The U.S. Forest Service is seeking a partnership to help provide increased services at the Lake Wedington Recreation Area, just west of Fayetteville.
Public land managers are having an increasingly hard time maintaining natural areas that are in proximity to major urban development, according to the U.S. Forest Service, adding that it is "adversely affecting wildland urban interface areas."
According to the Forest Service, "wildland urban interface" is a term commonly known in areas that experience wildfires. It is also a term the agency defines as "the line, area or zone where structures and other human development meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildland or vegetative fuels."
Local people heavily rely on these areas for recreation, the Forest Service said. It added that the population growth in proximity to the Forest Service's Lake Wedington Unit on the Boston Mountain Ranger District of the Ozark-St. Francis National Forests will warrant more attention and consideration in the coming years.
The Forest Service said it hopes to develop a partnership through a Concession Agreement, Historic Lease or other arrangement. A "Request for Expressions of Interest" invites submissions of concepts that would explore the development potential of the Lake Wedington Recreation Area.
The Forest Service is accepting proposals from individuals, governmental agencies, quasi-governmental agencies, nonprofit or for-profit organizations, and educational institutions.
Two site visits are scheduled with Forest Service staff at the Lake Wedington Recreation Area for 10 a.m.-2 p.m. July 14 and Aug. 18. Interested parties will be able to tour the Lake Wedington Recreation Area and associated infrastructure.
Parties interested in visiting the site for a tour should contact Amy Burt, Planning and Public Services Staff Officer, by phone call or text at (479) 280-0452 or by email at amy.burt@usda.gov.
Information and copy of the full project document is available at https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/osfnf/workingtogether/partnerships.