Municipality of Treeland

The Municipality
The Municipality of Treeland arose from the remaining metropolitan area of Northwest Arkansas. Containing few strategic targets, the area mostly escaped damage, but was heavily impacted by fallout and the regional fall in agricultural productivity. Due to the high level of development and relatively common culture, the cities of Bentonville, Rogers, Springdale, and Fayetteville, as well as surrounding towns, banded together into a new state. Previously having a diverse population with significant populations of Mexican, Southeast Asian Islander, and black citizens, Treeland is a very diverse nation united by common cultural threads of unity, cooperation, and stewardship of their few remaining environmental resources. Having a previously high rate of gun ownership, Treeland has a well equipped and supplied militia.

History
While tensions in the area were very high during the war, life continued relatively uninterrupted, thanks to the lack of bombs directly targeting the area. When it became clear that the state-level government was no longer effective, a number of factions rose up to govern the area, some wishing to make one city independent, some the local region, and some aspiring to reunite the nation. Surprisingly to some, none of the city mayors' factions gained much sway, though nearly all of the city administrators and clerks were absorbed into the new government, their expertise badly needed. With fairly little conflict, regional groups absorbed each other and others broke apart, until an unlikely figurehead, a minor local celebrity busboy, known popularly by the alias Firecat, the "Fastest in the World," arose. His surprise was even greater than that of citizens expecting a former mayor to rise, but he rode the wave of unexpected success and gave his all to lead the people. Unfortunately, Firecat had retreated to stay with family south of Fayetteville during the war, and received a large radiation dose from the bomb targeting the air base at Fort Smith, and was injured by burns in an ensuing forest fire. His injuries, still not fully healed, combined with the dose of radiation and stress of his new position, placed Firecat's body in a very weak position, and less than a year after uniting the area, he passed away from complications with an infection of one of his burns. The head of state of the Municipality of Treeland now carries the title of "Firecat" in honor of his great contribution to the unification of the region.