Editorial

Save this bridge

And the view that goes with it

As the week came to a close, all was set to go for the rally last Saturday at the base of the historic White River Bridge in Clarendon, and just about every dignitary in the state had signed on to support the fast-growing movement. And why not? What's not to like? For this ambitious project combines the attractions of history, nature and state and local pride.

To quote Mayor Jim Stimson III of Clarendon, "There is tremendous enthusiasm among our citizens to save this bridge." It had been scheduled for demolition, but even the state's highway department had the good sense to change its mind.

The 85-year-old bridge may get a whole new lease on life--and the prospect has drawn cheers from people around the state and the world, including Governor Asa Hutchinson and the state's Department of Arkansas Heritage. The result should be the longest pedestrian and bicycle bridge in the world over some of the most interesting bottomlands in the world.

"The world is watching," to quote Connie DePriest of the Friends of the Historic White River Bridge.

The western approaches to the bridge extend over the Cache River National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge includes some 56,000 acres spread over Jackson, Woodruff, Monroe and Prairie Counties, and is one of the few places in the Mississippi Flyway unchanged by canalization and drainage projects. Ducks galore!

This small, wonderful state has benefited by following through on visions before. This time they won't be dreams of industrialization but its opposite: a return to primeval times when the Indian tribes celebrated Arkansas' happy hunting grounds. And white explorers looked with wonder at the future state that awaited them in history. Lewis and Clark--and the president who dispatched them, Thomas Jefferson--would surely be pleased.

What a blessing it is once again to not just watch history being made but to make it. And without besmirching the natural environment. As with the economy, there's nothing like a good leaving-alone to benefit all, and not just in this generation but for generations to come. Or what used to be called posterity. As in the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution:

"We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Just as today, by working with nature instead of exploiting it, Arkansas can proceed to save not just a bridge but an old vision of the state restored and refreshed. This used to be called conserving nature--as in conservation--and once again it can be practiced with a good conscience instead of a bad one.

Editorial on 09/30/2016

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