Sponsor
Bruce Westerman
Representative · R-AR
Representative · R-AR
The bill transfers the Crossett Experimental Forest to Arkansas to support local research and reduce federal management costs, but it waives federal environmental and historic reviews and shifts upfront financial and legal risks to the State, trading public oversight and risk mitigation for faster local control.
Arkansas state government, local governments, and rural communities gain ownership of the Crossett Experimental Forest, expanding State-managed public research land and enabling more locally tailored stewardship and quicker decision-making consistent with the forest's research mission.
Researchers and students at the University of Arkansas at Monticello and the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture receive guaranteed reasonable access to the forest for research, education, and demonstration activities.
Federal taxpayers and agencies are relieved of ongoing federal management costs for the specific forest area, reducing long-term federal expenditures.
Rural communities and local governments lose the federal environmental (NEPA) review and historic property (Section 106) review for the conveyance, eliminating formal federal environmental analysis and public comment that could identify or mitigate impacts to natural and cultural resources.
Arkansas state government may inherit title and legal risks because the property is conveyed by quitclaim deed without warranties, potentially leaving the State liable for unknown title defects or third-party rights.
State taxpayers must cover upfront conveyance costs (surveys, administrative fees), creating an immediate fiscal burden on Arkansas.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Conveys the Crossett Experimental Forest to Arkansas to be managed as Crossett State Forest for research, education, and demonstration, and exempts the conveyance from certain NEPA and historic-property reviews.
Official title: To require the Secretary of Agriculture to convey the Crossett Experimental Forest to the State of Arkansas, and for other purposes.
Introduced August 20, 2026 by Bruce Westerman · Last progress August 20, 2026
Conveys the Crossett Experimental Forest and associated research areas and facilities to the State of Arkansas if the State requests the land within 180 days of enactment. The conveyance is by quitclaim deed without payment, subject to existing rights and conditions, and requires Arkansas to manage the land as "Crossett State Forest" for forest research, education, and demonstration while coordinating access with nearby University of Arkansas campuses. The law also exempts that specific conveyance from certain federal review requirements (NEPA major Federal action review and a statutory historic-property review), requires the State to pay conveyance costs, and allows the United States to reclaim the property if the State fails to follow management conditions after notice.