Scott House

Mr. Scott House’s investment of time and capital in northeast Arkansas has created and expanded wetland habitat in the critical Mississippi Flyway. In 1997, Mr. House began restoring 203 acres along the L’Anguille River on his land, Bearitage Farms. His contribution now totals 1,260 acres and includes diverse habitats, such as green tree reservoirs, moist soil and wetland areas, hardwood forests, and tupelo-cypress swamps. Mr. House actively engages neighbors in his pursuit, resulting in the donation of 15,000 acres of formerly cropped lands that are now flooded for wintering migratory birds. Utilizing Natural Resources Conservation Service programs and support from Ducks Unlimited and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Mr. House has reshaped the landscape by planting over 60,000 trees almost single-handedly, contouring large tracts of land, adding seven re-lift pumps to actively manage water depths and vegetative composition, and building a levee system across 265 acres to help form a green timber impoundment for wintering waterfowl. He recently donated 85 acres to create a “prairie pothole” wetland, providing mixed-depth habitat for dabbling and diving ducks and awarded Arkansas State University a permanent wetland easement for research and education.