[2] Outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy the area in a number of ways, including an 8.9-mile section of the Ouachita National Recreation Trail.

[3] On September 8, 2019, a bill sponsored by Congressman French Hill was signed into law which expanded the wilderness area by 640 acres.

[4] The area was named the Bethune Woods segment, in honor of the politician who helped create the original wilderness in the first place.

The bill also directed the US Forest Service to study additional woodlands surrounding the wilderness in the hopes that they are eligible to add to the area.

It is located in the eastern terminus of the Ouachita National Forest, which covers approximately 1.8 million acres of western Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma.