[House Report 118-869]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
118th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 118-869
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FLATSIDE WILDERNESS ADDITIONS ACT
_______
December 12, 2024.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Westerman, from the Committee on Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3971]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 3971) to designate the Flatside-Bethune
Wilderness in the Ouachita National Forest, and for other
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
with an amendment and recommends that the bill as amended do
pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following
new text:
SEC. 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Flatside Wilderness Additions Act''.
SEC. 2. ADDITIONS TO FLATSIDE WILDERNESS.
Section 3(d) of Arkansas Wilderness Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-508;
98 Stat. 2349) is amended by inserting ``and certain land in the
Ouachita National Forest, which comprise approximately 2,212 acres,
generally depicted as `Land Proposed for Wilderness Designation' on the
map titled `Flatside Wilderness, Proposed Addition Designation', dated
November 12, 2024'' after ``1984''.
SEC. 3. FIRE, INSECTS, AND DISEASES.
Nothing in this Act or the amendment made by section 2 shall be
construed to limit the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture under
section 4(d)(1) of the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(1)), in
accordance with existing laws (including regulations).
SEC. 4. DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS ADDITION.
The wilderness designated by section 3(d) of Arkansas Wilderness Act
of 1984 (Public Law 98-508; 98 Stat. 2349), shall be known as the
``Flatside-Bethune Wilderness''. Any reference in a law, map,
regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States to
such portion of the Flatside Wilderness shall be deemed to be a
reference to the Flatside-Bethune Wilderness.
Purpose of the Legislation
The purpose of H.R. 3971 is to designate the Flatside-
Bethune Wilderness in the Ouachita National Forest, and for
other purposes.
Background and Need for Legislation
The Ouachita National Forest (ONF) is the oldest and
largest national forest in the southern United States,
spreading across nearly 1.8 million acres in Arkansas and
Oklahoma.\1\ The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) manages the ONF for
a variety of uses, including timber harvesting, wildlife
habitat conservation, outdoor recreation, and resource
protection.\2\ The ONF's large expanses of hickory and pine
draw an estimated 670,000 visitors annually.\3\ Congress has
designated six wilderness areas within the ONF, which account
for little more than 65,000 acres, or a mere 3.6 percent of the
ONF's total area.\4\ This includes the 9,507-acre Flatside
Wilderness area near the ONF's eastern boundary.\5\ Flatside
Wilderness contains portions of the 223-mile Ouachita National
Recreation Trail and ``a popular, 1,550-foot-high rock
outcropping called Flatside Pinnacle that overlooks the
Ouachita Mountains.''\6\
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\1\``USDA Forest Service - Ouachita National Forest,'' U.S. Forest
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, https://www.fs.usda.gov/
ouachita.
\2\``Ouachita National Forest - About the Area,'' U.S. Forest
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/
ouachita/about-forest/about-area. Debbie Ugbade, ``Ouachita National
Forest,'' Encyclopedia of Arkansas, November 29, 2023, https://
encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/ouachita-national-forest-3148/.
\3\Annual visitation estimate for the Ouachita National Forest,
using FY 2020 figures generated from the U.S. Forest Service's National
Visitor Use Monitoring Program, available at https://apps.fs.usda.gov/
nvum/results/A08009.aspx/FY2020.
\4\``Wilderness Areas: Ouachita National Forest,'' U.S. Forest
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, September 2008, https://
www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5085891.pdf.
\5\Hunter Field, ``U.S. Rep. French Hill proposes further expansion
of Central Arkansas wilderness area,'' Arkansas Advocate, June 13,
2023, https://arkansasadvocate.com/briefs/u-s-rep-french-hill-proposes-
further-expansion-of-central-arkansas-wilderness-area/. ``Ouachita
National Forest - Flatside Wilderness,'' U.S. Forest Service, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/ouachita/
recarea/?recid=10774.
\6\Id.
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H.R. 3971 would add four parcels totaling roughly 2,212
acres of ONF lands to Flatside Wilderness. USFS recommended the
inclusion of these parcels in 2021 after completing a
Congressionally directed study.\7\ Congress previously expanded
Flatside Wilderness in the 115th Congress by 640 acres.\8\ H.R.
3971's additions include Forked Mountain, whose distinctive
topography culminates in a 1,350-foot summit that offers
panoramas of nearby waterfalls and streams.\9\ The bill is
supported by Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders, Arkansas Parks
and Tourism, and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.\10\
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\7\On file with the Committee.
\8\H. Rept. 115-989--Flatside Wilderness Enhancement Act.
\9\``Forked Mountain,'' Explore the Ozarks, https://
www.exploretheozarksonline.com/activities/parksnature/nationalforests/
ouachita/jessieville/flatside/forkedmountain.html. Rex Nelson, ``Rugged
terrain,'' The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, January 29, 2023, https://
www.arkansasonline.com/news/2023/jan/29/rugged-terrain/.
\10\Id.
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Committee Action
H.R. 3971 was introduced on June 9, 2023, by Rep. French
Hill (R-AR). The bill was referred to the Committee on Natural
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on
Federal Lands. On June 27, 2024, the Subcommittee on Federal
Lands held a hearing on the bill. On November 20, 2024, the
Committee on Natural Resources met to consider the bill. The
Subcommittee on Federal Lands was discharged from further
consideration of H.R. 3971 by unanimous consent. Chairman Bruce
Westerman (R-AR) offered an Amendment in the Nature of a
Substitute designated Westerman ANS_109. The amendment in the
nature of a substitute was agreed to by unanimous consent. The
bill, as amended, was ordered favorably reported to the House
of Representatives by unanimous consent.
