The Arkansas Forestry Commission has departed its stone-and-wood headquarters in Little Rock to link up with the rest of the Arkansas Agriculture Department across the city.
The agency announced the move in a news release Monday, but State Forester Joe Fox said Tuesday most of the 13 workers who remained at the Forestry Commission's headquarters made the move in the first week of September.
The commission's offices are now housed in the Agriculture Department building at 1 Natural Resources Drive, near the Interstate 430/630 interchange. The building also houses the Plant Board and the Livestock and Poultry Commission.
Fox said it's unclear what will happen to the Forestry Commission's old building on Roosevelt Road. The structure dates back 59 years. According to the release, the building was constructed with wood donated from sawmills across the state.
Some files remain in storage at the old building, Fox said. Meanwhile, the Building Authority Division will have to conduct some repairs to the roof and heating and air system, said Scott Hardin, spokesman for the state Department of Finance and Administration, which includes the division. The division hopes to find new tenants within state government, Hardin added.
"The history and memories from that location will not be forgotten as we continue our leadership in the forestry community while finding new and better ways to partner with others throughout our state's entire agriculture industry," Fox said in the news release.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson touted efficiency of the move in his own statements attached to the news release.
During the Arkansas Legislature's regular session earlier this year, lawmakers unsuccessfully proposed giving the secretary of agriculture more management control over divisions of the Agriculture Department, including the Forestry Commission.
The Farm Bureau successfully opposed the measure. A spokesman for the group said the physical move was not a concern.
Consolidating with the rest of the Agriculture Department will allow the Forestry Commission to save about $60,000 a year in building operating costs, Fox said.
The commission also moved its human resources and fiscal teams to the Agriculture Department building about two years ago, and now the whole agency will work under the same roof again.
The Forestry Commission, which is tasked with helping to manage forested land, putting out forest fires and responding to natural disasters, has a total of 266 employees across the state, Fox said.
Most of those workers spend their days in the field, he added, with some traveling to Little Rock about once a week to check in at headquarters.
The move does not affect the location or contact information of the Forestry Commission's county offices, where spokesman Adriane Barnes said most members of the public interact with the commission.
Metro on 10/25/2017