Flatside Wilderness Additions Act

Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, Mr. Westerman, and my colleagues in the House who serve on the Natural Resources Committee for working with me on the Flatside Wilderness Additions Act over the past 5 years.

I stand in strong support of H.R. 1612, which I think is a model for how to go about considering recreation conservation lands in our national forests.

The Ouachita Mountains and the surrounding forest sit in the southwest corner of Arkansas. It is the oldest and largest national forest in our southern region. It has origins in my district of central Arkansas and stretches some 220 miles west into eastern Oklahoma through my good friend, Mr. Westerman's district.

It encompasses nearly 10,000 acres of rugged terrain, and the most treasured views in the Ouachita region are in Flatside Wilderness. For those visitors that Congressman Westerman referenced, the area also includes the challenging and very popular Ouachita National Recreation Trail, which bisects Flatside Wilderness.

Back in 1984, under the leadership of former Arkansas Senator Dale Bumpers and my predecessor, Congressman Ed Bethune, the Arkansas Wilderness Act was passed and signed into law by President Reagan. This legislation designated Flatside as one of the first Arkansas wilderness areas to be added to the National Wilderness Preservation System. At the time of its passage, the Flatside area was intended to be larger than what was ultimately designated.

In 1984, the Forest Service and its Flatside advocates were not able to craft a strategy where all the studied and preferred acres of the forest could be included. As such, Mr. Speaker, when I joined Congress in 2015, I set out to complete that original designed 1984 plan for Flatside.

In 2019, with the help of Arkansas Senator John Boozman and Chairman Westerman, we were able to add 640 acres to Flatside, which was signed into law by President Trump.

That same year, Senator Boozman and I collaborated on an appropriation measure that directed the Forest Service to complete a study on which the surrounding lands that were eligible to be added to Flatside would be carefully studied.

Mr. Speaker, it is the results of that 2019 legislatively directed study that was published in 2021 that are the basis for the law proposal before us today.

With the help of my colleagues, this bill will finish the work started some four decades ago in which I have been personally dedicated since joining this House.

With this final addition, the Flatside Wilderness area can continue to serve central Arkansas as a place of economic, recreational, and historic importance.

First, as Chairman Westerman noted, this is not creating a new wilderness area but simply designating additional land. It has wide support, as noted by my friend, including our local county and city officials in the county where it is located: Governor Sarah Sanders, Arkansas Parks & Tourism, the leadership of our Game and Fish Commission, and many other local

leaders and outdoor recreation groups in our State.

Rest assured also, Mr. Speaker, the current forest management plan for Flatside already includes prescribed burns, fire suppression techniques, and reiterates the authority of management to protect the area from fire, insects, and disease.

So, I thank my friend, Mr. Westerman, for working with me on this. I think it should be supported by all the Members in the House. It is a model, as we have talked about before, for how we bring local officials, outdoor recreation, conservationists, and forest land management people together to advance something that is sought by our local leadership in the State.

So I thank Mr. Westerman, Speaker Johnson, Leader Scalise, and Representative Emmer, as well as all the members of the House Natural Resources Committee for working with me on this proposal.

As I conclude, Mr. Speaker, I have to say that for four decades this has been an important place in my life. It reminds me of John Muir's famous poem:

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's

peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.

The winds will blow their own freshness into you and

the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like

autumn leaves.

Mr. Speaker, I hope future generations of Arkansans and a lot of Texas visitors will enjoy those glad tidings from Flatside.

I include in the Record an article titled: ``Opposites Attract: How a Conservative Texan Helped a Liberal Arkansan Enact the Sweeping Arkansas Wilderness Act of 1984.''

Opposites Attract: How a Conservative Texan Helped a Liberal Arkansan

Enact the Sweeping Arkansas Wilderness Act of 1984

(By J. French Hill, April 25, 2009)

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1612) to designate the

Flatside-Bethune Wilderness in the Ouachita National Forest, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1612, the bill now under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Representative Hill's legislation, H.R. 1612, which would add four parcels totaling 2,215 acres of Ouachita National Forest lands to the Flatside Wilderness Area in his district.

The Ouachita National Forest is the oldest and largest national forest in the Southern United States, spanning nearly 1.8 million acres across Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Managed by the U.S. Forest Service, it is a true multiple-use forest, supporting timber harvesting, wildlife conservation, and a wide range of outdoor recreation opportunities, such as hiking, hunting, camping, and fishing.

Arkansans take great pride in this forest, which draws more than 670,000 visitors each year. Currently, only 3.6 percent of the Ouachita National Forest, including the existing Flatside Wilderness Area, is designated as wilderness.

The Flatside Wilderness was expanded by 640 acres during the 115th Congress. The Forest Service also studied the potential designation of the parcels included in today's legislation.

This bill has strong local support and has been endorsed by Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders; the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism; and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize Representative Hill for his efforts on this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill), my colleague and the lead sponsor of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. I would like to, once again, thank my colleague from Arkansas, especially Representative Hill, for his tireless efforts on this piece of legislation and for the diligence in the process that he labored through to get to this point today. I appreciate him bringing forth this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge the adoption of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1612, the Flatside Wilderness Additions Act, introduced by my colleague from Arkansas (Mr. Hill).

This bill would expand the boundaries of the Flatside Wilderness Area in the Ouachita National Forest by approximately 2,212 acres and redesignate the area as the Flatside-Bethune Wilderness.

Representative Bethune represented Arkansas here in the House of Representatives, and he was a strong champion for conservation. He sponsored the first bill to designate the Flatside Wilderness back in 1984, so the redesignation included in this bill is a fitting tribute.

Wilderness areas hold immense importance for a variety of reasons. They support and provide essential ecosystem services, including clean air, water, carbon sequestration, and critical wildlife habitat.

Protecting the wilderness is not just about preserving pristine environments. It is also about safeguarding our national heritage and ensuring a healthy planet for future generations.

I thank Representative Hill for his work on expanding the wilderness area in his State. I and many of my Democratic colleagues also have bills we would like to advance to provide conservation protections for special areas in our congressional districts. This bill demonstrates that we can and should work in a bipartisan manner to protect and conserve public lands.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.