The U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 13 passed bipartisan legislation sponsored by U.S. Rep. French Hill (R-AR) to add more acreage to his home state’s federally protected wilderness area.
The Flatside Wilderness Enhancement Act, H.R. 5636, which Rep. Hill introduced on April 26, would designate additions to the Flatside Wilderness in the Ouachita National Forest, among other purposes, according to the text of the bill.
“I thank Chairman Rob Bishop of the House Natural Resources Committee and Congressman Bruce Westerman for their help in advancing my bill,” Rep. Hill said last week. “I look forward to working with the Senate to get it across the finish line and onto the president’s desk for his signature.”
H.R. 5636, which is cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), would add roughly 640 acres to the wilderness area of the existing national forest lands located adjacent to Forked Mountain.
The mountain area has been on the so-called Recommended Wilderness Additions list since 2005, according to a Nov. 13 statement released by Rep. Hill’s office, which noted that such areas have been managed as wilderness land since that time.
If enacted, the bill also would designate the wilderness addition as Bethune Woods in honor of former U.S. Rep. Ed Bethune (R-AR), who served from 1979 to 1985 and who wrote the original House version of the Arkansas Wilderness Act in 1984.
Rep. Hill called Bethune a good friend and said he was “pleased to name this addition for a tireless conservationist and advocate for Arkansas wilderness.”
“Arkansans and visitors, young and old, should enjoy more of one of Arkansas’s most unspoiled landscapes – Flatside Wilderness -– which is why I’ve championed this bill,” said Rep. Hill, who added that “Perry County in particular offers a very special and rare opportunity for people to support our wildlife and natural resources, while also boosting the state’s economy.”
Rep. Hill also has proposed a U.S. Forest Service study to determine the suitability of even more U.S. forest lands to potentially be included in the National Wilderness Preservation System, according to his office.
The U.S. Senate received H.R. 5636 on Nov. 14 and referred the proposal to the U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee for consideration.