The commission decide at its August meeting whether to approve the proposal, which calls for hunting Sept. 1-5 and Sept. 29-Oct. 8 in the northwest quarter of Arkansas, the Ozark Mountains and the Arkansas River Valley.

A hunt Sept. 1-15 is also proposed for the southwest quarter of the state, the Ouachita Mountain area.

Thirty-five counties are in the two designated hunt areas. The commission staff proposed a daily limit of five Canada geese.

Also Thursday, the commission approved a natural gas lease on 2,500 acres of the Gulf Mountain Wildlife Management Area in Van Buren County that was expected to produce an upfront windfall of close to $3 million.

The lease is to Chesapeake Exploration Co., a firm with major activities in the Fayetteville Shale natural gas play in North-Central Arkansas.

For the past few years, Game and Fish has authorized a special Canada goose hunt in Northwest Arkansas for about nine days in late September and early October, but with a daily limit of two birds.