Ouachita National Forest announces public scoping period for Mena Trails Project

HOT SPRINGS, Ark – March 24, 2023— Public scoping opens today for a trail- and recreation-related infrastructure development project proposal on the Mena/Oden Ranger District of the Ouachita National Forest.

The project, known as the “Trails at Mena Project,” is a proposal submitted to the U.S. Forest Service from the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism-Division of Arkansas State Parks for a groundbreaking gravity-oriented trail experience in Arkansas.

The proposed project includes the following actions on National Forest System Lands:

• Issuance of a special use permit to the State of Arkansas for developed recreation within select locations and corridors across 8,832 acres of NFS lands;

• Construction of up to 100 miles of primarily natural surface trails on NFS lands;

• Development of a base portal for arrival and guest services;

• Construction of parking areas and im- provements to the existing pull-offs along Highway 88;

• Development of an uplift infrastructure to transport users throughout the SUP area;

• Construction of ancillary support facilities and amenities within the trail network;

• Creation of non-trail-based, developed recreation opportunities; and,

• Improvement of existing road segments and creation of new access routes.

Public involvement will enable the Forest to better assess concerns of the public. Public scoping is not limited to a single point in time. The Forest will continue to accept and consider comments until an implementation decision is made. However, comments will be most helpful if they are received early in the process. Comments will help the Forest identify environmental issues associated with implementation and alternative ways to meet Forest objectives and desired conditions.

Comments will become a part of the public record for this Proposed Action. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and considered; however, anonymous comments will not provide the Agency with the ability to provide the respondent with subsequent environmental documents.

Electronic comments are encouraged and can be submitted on the Forest Service website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=63649. Click on “comment” on the right side of the page.

Specific written comments must be submitted to:

Mena/Oden District Ranger

Attention: Mena Trails 1603 Hwy 71 North

Mena, AR, 71953 or via fax to 479-394-2389. The office business hours for those submitting hand-delivered comments are: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.

For additional information, please visit the Trails at Mena Project website at https:// www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=63649.

By Richie Lawry

In 1962 Bob Dylan wrote one of his most famous protest songs, “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall.” The song opens, as most older Dylan songs do, to the mellow strumming of an acoustic guitar and an introduction to that iconic voice of his. The song’s first two lines are questions, “Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son?” and “Oh, where have you been, my darling young one?”

By opening verses with questions like these, Dylan sets up a response to what he has seen, who he has met, what he has heard, and what he will do now. The song is full of dense imagery that suggests injustice, suffering, pollution, and warfare. Because the world focused on the atomic realities of the Cold War at the time Dylan wrote the song, some have suggested that the refrain of the song, “It’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall,” refers to nuclear fallout. However, Dylan said, “No, it’s not atomic rain, it’s just a hard rain. It isn’t the fallout rain. I mean some sort of end that’s just gotta happen” (Studs Terkel Program - 98.7 WMFT, 1963).

Two lines particularly move me, “I met one man who was wounded in love,” followed by, “I met another man who was wounded with hatred.” I think that we have all, at some time, been wounded by someone we love. But I am even more sure that we have all experienced the wounds inflicted by those who hate us. Describing those who don’t acknowledge God, the Bible says, “Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip.”

Romans 1:29 (NLT)

Dylan’s song came to my mind as we were experiencing torrential rain here in Arkansas. Daddy and I were driving to Hot Springs for a doctor’s appointment. As we left Mena, the rain fell so hard that the streets began to flood. Visibility was abysmal as wave after wave of rain seemed to crash to earth. The windshield wipers slapped at the rain in a vain attempt to keep the windshield clear, but it was a losing battle.

As we cautiously made our way through the Arkansas countryside, every stream was out of its banks, and often it was hard to tell where the stream was supposed to