A History of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act

On Earth Day 1992, which fell on April 22, President George Bush signed into law the Arkansas Wild and Scenic Rivers Act which added 8 streams to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. In all 195 miles of rivers are covered by this designation which protects them from development that would impair their wild or scenic character. Unlike the bitter political battle over the Arkansas Wilderness Bill, the Arkansas Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was passed without controversy. This achievement can be attributed to the hard work of Senator Dale Bumpers, Rep. John Paul Hammerschmidt, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Ozark Society. It all began with a bureaucratic process initiated by Congress in 1963.

That year Congress authorized a nationwide rivers inventory. Work did not actually begin until the early 1970’s and the inventory was not completed until 1982. This inventory listed rivers and streams which were relatively natural or undeveloped. Once the inventory was complete, the U.S. Forest Service declared that the streams in the inventory which were within National Forests were eligible for study for inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers system.

Both the Ouachita National Forest and Ozark-St. Francis National Forest incorporated this study into their Land and Resource Management Plans. The streams were studied by Forest Service staff and a recommendation on whether or not they should be added to the Wild and Scenic Rivers System was developed. These studies and recommendations were incorporated into an Environmental Impact Statement and circulated for public comment and the subject of a public hearing. Finally in 1990, some 27 years after it was begun, the bureaucratic process was complete. Eight Arkansas streams had been recommended by the U.S. Forest Service for addition to the System. They were as follows:

Ouachita National Forest

• Cossatot River (including Cossatot River State Park)
• Little Missouri River

Ozark National Forest

• Richland Creek
• Big Piney Creek
• Buffalo River (above Boxley)
• Mulberry River
• North Sylamore Creek
• Hurricane Creek

For a stream to become a National Wild and Scenic River, there must be an act of Congress signed by the President. Thus, the only way to implement the recommendations was for someone to step forward and introduce a bill. In politics there is an old saying, “Timing is everything.” The timing would prove to be right for wild and scenic rivers in Arkansas.

On the porch of Hubert and Mary Virginia Ferguson’s cabin at Boxley, several Ozark Society Board members held a discussion in January of 1991. President Stewart Noland brought up the Forest Service recommendations for scenic rivers and suggested the Society ought to do something to get them added to the national system. The Society had a couple of natural allies in Senator Dale Bumpers and Rep. John Paul Hammerschmidt who were long-time supporters of the Buffalo National River. Conservation Chairman Paul Means also happened to be a lobbyist for Arkansas Power & Light and he travelled to Washington and worked with the Arkansas delegation on a regular basis. He volunteered to raise the subject next time his job took him to Washington.

At the same time, the U.S. Forest Service personnel in Arkansas were thinking along the same lines. They were working through their organization in Washington to bring the recommendations before the appropriate committees in Congress.  (See The Battle for the Buffalo by Neil Compton.)  Needless to say, the Arkansas Legislature was not enthusiastic about this idea and the proposal went nowhere. As a U.S. Senator, Bumpers had chosen to become chairman of the Subcommittee on Public Lands, National Parks, and Forests. His committee would have jurisdiction over any Arkansas Wild and Scenic Rivers legislation. Bumpers was obviously the best possible sponsor for scenic rivers legislation.

In February, Paul Means raised the issue of scenic rivers with Deborah Estes, the person on Senator Bumpers with responsibility for environmental legislation. She mentioned that the Forest Service staff had recently brought up the same subject. Deborah went on to say that Dale was interested in sponsoring legislation to make the streams recommended by the Forest Service a part of the national system. Not wanting to pass up an opportunity, Paul committed the Ozark Society to take the lead on rounding up support and responding to opposition.

The addition of a river to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System is typically a political hot potato. The experience with the Buffalo River and the Arkansas Wilderness Act are examples of how controversial this issue can become.

The timber companies and landowner groups are almost always vehemently opposed because they think restrictions on development of the river corridor will cost them money. In 1991, however, the situation was not typical.

Perhaps the biggest factor was that the rivers were primarily on National Forest land and adding them to the Wild and Scenic Rivers System did not have widespread impact on private landowners. The Forest Service had also done an excellent job of implementing the Arkansas Wilderness Act. Their tactful handling of wilderness had gone a long way towards reassuring their private landowning neighbors that preservation did not mean the end of civilization.

In fact, three of the proposed streams flowed through national wilderness areas. Because of existing wilderness protection, there was no basis for generating controversy over Richland Creek, Hurricane Creek, and the Upper Buffalo in the Ozark Forest. The portion of the Cossatot River immediately downstream of the Ouachita Forest had become a state park and designating the headwaters in the forest as wild and scenic again was not likely to generate controversy. A local recreation industry was springing up at Albert Pike with a focus on the Little Missouri, thus attracting local support for designation. Because of its proximity to Blanchard Springs cavern and tourism, the N. Fork of the Sylamore was similarly non-controversial.

The two potentially controversial streams were the Mulberry River and Big Piney. Both have significant numbers of landowners along their banks whose property is within the forest boundary. Many of these landowners had opposed the wilderness act and some had been hostile to canoeing on the river.

The Forest Service recommendations on these eight streams were accompanied by environmental impact statements. An appendix to these statements contained copies of all comments made during public hearings. A long and tedious review of all these comments revealed that no individual or organization had made negative comments about these eight streams. That may have been because the organizations who oppose river conservation were focused on other matters.

The Ouachita Watch League had mounted a very successful challenge to clearcutting in the Ouachita National Forest and created fear and trembling in the Ozark Forest. The usual opponents of river conservation had all their attention focused on preserving clearcutting. The Farm Bureau, Arkansas Forestry Association and big timber companies were devoting all their resources to the Ouachita Watch League.

