Editing Arkansas (section)

===Sports and recreation===
[[File:Wapanocca National Wildlife Refuge Crittenden County AR 052.jpg|thumb|The flooded, forested [[Upland and lowland (freshwater ecology)#Lowland|bottomlands]] of east Arkansas attract wintering waterfowl.]]
Team sports and especially collegiate football are important to Arkansans. College football in Arkansas began from humble beginnings, when the [[University of Arkansas]] first fielded a team in [[1894 Arkansas Cardinals football team|1894]]. Over the years, many Arkansans have looked to [[Arkansas Razorbacks football]] as the public image of the state.<ref>{{ cite web |title= Retirement of an Arkansas Newsmaker |first=John |last=Brummett |date= January 13, 2008 |publisher= Arkansas News Bureau |work=Pine Bluff Commercial |location= Pine Bluff, Arkansas |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=NewsBank&docref=news/11E2C4D6FB3F6F48 |access-date= January 16, 2021 |via=Newsbank }}</ref> Although the University of Arkansas is based in [[Fayetteville, Arkansas|Fayetteville]], the Razorbacks have always played at least one game per season at [[War Memorial Stadium (Arkansas)|War Memorial Stadium]] in [[Little Rock, Arkansas|Little Rock]] in an effort to keep fan support in central and south Arkansas.

[[Arkansas State University]] became the second [[NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision]] (FBS) (then known as Division I-A) team in the state in 1992 after playing in lower divisions for nearly two decades. The two schools have never played each other, due to the University of Arkansas's policy of not playing intrastate games.<ref>{{cite news |title= Arkansas matchup is not likely soon |publisher= [[Sun Herald]] |date= July 20, 2003 |page= 9B }}</ref> Two other campuses of the [[University of Arkansas System]] are Division I members. The [[University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff]] is a member of the [[Southwestern Athletic Conference]], a league whose members all play football in the second-level [[Football Championship Subdivision]] (FCS). The [[University of Arkansas at Little Rock]], known for sports purposes as Little Rock, joined the [[Ohio Valley Conference]] in 2022 after playing in the [[Sun Belt Conference]]; unlike many other OVC members, it does not field [[List of NCAA Division I non-football programs|a football program]]. The state's other Division{{spaces}}I member is the [[University of Central Arkansas]] (UCA), which joined the [[ASUN Conference]] in 2021 after leaving the FCS [[Southland Conference]]. Because the ASUN does not plan to start FCS football competition until at least 2022, UCA football is competing in the [[Western Athletic Conference]] as part of a formal football partnership between the two leagues. Seven of Arkansas's smaller colleges play in [[NCAA Division&nbsp;II]], with six in the [[Great American Conference]] and one in the [[Lone Star Conference]]. Two other small Arkansas colleges compete in [[NCAA Division&nbsp;III]], in which [[athletic scholarship]]s are prohibited. High school football also began to grow in Arkansas in the early 20th century.

Baseball runs deep in Arkansas and was popular before the state hosted [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) [[spring training]] in [[Hot Springs, Arkansas|Hot Springs]] from 1886 to the 1920s. Two [[Minor League Baseball|minor league]] teams are based in the state. The [[Arkansas Travelers]] play at [[Dickey–Stephens Park]] in [[North Little Rock, Arkansas|North Little Rock]], and the [[Northwest Arkansas Naturals]] play in [[Arvest Ballpark]] in [[Springdale, Arkansas|Springdale]]. Both teams compete in [[Double-A Central]].

Hunting continues in the state. The state created the [[Arkansas Game and Fish Commission]] in 1915 to regulate hunting.<ref>{{cite web |last= Griffee |first= Carol |title= Odyssey of Survival, A History of the Arkansas Conservation Sales Tax |page= 10 |url= http://www.teaming.com/sites/default/files/REPORT%20Odyssey%20of%20Survival-%20A%20History%20of%20the%20AR%20Conservation%20Sales%20Tax.pdf |access-date= September 16, 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130117082707/http://www.teaming.com/sites/default/files/REPORT%20Odyssey%20of%20Survival-%20A%20History%20of%20the%20AR%20Conservation%20Sales%20Tax.pdf |archive-date= January 17, 2013 |url-status= dead }}</ref> Today a significant portion of Arkansas's population participates in hunting [[duck]] in the [[Mississippi flyway]] and [[deer]] across the state.<ref name="Sutherlin 1996, p. 164">Sutherlin 1996, p. 164.</ref> [[Ducks Unlimited]] has called [[Stuttgart, Arkansas]], "the epicenter of the duck universe".<ref>{{ cite journal |last=Bourne |first=Hampton |title= Calling Accents |url=https://www.ducks.org/hunting/duck-calling/calling-accents |date=September–October 2022 |page= 76 |journal= [[Ducks Unlimited]] |location= Memphis, Tennessee |oclc=1774718 |issn=0012-6950 |access-date= September 12, 2022 }}</ref> Millions of acres of public land are available for both bow and modern gun hunters.<ref name="Sutherlin 1996, p. 164"/>

Fishing has always been popular in Arkansas,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hanggi |first=Sam |date=2024-03-15 |title=What I Learned Fishing in Arkansas |url=https://www.wired2fish.com/fishing-tips/what-i-learned-fishing-in-arkansas |access-date=2024-08-31 |website=Wired2Fish |language=en-US}}</ref> and the sport and the state have benefited from the creation of reservoirs across the state. Following the completion of [[Norfork Dam]], the [[Norfork Tailwater]] and the [[White River (Arkansas)|White River]] have become a destination for [[trout]] fishers. Several smaller retirement communities such as [[Bull Shoals, Arkansas|Bull Shoals]], [[Hot Springs Village, Arkansas|Hot Springs Village]], and [[Fairfield Bay, Arkansas|Fairfield Bay]] have flourished due to their position on a fishing lake. The [[National Park Service]] has preserved the [[Buffalo National River]] in its natural state and fly fishers visit it annually.