In the News

House OKs bill to add to Flatside

By Frank Lockwood


WASHINGTON -- A bill expanding Arkansas' Flatside Wilderness sailed through the U.S. House of Representatives on a voice vote Tuesday, garnering bipartisan support.

The legislation's sponsor, U.S. Rep. French Hill of Little Rock, said he's hopeful the measure will eventually be signed into law by President Donald Trump.

The 640 acres that Hill wants to add to the existing 9,541-acre site would be called the Bethune Woods-Flatside Wilderness.

While representing the 2nd Congressional District in Congress, Republican Ed Bethune championed the creation of the original Flatside Wilderness and fought to preserve a total of 91,100 acres of wilderness across the state.

Then-President Ronald Reagan signed the Arkansas Wilderness Act into law on Oct. 19, 1984.

The Flatside Wilderness, which is located in Perry and Saline counties, is now a popular destination for thousands of Arkansas outdoors enthusiasts.

A trip to Flatside, less than 50 miles northwest of the capital, is "a great way to enjoy a strenuous outdoor experience," Hill said.


"I have been out there for 30 years and hiked and camped all throughout the Flatside area. It's ... really just a beautiful place within an hour of Little Rock," the 2nd District Republican added.

The legislation creating Flatside sparked a fierce battle, pitting Bethune and outdoorsmen against timber industry leaders and fellow lawmakers.

It's a fight Bethune has never regretted. Last month, he called Flatside "my signature achievement."

In 2005, the U.S. Forest Service recommended adding 640 acres along the western edge of the Flatside Wilderness because doing so "would establish more logical and manageable boundaries for these areas."

Wynne native Anders Reynolds, an officer with The Pew Charitable Trusts' U.S. public-lands program, welcomed Tuesday's vote.

"Today is a big day for the hikers, hunters, campers, and business owners who have advocated on behalf of future generations for more protection of one of this state's most natural areas. The unanimous passage of additional wilderness acres through the House shows just how popular this gold-standard land protection tool has grown in the 34 years since Flatside was originally designated," he said in an email.

Bethune was also pleased.

"I'm honored and appreciative, but it is most important that Congress has enlarged and reaffirmed our Arkansas wilderness," he said.

The measure now goes to the U.S. Senate for consideration.

But with the holidays nearing and the clock winding down, time is running out for the 115th Congress.

Patrick Creamer, a spokesman for U.S. Sen. John Boozman, said the Republican from Rogers wants to see the legislation pass.

"He'll be talking with leaders and working with them to see if he can get that passed in the Senate," Creamer said. "There's a small window of time here in the next couple of weeks."