A research team at the University of Arkansas at Monticello is working on a $3.7 million grant project from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to restore the bottomland hardwood forests in Arkansas. The project is expected to plant new oak trees on 600 acres of unused or fallow farmland in the Ouachita River Valley, Red River Valley and Bayou Meto Watershed. Dr. Michael Blazier, dean of the College of Forestry, Agriculture, and Natural Resources, spoke with Ozarks at Large’s Daniel Caruth about the project.