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Terre Noire Natural Area
Arkansas's natural environment, from the Mississippi Alluvial Plain to the Ozark Mountains, and the species it contains constitutes a heritage of immeasurable value. However, increasing population and land-use pressures have greatly altered what early explorers to our state first experienced. In the early 19th century, naturalists commented on the dense forests, extensive prairies, and canebrakes they experienced as they traversed the state. Bison, red wolves, Carolina Parakeets, and Greater Prairie Chickens, although no longer present, were reported as common in Arkansas.
Today, however, natural communities such as old-growth bottomland hardwood forests, tallgrass prairie, and forested canebrakes have all but disappeared from the state. Loss of these vital habitats has had a concurrent impact upon many of the plant and animal species dependent upon them. The extinction of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker can be directly tied to the loss of old-growth bottomland hardwood forests across the southeastern U.S. Conversion of tallgrass prairie into farmland most likely lead to the extirpation of the snowy orchid from Arkansas. In addition to direct loss of species from habitat destruction, many more species remain in Arkansas that are now considered rare, threatened, or endangered.
Grass Pink
Even though the depletion of Arkansas's distinctive natural diversity continues, there are still some areas within the state that remain relatively unaltered by human activity. High quality natural communities that remain represent remnants of the original landscape and provide vital habitat for imperiled plant and animal species. The mission of the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission (ANHC) is to identify and protect these remaining exemplary natural communities and maintain information on the distribution and status of the rare plant and animal species that live within the state.
As Arkansas continues to grow and develop, it is vital that we identify and protect the best examples of our remaining natural heritage. The ANHC plays a vital role in this very important effort. By focusing our attention upon those natural communities and species that need the most protection, we can help to ensure that Arkansas's natural diversity does not disappear.
