LITTLE ROCK — Surrounded by family and friends of the late civic leader William E. "Bill" Clark, President Bill Clinton and Little Rock City Director Dean Kumpuris today unveiled the plans for the thirteen (13) acre William E. Clark Presidential Park Wetlands Project, which will be a lasting memorial to the Little Rock businessman, philanthropist, and outdoorsman who died earlier this year.
The Clark Wetlands Project involves the restoration of riverfront wetlands adjacent to the Clinton Presidential Park and Riverfront Park in downtown Little Rock. It is designed to showcase wildlife and river life in a restored wetlands habitat for the education and enjoyment of the hundreds of thousands of visitors each year to the Clinton Presidential Park and Library and Little Rock's River Market District.
The William E. Clark Presidential Park Wetlands Project is the result of a national collaboration between The Conservation Fund, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, and the William J. Clinton Foundation. Also participating in the Clark Wetlands Project are Audubon Arkansas, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, The Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, the City Parks Conservancy, and the City of Little Rock.
The Wetlands is named for William E. "Bill" Clark, an avid outdoorsman and strong business, civic, charitable, and political leader in Arkansas for over three decades. The Clark and Dillard families created one of the South's largest construction firms, CDI, of which Bill served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Bill built his personal and professional reputation nationally as CDI successfully completed award-winning projects from coast to coast.
As the builder of the Clinton Presidential Library, Bill Clark and CDI turned the attention of the world to Little Rock for innovation, craftsmanship, skill, and quality in completing perhaps the most intriguing, efficient, environmentally-sensitive Presidential Library in our nation's history.