U.S. agency, church work on land swap

WASHINGTON — The earth is the Lord’s, Psalm 24 declares. But the soil beneath Walnut Grove Community Church, government officials note, belongs to the U.S. Forest Service.

The Garland County congregation wants to trade 6.3 acres bordering the Ouachita National Forest for 4 acres along Arkansas 298, roughly 10 miles west of Jessieville.

On May 22, U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-District 4, of Hot Springs introduced legislation to make that happen.

H.R. 5923, also known as the Walnut Grove Land Exchange Act, instructs the secretary of agriculture to swap the properties.

If appraisers decide that the church location is more valuable, the congregation would make an “equalization payment” so that both sides receive equal value, the legislation states.

The congregation would pay for any costs “related to the conveyance,” the legislation states.

Westerman, a Republican from Hot Springs, said the exchange would benefit everybody.

“It seems like it should be pretty painless to do,” he said in an interview.

There’s been a church building on the

property since at least 1938, but the federal forest is even older.

The Arkansas National Forest traces its beginnings to Dec. 18,

1907, the day President Theodore Roosevelt created it. In 1926, President Calvin Coolidge renamed it the Ouachita National Forest.

The church’s early leaders built a church on the spot because it borders the Rock Springs and Walnut Grove Cemetery, the final resting place for many of their neighbors and relatives.

Roughly 2 acres of the burial grounds are located on Forest Service property.

At Walnut Grove Community Church, the second Sunday of May is always Decoration Day, a time to gather, share a meal and tend to the gravestones.

They also have an annual sunrise Easter service on the grounds.

Forest officials granted the church permission to use the land

80 years ago. In the 1990s, they allowed the church to build a larger sanctuary. In recent years, the congregation has periodically applied for and been granted special use permits to continue using the land.

If the swap is approved, the congregation will take ownership of the cemetery, the church site and surrounding property — 4 acres altogether.

The church’s pastor, Roger Harper, said the property exchange would make life easier.

“We’ll be able to build a new sanctuary, build a new fellowship hall,” he said.

More parking spaces would be helpful, but they’re hard to obtain, given the existing regulatory hurdles.

“We’re not allowed to do anything to [the land]. We can’t cut a tree. We can’t do a lot of leveling or anything to make a parking lot there,” he said. “It would just work so much better if we actually owned it where we could do things like that.”

Church leaders say they tried for years to arrange a land swap with the Forest Service but were unable to do so.

Overall, there aren’t many private buildings situated on the Ouachita National Forest’s 1.8 million acres, according to Forest Service spokesman Terence Peck.

Boundary encroachments are also unusual, he wrote in an email.

“When encroachments or trespasses are found, they can range anywhere from gardens, yards, parking areas, porches, cabins, homes, outbuildings, cemeteries, etc.,” he wrote. “Generally, the Forest Service works to remove encroachments.” Property swaps sometimes occur.

“Lands that are excess to national forest needs may be traded for lands that have value for national forest use, management, and enjoyment,” Peck wrote. “Land exchange continues to be a valuable land adjustment tool due to the benefits afforded to both Federal and nonfederal parties, especially in the arena of land manageability that results from consolidating ownership.”

The spokesman said he can’t comment on prior property discussions between the church and the Forest Service because of the pending legislation.

Westerman said he’s not sure why past efforts were unsuccessful.

“The local folks at the Forest Service have been great to work with at making this happen. It’s not like we’re getting pushback,” he said.

The church isn’t looking for a cut-rate price, Harper said. “Fair market value. We’re not trying to do anything underhanded. We’d just like to own the property so that we can manage it,” he said.