The Arkansas Hawking Association Annual Apprenticeship Workshop August 2026!
The Annual Arkansas Hawking Association Apprentice Workshop will be held on August 8, 2026, at the Whitt Stephens Jr. Central Arkansas Nature Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. The activities and presentations will begin at 9 am and wrap up around 3 pm. This is a great opportunity for first and second-year apprentices, as well as new wannabes to get exposure to equipment making, raptor health awareness, trapping techniques, and getting to know seasoned, experience falconers that are active within the AHA for potential sponsorship or assistance in acquiring sponsorship.

Instructional, hands-on activities planned include leash, jess, and cuff making, coroplast giant hood making, trap displays and Q&A, and Dutch hood making. Additionally, presentations on raptor health, condition awareness of newly trapped birds, back-pack transmitter outfitting, and tail bell installation will be squeezed in where and when possible. A more detailed itinerary will be provided on the website closer to the date so you can see what you may miss if you cannot attend all day. Likewise, updates and commentary of the event can be viewed on the message board under the Apprentice section to keep up with the latest (if you already have an AHA membership and user ID).

Additional opportunities will include an apprentice only raffle (for apprentices with registered sponsors) and access to AHA merchandise like hats, t-shirts, decals, and patches. I hope to see all members attend for this pre-trapping season get-together and especially hope to see all new, first, and second-year apprentices to learn and contribute to one another. See you there!

The Arkansas Hawking Association is Pleased to Announce Its Small Grants Program

Purpose

The Arkansas Hawking Association (AHA) Small Grants Program (SGP) is designed to encourage and provide financial support to a broad range of projects that in some way contribute to our knowledge of falconry and its resources, including the biology, management and rehabilitation of injured raptors flown in the sport.

Scope

The AHA Small Grants Program considers proposals for projects that investigate aspects of falconry, including: its legality, equipment and technology; the raptors flown in falconry, including their natural history, conservation, captive management, training, veterinary medicine and breeding, and game species hunted by falconers.

Funding may be requested for a diverse array of expenses including those associated with: biological or medical research; building electronic databases and web sites; publication and dissemination costs; materials and supplies associated with raptor rehabilitation facilities, program development/management for raptor education; other aspects of data presentation like travel, developing new or improved technology or equipment; conservation, education and outreach.

Time Table/ Awards Schedule

  • Deadline for receipt of proposals: Proposals must be post marked or time stamped by April 30th of each year.
  • Notify applicants that proposal is under review: May 15th Review of proposals: May 15th through June 1st.
  • SGP Committee notifies AHA President of winners at Annual AHA Summer Picnic the first weekend in June.
  • Letters to recipients will go out at this time.
  • AHA will send funds to recipients before June 30 of the calendar award year.

Proposal Guidelines

Only proposals for projects within the State of Arkansas will be considered. All proposals must be post marked or time stamped (e-mail) no later than April 30th.

Projects are usually funded for and completed in one year. However, projects lasting longer than one year will also be considered.

There is no minimum amount for granting requests. Proposals are rarely funded for more than $1000. An itemized budget should include an explanation of how expenses not covered by this grant (if any) will be or hope to be met. No administrative overhead will be considered for funding.

All proposals should include a statement of reporting. This statement should at least include a summary report of findings or goals accomplished to be presented to the AHA SGP Committee and on the AHA website.

Proposals should include the following:
  • Title
  • Contact information for the Principal Investigator/Project Manager: full name, title, address, phone, fax, e-mail address, institutional organization or affiliation (if any).
  • Accounting: If the proposal is funded, to whom or to which organization would the check be made payable, and where should it be mailed? Provide account number information (if applicable).
  • Background information (if applicable)
  • Purpose of Study
  • Statement of the project's eligibility detailing its relevance or application to falconry
  • Goals and objectives
  • Methods
  • Expected Results or Products (how information or products will be shared or disseminated and to whom; include a statement of reporting).
  • Budget
  • Time Line
  • Literature Cited (optional)


A single hard copy of the proposal should be mailed via USPS to:

Arkansas Hawking Association Small Grants Program
Attn: Mrs. Kenley Money
2 Greeson Cove
Maumelle, AR 72113

Reminder: Deadline for proposals is April 30th of each year.