Arkansas gets a state forest without review.
H.R. 10136 — Crossett Experimental Forest Act of 2026 · Filed by Bruce Westerman (R-AR) · Introduced Aug 20, 2026 · Reported out
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What it does
The bill lets Arkansas take the Crossett Experimental Forest if it asks within 180 days. Arkansas must pay for the transfer. Arkansas must run it as a state forest. The University of Arkansas will help with research and learning. The state can lose it back if it stops doing research.
Who it affects
People in Arkansas and the University of Arkansas may use the forest for research and learning. The transfer removes safety rules that apply to public lands.
One thing to notice
The bill skips the review that usually happens when land changes hands. The state can keep the forest even if it stops research, unless the Secretary acts within 180 days.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
- Aug 20, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Aug 20, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources”
- Sep 2, 2026 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Subcommittee Hearings Held”
- Sep 15, 2026 — Markup held in committee · Congress.gov: “Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held”
- Sep 15, 2026 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute by Unanimous Consent”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- review — A study of how a project affects nature, water, air, and wildlife.
- Experimental Forest — A forest owned and run by the state for research and testing.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (3,486 characters) on Aug 24, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,522 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-22.
“Arkansas gets a state forest without review.” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr10136/simple Report an error