Andrew Hulsey, Fisheries Expert And Arkansas GFC Leader, Dies
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November 9, 2006
Mount Ida – Andrew H. Hulsey, a chief architect in Arkansas’
prominence in fishing, died Monday, Nov. 6, at his home in Mount
Ida. He was 83.
Hulsey was with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission from January
1952 until August 1979. He began as a fisheries biologist, moved to
chief of fisheries then was director of the agency from 1969 to
1979. He was a fisheries scientist of international renown,
pioneering or helping develop techniques and studies that made
significant impact on both sport fishing and the commercial raising
of bait fish and food fish.
Hulsey was inducted into the Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame in 2003.
He was a native of Mount Ida and a World War II veteran. When World
War II ended, Arkansas sportsmen were vocal in wanting better
hunting and fishing. Brand-new was the Arkansas Game and Fish
Commission in its present form, insulated from legislative and
gubernatorial manipulations except for budget ratification. Hulsey
followed his Marine Corps combat duty in the South Pacific with
using the GI Bill to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the
University of Arkansas, worked on AGFC-related projects while in
school then joined the agency Jan. 1, 1952, as a fisheries
biologist. He was the fisheries biologist, working under Joe Hogan,
who operated the state fish hatchery at Lonoke.
Lake Conway had just been completed, along with little Lake
Hindsville in Madison County. These were the beginnings of a system
of more than three dozen Arkansas state-owned lakes, nearly every
one with input, direction or assistance from Hulsey.
Several innovations and projects were involved, and a common thread
was the presence of Andrew H. Hulsey. The biologist was a key player
in the development of a system of fish nursery ponds, in introducing
trout into waters where cold water from dams had wiped out native
fish, in bringing striped bass to inland waters, in widespread
stocking of channel catfish to boost angling opportunities and in
management techniques for lakes to benefit fish.
Fish improvement, habitat betterment and management techniques often
came without formal approval of the commissioners, Hulsey recalled
with a smile in a 2003 interview. “A lot of times, we did things
then told them about it. One commissioner, Ben Hogan Jr., of Little
Rock, told me once, “go ahead and do these things but remember that
it’s your neck stuck out there.’”
Coinciding with Hulsey’s fish biology work was the rise of fish
farming in Arkansas. The biologist was stationed at Lonoke, a center
of aquaculture, and often was solicited for advice and guidance by
fish farmers. The use of Asiatic carp for controlling water
vegetation also developed with Hulsey’s input.
In the late 1960s, Hulsey was elevated to assistant director then
became director in 1969 when Hugh Hackler resigned. A
behind-the-scenes factor was Governor Winthrop Rockefeller’s
insistence that a biology professional was needed to head the Game
and Fish Commission.
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