivy grows profusely in all wooded areas. Venomous snakes including timber rattlesnakes, copperheads and cottonmouths are abundant." And: "Valid Hunting or Fishing License or a WMA/Lake Conservation Permit is Required for All Users." Access is shut 2-4 a.m. Nov. 22-Jan. 31 and Feb. 7-8 EXCEPT in designated campsites, parking areas, boat launch ramps and boat staging areas -- being in the campsite is fine. NOT A DUPLICATE: I compared this row's coordinates against every camp we already publish or have approved nationwide and the nearest is well over half a mile away. VERDICT: approved.

US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.

On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.