Eclecticisms Most Plausible,
Spare Embodiments in Miniature,
Congruous Abridgements,
the Occasional Received Epitome,
Choice Facts, Strange Mysteries,
and Unfettered Digressions —
Each and All Found
within the Smaller Compass
of the Greater Work, the Magnum Opus,
with Particular Attention Given to the Natural World,
Its Beings, Objects, Forces, and Ideas,
including the Diverse Ways
Nature Is Viewed and Engaged by Humanity.

Government's antidote to the ravages of unbridled agricultural capitalism in the early decades of the twentieth century, the national grasslands of the USA demonstrate the value of central planning and social action for the common good. Developed by the Soil Conservation Service in the late 1930s, the grasslands program sought to reclaim the raging, barren Dust Bowl lands of the Great Plains for productive use by farmers and ranchers. After seventy years of sensible management, the program is measurably successful, having returned four million acres of previously worn-out land to productive use for livestock grazing, recreation, hunting, watershed stabilization, and wildlife preservation.

As one of many programs designed by the Roosevelt administration to mitigate the miseries of the Great Depression, the grasslands initiative saw the federal government purchase eroded private land from failed, bankrupt farmers and ranchers, or from the banks that held the worthless deeds. The land was taken out of cultivation and nursed back to natural health, then gradually returned to sustainable use. Management of the national grasslands was transferred to Forest Service in 1953.

The Black Kettle National Grasslands encompass 30,724 acres in west-central Oklahoma near Cheyenne and an additional 576-acre tract near Canadian, Texas. The grasslands' namesake, Chief Black Kettle of the Southern Cheyenne tribe, is memorialized at the Washita Battlefield National Historic Site just outside the town of Cheyenne. Groomed trails meander through the 315-acre battlefield site to provide visitors with the opportunity to see the grasses, wildflowers, trees, streams, and critters of the grasslands — up close and personal.

• National Grasslands website:
• Washita Battlefield National Historic Site:
• The Crow's Cottage librarian recommends The National Grasslands: A Guide to America's Undiscovered Treasures by Francis Moul with photography by Georg Joutras (Lincoln 2006: University of Nebraska Press)
• Blood: at Beautiful Cheyenne, Intimations of Legend Ride the Western Wind.

EB — July 3, 2009

A dog. 65-pound mix of Chow, Collie, and Saint Bernard. Found as a pup, wandering with his two sisters in the woods outside Conway, Arkansas, by Deb Strack in the spring of 1996. A gift to the family Bowles. Nicknames: Chi Pup, Root Man, Buckaroo. Buck died on August 31, 2009.

15-mile trail in Arkansas that begins in Devil's Den State Park, enters the Ozark National Forest, and returns to its starting point in the park.  The trail is named for the Butterfield Overland Stage, a stagecoach route from Missouri to California that ran from 1858 through 1861.  A stout challenge for the hiker who wants to go from beginning to end in a single day, the trail meanders along Lee Creek in the state park, climbs Olive Mountain, descends to Blackburn Creek, and traverses the mountain again, returning the weary hiker to Lee Creek and the trailhead in Devil's Den.  It's an ideal two-day hike for the backpacker who is eager to get away from it all, but not so keen on having to backtrack or navigate the wilderness.   

• Butterfield Trail map and narrative
• Into the Wilds: Shelter in the Eternal Night.

"One for the cutworm, one for the crow, one to share, and one to grow."  So reads the folksy aphorism topping the pages on the web of Conserving Arkansas's Agricultural Heritage (CAAH).  The "one" in this instance is a seed — and not just any seed, but heirloom seeds, passed down by gardeners from generation to generation, the kinds of seeds that "carry with them genetic diversity and long-standing traditions" to "support and reinforce culture," according to the CAAH web.  The program manages a central seed bank and a seed information archive devoted to preserving the sustainability and history of heirloom seeds at its headquarters on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.     

• The CAAH website

State Park in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, south of Fayetteville and north of Fort Smith.  Devil's Den is a prince among parks, expressing through its natural wonders the majesty of mountain and stream, and through its cabins, camps and trails the lasting achievements of President Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps.

• The park's website:

A public space of 812 acres of wetlands near the Arkansas River about halfway between Fort Smith and Ozark.  Created primarily for duck hunting and managed by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Frog Bayou is also valuable for the health and survival of migrating birds and other waterfowl.  And because duck hunting is a seasonal pursuit, birdwatchers and wildflower enthusiasts can enjoy the wetlands in quiet solitude during the months of February, March, April, May, June, July, August, and October.  Herons, egrets, and white-faced ibis are among the migratory visitors.   

Frog Bayou was dedicated on September 24, 2011, after seven years of development by Ducks Unlimited, the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.  South of the small town of Dyer in Crawford County, the bayou includes 200 acres of newly planted hardwood trees, mostly cypress and willow oak, on land previously devoted to farming.  Most of the trees grow in the muddy wetlands.  

