Are We There Yet?

ARKANSAS TRAVEL: Wondrous White River refuge center of attention

The visitor center at Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife Refuge features a lifesize model of a bald cypress tree along with a black-bear family and other fauna it supports.
The visitor center at Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife Refuge features a lifesize model of a bald cypress tree along with a black-bear family and other fauna it supports.

ST. CHARLES -- Before Arkansas began calling itself the Natural State, it was the Land of Opportunity -- and before that, the Wonder State. But only history buffs are likely to know one of the earliest nicknames: When Arkansas joined the union in 1836, this was known as the Bear State.

Black bears were numerous here when white settlers began arriving. Then a century and more of hunting and other human intrusion reduced their population in the state by the 1940s to about 50 animals.

Happily, conservation and restocking have increased the Arkansas bear count to an estimated 3,000 or so. That success is one of the stories told in a lively assortment of exhibits at the visitor center for Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife Refuge. This 160,000 acres of wilderness stretches across Monroe, Arkansas, Phillips and Desha counties. Dotted with some 300 lakes, it attracts nearly a half-million visitors each year.

A life-size model of a black-bear family with one of the bald cypress trees greets tourists in a towering display just inside the visitor center on the southern outskirts of St. Charles. The figure of an adult bear stands beside the cypress, while cubs can be seen inside a hollow of the trunk. Assorted other fauna complete the ensemble.

"The bald cypress tree is a safe haven for animals in White River National Wildlife Refuge," explains an information panel. "Standing like a gnarled sentry in oxbow lakes, its fluted trunk amassed in flooded swamps, the cypress offers dry habitat for many species.

"American black bears and a variety of wildlife inhabit large cavities. The angular branches offer shelter to songbirds. Protruding 'knees,' part of the extensive root system, provide perches for birds, amphibians and reptiles. Still water supports invertebrates and plants, offering underwater hiding places for both."

Pressing a button produces a narration describing a mother bear's use of a bald cypress. In the fall, she selects a suitable den tree with an ample cavity, above the winter floodwater level. In late winter, she gives birth, typically to two cubs. Blind and weighing just a half-pound at birth, they are helpless for many weeks while she nurses them. Able to find food on their own by summer, they stay with her through the next winter before being led off into the forest.

Bears are the largest species inhabiting Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife Refuge, renamed in 2014 for the former Arkansas governor and U.S. senator. Now estimated at nearly 400, the reserve's bear population is doing well enough that more than 130 have been moved south to Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge, located outside of Crossett.

When established in 1935, the White River refuge was intended mainly to protect migratory birds. It continues to provide shelter for waterfowl and other species traveling on the Mississippi Flyway. About two-thirds of the 350 or so bird species found in Arkansas spend at least part of the year here. Along with ducks and geese, these include pelicans, loons, hawks, doves, cuckoos, owls, woodpeckers, warblers and finches.

For ambitious hikers, the refuge's Bottomland Hardwood Trail proceeds down an escarpment and into the bottoms. It is open whenever the gauge reading of the White River is 28 feet or lower. The easier upland trail, compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, can be walked year-round.

Exhibits at the visitor center focus on present-day nature, but there is also a dose of history -- and prehistory, stretching back 10,000 years or more. On display is a replica of an American mastodon tooth. The original, found nearby on the bank of the White River, belonged to an extinct elephant ancestor that typically stood 8 to 10 feet tall at the shoulder and weighed 4 to 6 tons.

The visitor center at Dale Bumpers White River National Wildlife Refuge, just south of St. Charles off Arkansas 1 at 57 S. CC Camp Road , is open 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday. Admission is free. Visit fws.gov/whiteriver or call (870) 282-8200.

Style on 04/24/2018

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