Arkansans are rightly proud of our natural heritage. Whether we're paddling the Buffalo National River, duck hunting near Bayou Meto, or reeling in rainbow trout from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' facilities on Bull Shoals Lake, we're lucky to be able to enjoy premier outdoor experiences on federally managed lands all across our state.
So it's fitting that U.S. Representative French Hill has introduced a bill to expand the Flatside Wilderness in the Ouachita National Forest. Only 30 miles from Little Rock, Flatside is the starting point of the scenic Ouachita National Recreation Trail, which winds through a canopy of hardwoods and pines over some of the most remote and rugged country the state has to offer. There are black bear and wild turkey to keep you company, though maybe you'd prefer the camaraderie of another hiker, hunter, camper, or horseback rider.
Over the past few years, the U.S. Forest Service, the Arkansas Forestry Commission, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, and local advocates and elected officials have crafted a proposal that reflects a balanced use of this forestland--one that will preserve some of the most special places in the area for future generations to explore and enjoy.
Our state has a long history of wilderness protection, and former U.S. Representative Ed Bethune and the late U.S. Senator Dale Bumpers were two of its greatest champions. During the Carter and Reagan administrations, they sought and got approval from Congress for 12 wilderness areas across the state, preserving world-class habitat, unique geographic formations, and clear tumbling streams along the way. Rep. Hill builds on that heritage today with his proposal.
The 9,500-acre Flatside Wilderness was one of several such areas in Arkansas designated in 1984. Nearly 2,000 acres of wilderness-quality forestland lie adjacent to Flatside, and another 1,000 acres--acquired through a trade with Weyerhaeuser Co.--could easily reach that level after some restoration work. In 2005, the Forest Service officially recommended protecting as wilderness 640 acres of the contiguous forestland. Rep. Hill's measure would do more: It would recommend additional acreage to be studied within a year, with land that qualifies as wilderness to be added to Flatside.
This is a good approach. I've walked in this landscape, down Forked Mountain and along Cedar Creek. I've seen spectacular sunsets from Flatside Pinnacle, heard the hum of a crosscut saw on the Ouachita Trail, and relaxed at Forked Mountain Falls. Wilderness always reminds me of a hymn. It's something we can enjoy alone or in congregation, but the experience is almost always instructive, clearing our heads and reminding us that there are places left that can humble us, no matter who we are or the riches we enjoy.
The proposed additions to Flatside would protect an untrammeled backcountry where humans remain visitors and the primary virtue of the landscape is its supreme naturalness. It's important for us not only to have these places today but to preserve them for our children, because they offer a place to reconnect to nature and to ourselves.
Expanded wilderness is good for our bottom line too. The Outdoor Industry Association estimates that recreation on public lands in Arkansas supports 96,000 direct jobs and accounts for $9.7 billion in consumer spending while generating $2.5 billion in wages and salaries, and creating $698 million in state and local tax revenue. That's serious money. From long guns to hammocks to hiking boots to that ice-cold beer at the end of the trail, public lands like the Flatside Wilderness keep our local outfitters, manufacturers, and businesses humming. And best of all, the expansion comes at no cost to the taxpayer.
The most "natural state" of things--a phrase we Arkansans are so proud of that it's stamped on our license plates--is wilderness, a landscape set aside to remain as it ever was. There's no more appropriate designation for Arkansas' most remote spaces than wilderness. Please encourage our delegation to support this effort to honor the state's most natural places.
Anders Reynolds, who was born and raised in Wynne, is an officer with the Pew Charitable Trusts' U.S. public lands conservation project.
Editorial on 04/29/2018