• Frog Bayou's website:

An paved urban trail, measured by the city at 1.9 miles, in Fayetteville, Arkansas.  For a while in its early days, the trail was a wonderful place for brisk walks, either alone, tethered to a dog or two, or hand-in-hand with one's true love.  It meanders along the creek, which is bordered on both sides by thin strips of protected wetlands.  Nowadays, having been connected to other trails in the vast city system, Mud Creek Trail is rife with the fast rolling wheels of bicycles, often piloted by agressive young men in fancy outfits, who race past the walker with nary a warning and wreak all kinds of psychic havoc to the act of walking.  Such is the price of "multi-use," the trail master's term announcing open season on the peace and serenity of ambulatory activity.

• The city's Mud Creek Trail web:
• The U.S. Code that protects Mud Creek:

Stretches from central Arkansas west into southeast Oklahoma. 1.6 million acres. Includes six wildernesses in remote regions of the Ouachita Mountains: Upper Kiamichi River Wilderness, Black Fork Mountain Wilderness, Poteau Wilderness, Caney Creek Wilderness, Dry Creek Wilderness, and Flatside Wilderness.  Each wilderness offers prime opportunities for solitude and physical challenge for the hiker.

• A map of the forest:
• The official website:

Brand name of a backpacker's stove made in Sweden, special because it burns alcohol in a most efficient manner and is designed for simplicity and efficiency.  Crow's Cottage recommends it, solely because it's an excellent product, one we've taken to the wilds for almost thirty years now, and not because the link is hot with kickbacks. The stove is also useful during power failures if one needs to boil water for coffee and tea, or cook a hot dinner under emergency candlelight.

• The Trangia Ultralight Stoves web:

One of the primo wild places on Planet Earth. Rich in rocky hollows, hidden waterfalls, maturing forests. An abundance of solitude awaits the hiker willing to navigate rugged backcountry without trails.

7.5 mile hiking, horse, and bicycle trail from the northern edge of Lake Wedington to the Illinois River. Also known as the Twin Knobs Trail. The trailhead with paved parking lot is 12 miles west of Fayetteville, Arkansas, on State Highway 16. Moderately challenging on foot. Map link:

A primitive camping site and canoe launch on the right bank of the Mulberry River. Part of the White Rock Wildlife Management Area of the Ozark National Forest. Two miles east of Oark, Arkansas, on Route 215. Way back in the boonies.

In September, 2007, Wolf Pen was not a peaceful place. Men were busy with projects. Some were felling and carting off trees, others building roads and a bridge. Land immediately to the east of the campground was abuzz with the heavy machinery of lumberjacks. Cut trees, most of them genetically engineered pines, lay strewn on the ground amid fields of stumps and rubble. A few miles down the road to the west, crews were fully engaged in the fifth and final phase of a 14-year project to rebuild 15 miles of highway between Cass and Oark, including the replacement of a one-lane bridge over the Little Mulberry Creek, which flows from the north into the mother stream.

On the way to and from a day hike on the first cool snap of the season, we rumbled slowly over the bumpy and broken roadbed close to Wolf Pen, passing the great machines of the road builders and their huge piles of sand and gravel. We waved to the engineers and craftsmen, paused ever so briefly to evaluate the progress of the emerging bridge, and wondered how much longer it would be until they were done with it.

Commerce versus conservation, transportation versus wilderness preservation:  It was time to reflect for a moment on the democratic efforts of divergent, oft conflicting interests to accommodate one another in a difficult society. On the trail outside Wolf Pen, we wished for the roar and grind of so many noisy engines of commerce to just go away, but we also appreciated the smooth and safe sections of Route 215 that had eased our passage there — it is an innovative roadway, one that flows with the contours of the hills rather than seeking to overpower them in a straight-line rush toward the next junction; a scenic byway with splendid vistas of the winding green river; a backcountry pathway attuned to the local environment, with mountainside retaining walls crafted from native stone and formed into shapes and colors in harmony with nature. If a modern highway alongside the Mulberry River had to be built, we surmised, then this particular version of the modern highway is as good as it is going to get.

"The previously existing route was not adequate for the current or anticipated future traffic," environmental assessment experts wrote in 1994.₁ "The travel lane was too narrow, the surface rough (gravel), and an unnecessary amount of dust and siltation were being produced, all of which detracted from the personal experience and water quality of the streams and river in the area. The road provides access to the Mulberry River Valley for local residents, recreationists, and other forest users. The road provides access to campgrounds, hiking trails, and scenic views of the Mulberry River. The Mulberry River is very popular among canoeists and it is highly regarded as a smallmouth bass river. Hunters also heavily use the National Forest during hunting season. The reconstructed roadway is meant to reduce dust and siltation, thereby enhancing the personal experience and improving the water quality of the area."

There you go, a rational justification: geotechnology placed in service to the wild and scenic Mulberry. Completion of the project is anticipated for late 2008 or early 2009.

As for the loggers, we suppose they served purely private interests. A map of the national forest shows a tract of private land abutting the eastern edge of Wolf Pen and extending all the way to Oark. From our viewpoint, the fast-grow yellow pines the lumbermen were harvesting can hardly be counted among the family of trees. They're more like corn, beans, or cotton: a planted thing to be grown scientifically and harvested quickly to serve the temporal needs of a consumer society.

EB — October 25, 2007

1. Mitchell, Steve R. Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department: "Context-Sensitive Design Case Study No. 14, Arkansas Route 215, Ozark National Forest." Online at http://128.163.152.205/ csd/ HTM/ CSD14Route215OzarkAR.htm Downloaded 25 Oct 07.