As a lifelong outdoorsman living in the Natural State, I wanted to recognize June as Great Outdoors Month. Arkansas is filled with exceptional wild, natural spots that remind us to explore our nation’s abundant wildlife refuges, parks, and natural beauty. Whether hiking the trails of the Ouachita National Forest, fishing on one of our many lakes, kayaking or canoeing one of our many rivers, or enjoying a night under the stars during a camping trip, no matter your preferred mode of enjoying the great outdoors, Arkansas has plenty of worthwhile choices to explore.

This month is also an opportunity to raise awareness of how accessible the great outdoors are. Central Arkansas is especially unique in that you can live in downtown Little Rock and in less than half an hour you can be at Pinnacle Mountain or Rattlesnake Ridge. Other opportunities include nearby Hot Springs National Park and the Buffalo National River.

Preserving these vast lands takes the work of a community. That includes local preservationists, enthusiastic conservation workers, and, sometimes, an act of Congress to oversee, study, and maintain lands for upkeep. In Congress, I am proud to have both authored and supported legislation that encourages keeping Arkansas’s natural resources flourishing for generations to come. As a Boy Scout and ninth generation Arkansan, I have had the privilege to have the Natural State’s resources in my backyard, and I encourage central Arkansans to enjoy them as well.

That is why I was proud to support the Great American Outdoors Act – an historic bipartisan public lands and conservation package signed into law by President Trump in August 2020. It funds the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Bureau of Indian Education. This bill – now law – included language from another bill, the Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act, which I cosponsored, and addresses the Department of the Interior’s total deferred maintenance backlog which currently stands at $16 billion, including $11.6 billion within our National Park System.

I also am proud to have delivered for Arkansas conservation. Sen. John Boozman and I worked together to enact the Flatside Wilderness Enhancement Act, which adds to the wilderness area approximately 640 acres of existing National Forest lands next to Forked Mountain. The additional 640 acres of land was named “Bethune Woods” in honor of Arkansas’s former Congressman Ed Bethune who authored the original wilderness legislation for our state. This bill was signed into law on Jan. 10, 2019.

There is inherent value in the vast wilderness and forest areas in Arkansas and throughout the country. In fact, I have personally trekked through many of them. I also regularly consult with our National Park and National Forest officials, as well as Arkansas based conservation leaders, to find new ways to enhance our Natural State environment and to preserve our wilderness and our national and state forest and state park areas.

I have always said that being a conservationist is about protecting our environment through reasonable and realistic means, and I am proud to continue my work on behalf of central Arkansans. I hope you and your loved ones will disconnect from technology during Great Outdoors Month and join me in celebrating all the Natural State has to offer.