Standing 1,500 feet above the Ouachita Mountains on a cold day in 1983, French Hill never imagined himself in a position to lead efforts to preserve the breathtaking view below.
But Arkansas' 2nd District congressman is in position to do just that. On Thursday morning, a group of hikers and conservationists joined the 61-year-old for a 10-minute hike up to the wind-swept peak of Flatside Pinnacle.
From the Ouachita National Forest overlook, Hill announced a proposal to add more than 600 acres to the Flatside Wilderness and study additional areas for future inclusion. Behind him, a host of other mountain peaks faded into an overcast horizon.
"This accessibility of wilderness, I think, is so important to our families who need the refreshment, the enrichment you find only in one place, and that's in the quiet of the outdoors," Hill said.
The 9,541 acres that comprise Flatside Wilderness were federally designated as such in 1984, and it hasn't been expanded since.
Flatside is located near the eastern boundary of the Ouachita National Forest close to the Perry and Saline county border. The 223-mile Ouachita National Recreation Trail bisects it.
Hill's bill would add about 640 acres -- which the U.S. Forest Service already treats as wilderness -- to Flatside's southwestern border.
It would also ask the Forest Service to study several areas north of the wilderness for future wilderness consideration. Most of that land, though similar to the Flatside Wilderness, wasn't included in 1984 because it was owned by a timber company. The Forest Service has since acquired the land.
Federally designated wilderness enjoys the highest level of government land protection. The designation bars permanent roads, motorized equipment, cars, bicycles and permanent structures.
A sign post at the trailhead where Hill met hikers on Thursday quoted from the Wilderness Act of 1964, which created the designation.
"An area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain," it reads just beside a poster ensuring that any traveler who passes understands he is in bear country.
Congress has designated about 110 million acres* of wilderness over the years; Arkansas is home to 152,742 acres -- the 19th most of any state.
Joining Hill atop Flatside Pinnacle was a former 2nd District congressman, Ed Bethune, who sponsored the 1984 law that designated Flatside and other Arkansas lands as wilderness.
Hill said Bethune was owed a "generation debt of gratitude," calling him the "grandfather of all things wilderness of Arkansas."
Bethune, 82, quickly retorted that great-grandfather was more apt.
"I've always believed that the thing we Arkansans have that no other state has is the natural beauty of our land," Bethune said.
Incidentally, Hill himself was involved in the passage of the Arkansas Wilderness Act of 1984. Bethune credited Hill, who at the time worked for then-U.S. Sen. John Tower of Texas, with getting the influential Texas lawmaker to support the legislation even though it didn't pertain to the Lone Star state directly.
Hill sent a memo to his boss, noting that more than 620,000 Texans vacationed in Arkansas every year for its natural recreation.
Tower agreed to co-sponsor the Senate version of the bill, sponsored by then-U.S. Sen. Dale Bumpers of Arkansas. Tower wrote in the Congressional Record, "while I am in support of Texans enjoying their beautiful wilderness, I will never concede which state has better football teams."
Tower's endorsement prompted the Arkansas Gazette to remark in an editorial that his support "evidences more support for conservation in Arkansas than" the Natural State's other three congressmen at the time: Beryl Franklin Anthony, Bill Alexander and John Paul Hammerschmidt.
Then-President Ronald Reagan signed the legislation into law after Congress passed it with only small opposition from the oil industry.
Hill, an Eagle Scout himself, led Thursday's hike up Flatside Pinnacle and spotted a bald eagle soaring below. Hill paused several times on the descent to pick up sparse pieces of trash near the trail.
Environmental groups -- including the Sierra Club and National Wildlife Federation -- have already backed Hill's proposal.
"The Sierra Club is happy to support this proposed expansion of the Flatside Wilderness, and applaud everyone involved in getting us to this point," said Glen Hooks, director of the Arkansas Sierra Club. "Protected wilderness areas are great for Arkansas and for Arkansans. We believe that this protected area can be even bigger -- and we will work to get us there -- but this bill is a great starting point."
Hill's announcement Thursday came a day after the state added a new natural area near Pinnacle Mountain State Park. That land -- Rattlesnake Ridge -- had been privately owned until recently. The 900-foot-high ridge offers hiking, mountain climbing and soon mountain biking.
Charles Mullins, a member of the Ozark Society and Friends of the Ouachita Trail, attended Wednesday's ceremony at Rattlesnake Ridge and Thursday's atop Flatside Pinnacle. He noted that it was a great week for outdoor-loving Arkansans.
"Creating more wilderness areas means more protection, and we're all for doing that," he said.
Hill, speaking from the edge of the outcropping, said that re-evaluating Flatside Wilderness -- the only wilderness area in the 2nd Congressional District and closest to Little Rock -- was one of the first things he wanted to do after taking office in 2015.
More work needs to be done to move the bill through Congress, Hill said, encouraging supporters to advocate for the legislation. Hill introduced the bill now because the farm bill will be up for reauthorization later this year. The proposal, Hill said, could be folded into this year's Farm Bill.
Bethune looked at Hill as the wind whipped across the peak Thursday morning. The two men's roles are now reversed: Hill is in Congress and Bethune advocates from the sidelines.
Noting this proposal would be the first to enhance and improve the Arkansas Wilderness Act since its 1984 passage, Bethune made a plea.
"Let this not be the last, French."
Metro on 05/04/2018
*CORRECTION: There are more than 110 million acres of federally designated wilderness in the U.S. A previous version of this article misstated the total wilderness acreage.