The Arkansas Planning Commission, in cooperation with the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, has completed a study of the loss of wetlands and woodlands in Eastern Arkansas. Although the detailed study was limited to the Arkansas portion of the Mississippi River Delta Region, essentially the same conditions prevail in the Delta portions of five other states and the recommendations to alleviate the problem are applicable Regionwide. Shortly after the study got underway, it was recognized that the destruction of wetlands, woodlands and other environmental qualities in the Delta was precipitating losses which extend far beyond what is generally believed to be the limits of conservation interests. In the fall of 1969, Governor Winthrop Rockefeller directed attention to the far-reaching effects of the losses of these resource values by calling a multistate seminar to discuss possible solutions to the problem. The Governor's Seminar on the Mississippi Delta Hardwoods, co-sponsored by the Arkansas Planning Commission and the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, was held in Little Rock on December I. This Seminar, publicity generated during the course of the study, and the nation-wide awareness of the need to preserve environmental qualities, have helped smooth the way for progress in the effort to preserve Delta hardwood areas.
