WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee has advanced several bills related to public lands and forest management, including one that would expand the Flatside Wilderness Area in Perry and Saline counties. The committee’s unanimous 23-0 vote moves the measure closer to final passage in Congress.
Rep. French Hill of Little Rock has championed the Flatside Wilderness Additions Act since September 2022. The bill would add 2,215 acres of the Ouachita National Forest to the federally protected wilderness area. The House of Representatives passed the measure in May by voice vote, sending it to the Senate committee led by Arkansas Sen. John Boozman.
“A whole new generation of people are going to the woods, going to explore the outdoors in a lot of creative ways,” Hill said in his Washington, D.C., office.
“I just see the current generation of Arkansans and outdoor recreation tourists coming to Arkansas,” Hill added. “We have such a beautiful state located right in the center of the country. This enhanced that ability.”
The Flatside Wilderness Area was created through the Arkansas Wilderness Act of 1984, which designated sections of the Ouachita National Forest in Perry and Saline counties as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. The existing wilderness area covers roughly 10,000 acres and allows only non-motorized recreation to preserve its natural condition.
In 2019, Hill and Boozman worked together to expand the Flatside Wilderness by 640 acres. That addition, known as Bethune Woods, honors former U.S. Rep. Ed Bethune, who led the original effort to pass the Arkansas Wilderness Act.
The original Flatside Wilderness legislation was the result of bipartisan support from Arkansas Sens. Dale Bumpers and David Pryor, both Democrats, and Texas Republican John Tower. Hill, then a congressional staffer for Tower, helped persuade the Texas senator to cosponsor the bill.
If enacted, Hill’s current proposal would complete the Flatside Wilderness expansion to its originally intended size and redesignate the entire area as the Flatside-Bethune Wilderness.
“It’s a big accomplishment,” Hill said. “It’s taken four decades to achieve it, and there’s so many people who have led the way to see it reach this point.”
This article was originally published on ArkansasOutside.com, your trusted source for outdoor news and updates in The Natural State. Unless otherwise credited, all photos included in this piece are the property of Arkansas Outside, LLC. We take pride in sharing the beauty and adventures of Arkansas through our lens—thank you for supporting our work!