The Tri-County Water District had also proposed a water supply reservoir on the North Fork of the Illinois Bayou. The Ozark Society, Arkansas Canoe Club, and other environmental organizations had been fighting this project every step of the way. Consequently, all the comments filed on the Wild and Scenic Rivers Study for the Ozark National Forest were about whether or not there should be a dam on the North Fork. In terms of sheer numbers of comments, there was overwhelming opposition to designating the North Fork as a wild and scenic river.

Perhaps because they were preoccupied with clearcutting and dams, no one voiced opposition to the eight rivers proposed for protection. In the official comments were strong letters of support from environmental organizations and their individual members.

Paul carried this political research back to Deborah Estes in Senator Bumpers office. Bumpers reached the conclusion that the timing was right. With the attention of developers focused elsewhere, the Arkansas Scenic Rivers Bill might be passed before anyone could notice. Bumpers referred to it as “stealth legislation.” Paul made the rounds of the other Arkansas Congressional offices to seek support and smoke out opposition. They were all supportive.

In that they are part of the Department of Agriculture which reports to the President, the Forest Service officials in Arkansas were somewhat constrained by their own chain of command. President George Bush was also supportive of scenic rivers; however, he hoped to develop an omnibus bill including rivers from many states. Not wanting to contradict the President, the Forest Supervisors could not exactly call up Bumpers and encourage him to introduce an Arkansas only bill. In the time- honored tradition of government, Mike Curran, the Ouachita Forest Supervisor, and Lynn Neff, the Ozark Forest Supervisor, were able to let Bumpers know of their support without violating policy.

The Arkansas Canoe Club, Arkansas Wildlife Federation, and American Rivers also weighed in with statements of support. Over the summer, Bumpers worked behind the scenes to draft a bill and line up his support.

In September, the Arkansas Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1991 was introduced into the Senate with Dale Bumpers and David Pryor as sponsors. An identical bill was introduced in the House with John Paul Hammerschmidt as sponsor. This historic event was reported in the Arkansas papers and we all held our breath. Weeks went by and there was a deafening silence from our traditional opponents. Either they missed the article or were pre-occupied with other matters.

Moving quickly, Senator Bumpers convened his committee on October 15 and held a hearing on the Arkansas Act. Supporting statements were made by Paul Means of the Ozark Society, Don Hamilton of the Arkansas Wildlife Federation, and Elizabeth Norcross of American Rivers. Now that an Arkansas only bill had been introduced, the Ouachita and Ozark Forest staffs were also free to endorse the legislation publicly. No one stepped forward in opposition to the legislation.

In January, the full Senate passed the bill and it was referred to the House. Unlike the Senate, no one from Arkansas held a seat on the committee that would handle Scenic Rivers legislation. Both John Paul Hammerschmidt and Beryl Anthony did contact the committee chairman, Bruce Vento of Minnesota, and encouraged him to move promptly on the bill. Accepting their request, Chairman Vento held a hearing on February 18 and Paul Means once again testified for the bill on behalf of the Ozark Society. With the support of Rep. Vento and the quiet influence of Hammerschmidt, the billed was passed by the House on April 2. Twenty days later it was signed into law by the President.

Legislation moves through the U.S. Congress with the speed of a glacier. Progress is measured in years. The Arkansas Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1991 took eight months from its introduction to become law. Not once was there a statement in opposition to the bill from anyone. Like a stealth bomber, it passed through Congress before anyone knew it was there.

Congratulations are due to Ouachita Forest Supervisor Mike Curran and his staff, Ozark Forest Supervisor Lynn Neff and his staff, Senators Dale Bumpers and David Pryor, and Rep. John Paul Hammerschmidt and Beryl Anthony. There should be a big cheer from the Ozark Society which was the catalyst that got it all started.

The Forest Service has been quietly working to establish plans for management of these eight streams in the two years since passage of the legislation. The act is a general guideline and it is the responsibility of the Forest Service to establish the actual boundaries of the river corridor. There are actually three classifications within the National Wild and Scenic River System. These are wild, scenic, and recreational. A wild river is essentially a wilderness river. An example is Hurricane Creek which is within the Hurricane Creek Wilderness Area. A scenic river has some development, but is primarily undisturbed. An example of a scenic river is Big Piney Creek. A recreational river has considerable development on the shoreline. The Mulberry River below Redding campground is an example of a recreational river with a road along the bank and numerous structures.

In establishing the river corridor boundaries, the Forest Service considered these classifications. The corridor is wide in wilderness areas and limited to the high-water mark in recreational stretches. As the Forest Service was considering boundaries, the private landowners along the Piney and Mulberry suddenly woke up. In a somewhat tardy fashion, they began to organize against the corridors for the Piney and Mulberry.  The Forest Service is to be complimented for how it handled these landowner groups. The Forest Service explained the various classifications to the landowners. Within the National Forest, the corridors are fairly wide for Forest Service management purposes. Where there is private land, the corridor extends only to the high-water mark. This is in keeping with the scenic and recreational classifications which include roads, structures, and agricultural activities. The Ozark Society made a public statement in support of the classifications made by Congress and recognizing private landowners in establishing the corridor boundaries. The Forest Service staff has reported that the Ozark Society’s statement was helpful in diffusing the landowner group’s concerns. In fact, in May of 1994 there is good support from the private landowners scattered along the eight streams.

The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act may be law, but it will take continued cooperation between the Ozark Society and National Forest Service to make it a reality.