There are 3 distinct bear populations in Arkansas. Two populations occupy the Ouachita and Ozark Mountains in the north and west and another resides in the bottomland hardwood forests in the southeast, primarily on and around the White River National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). The populations in the mountains resulted from a relocation program conducted from 1958 to 1968. Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) moved 254 bears from Minnesota and Manitoba, Canada into the Ouachita and Ozark Mountains. That program is considered to be the most successful restoration of a large carnivore population in the nation.

Although bears in southeastern Arkansas were excluded from the listing under the Endangered Species Act, the historic range of the Louisiana black bear does include parts of southern Arkansas. The bear population around the White River NWR is considered healthy and expanding.   Between 2000 and 2006, AGFC and the U.S. Fish and Widlife Service (FWS) translocated 48 adult females and 101 cubs from their winter dens on the White River NWR to artificial dens on the Felsenthal NWR and surrounding areas near the Louisiana border. Females from these moves have been documented producing cubs from reproducing with males already residing in the area.  Some of the translocated bears have already moved south into Louisiana, an activity that was expected as the animals establish new home ranges.

Black bears are managed as a game species in Arkansas. A hunting season for bears in the Ouachita and Ozark Mountains has been open since 1980. A quota hunt for bears living around the White River NWR has been open since 2001. While baiting bears for hunting purposes is allowed on private land and only during the season framework, feeding bears outside of those designations is illegal, with penalties of up to $1,000 in fines. The feeding law was passed to prevent conflicts related to bears associating people with food.