Hearings
For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6) of House rule XIII, the
following hearing was used to develop or consider this measure:
hearing by the Subcommittee on Federal Lands held on June 27,
2024.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 names the bill the ``Flatside Wilderness
Additions Act''.
Section 2. Additions to flatside wilderness
Section 2 amends Section 3(d) of the Arkansas Wilderness
Act of 1984 to designate approximately 2,212 acres of the
Ouachita National Forest as wilderness.
Section 3. Fire, insects, and diseases
Section 3 specifies that nothing in the bill affects the
underlying provision in the Wilderness Act to address fire,
insects, and disease in wilderness areas, subject to conditions
the Secretary of Agriculture deems desirable.
Section 4. Designation of wilderness addition
Section 4 names the wilderness established in Section 2 as
the ``Flatside-Bethune Wilderness.''
Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
Compliance With House Rule XIII and
Congressional Budget Act
1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act.
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of House rule XIII and section
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, and pursuant to
clause 3(c)(3) of House rule XIII and section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has requested
but not received from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office a budgetary analysis and a cost estimate of this bill.
2. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is to designate the Flatside-Bethune
Wilderness in the Ouachita National Forest, and for other
purposes.
Earmark Statement
This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives.
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act Statement
An estimate of federal mandates prepared by the Director of
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act was not made available to the
Committee in time for the filing of this report. The Chair of
the Committee shall cause such estimate to be printed in the
Congressional Record upon its receipt by the Committee, if such
estimate is not publicly available on the Congressional Budget
Office website.
Existing Programs
Directed Rule Making. This bill does not contain any
directed rule makings.
Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was
not included in any report from the Government Accountability
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law
98-169) as relating to other programs.
Applicability to Legislative Branch
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law
Any preemptive effect of this bill over state, local, or
tribal law is intended to be consistent with the bill's
purposes and text and the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the
U.S. Constitution.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is
printed in italics and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
ARKANSAS WILDERNESS ACT OF 1984
* * * * * * *
Sec. 3 In furtherance of the purposes of the Wilderness Act,
the following lands in the State of Arkansas are hereby
designated as wilderness and, therefore, as components of the
National Wilderness Preservation System:
(a) certain lands in the Ouachita National Forest,
Arkansas, which comprise approximately seven thousand
five hundred and sixty-eight acres, as generally
depicted on a map entitled ``"Black Fork Mountain
Wilderness--Proposed'', dated September 1984, and which
shall be known as the Black Fork Mountain Wilderness;
(b) certain lands in the Ouachita National Forest,
Arkansas, which comprise approximately six thousand
three hundred and ten acres, as generally depicted on a
map entitled ``Dry Creek Wilderness--Proposed'', dated
September 1984, and which shall be known as the Dry
Creek Wilderness;
(c) certain lands in the Ouachita National Forest,
Arkansas, which comprise approximately ten thousand
eight hundred and eighty-four acres, as generally
depicted on a map entitled ``Poteau Mountain
Wilderness--Proposed'', dated September 1984, and which
shall be known as the Poteau Mountain Wilderness;
(d) certain lands in the Ouachita National Forest,
Arkansas, which comprise approximately ten thousand one
hundred and five acres, as generally depicted on a map
entitled ``Flatside Wilderness--Proposed'', dated
September 1984 and certain land in the Ouachita
National Forest, which comprise approximately 2,212
acres, generally depicted as ``Land Proposed for
Wilderness Designation'' on the map titled ``Flatside
Wilderness, Proposed Addition Designation'', dated
November 12, 2024 and certain land in the Ouachita
National Forest, which comprise approximately 640
acres, as generally depicted as ``Recommended
Wilderness Area'' on the map titled ``Flatside
Wilderness, Recommended Wilderness Area'', dated
September 6, 2018, and which shall be known as the
Flatside Wilderness;
(e) certain lands in the Ozark-Saint Francis National
Forest which comprise approximately one thousand five
hundred and four acres, as generally depicted on a map
entitled ``Upper Buffalo Addition--Proposed'', dated
November 1983, and which are hereby incorporated in and
shall be deemed to be a part of the Upper Buffalo
Wilderness as designated by Public Law 93-622;
(f) certain lands in the Ozark-Saint Francis National
Forest which comprise approximately fifteen thousand
one hundred and seventy-seven acres, as generally
depicted on a map entitled ``Hurricane Creek
Wilderness--Proposed'', dated November 1983, and which
shall be known as the Hurricane Creek Wilderness;
(g) certain lands in the Ozark-Saint Francis National
Forest, Arkansas, which comprise approximately eleven
thousand eight hundred and twenty-two acres, as
generally depicted on a map entitled ``Richland Creek
Wilderness--Proposed'', dated November 1983, and which
shall be known as the Richland Creek Wilderness;
(h) certain lands in the Ozark-Saint Francis National
Forest, Arkansas, which comprise approximately ten
thousand seven hundred and seventy-seven acres, as
generally depicted on a map entitled ``East Fork
Wilderness--Proposed'', dated September 1984. and which
shall be known as the East Fork Wilderness; and
(i) certain lands in the Ozark-Saint Francis National
Forest, Arkansas, which comprise approximately sixteen
thousand nine hundred and fifty-six acres, as generally
depicted on a map entitled ``Leatherwood Wilderness--
Proposed'', dated November 1983, and which shall be
known as the Leatherwood Wilderness.
* * * * * * *
[all]