September 5, 2004 in Outdoors

Wonders of the Wilderness

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The U.S. population has increased by 100 million people in the past 40 years and the rate of rural land lost to development through the 1990s was about 2.2 million acres a year. Meanwhile, nothing much has changed in many of America’s finest wilderness areas except what Mother Nature has done with her own ways. That was the intent in 1964, when Congress approved the Wilderness Act and established the National Wilderness Preservation System. The legislation signed by President Lyndon Johnson created a category for protecting special natural areas “…where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” The law restricted grazing, mining, logging and mechanized vehicles and equipment in these areas valued for their ecological, historical and scientific resources as well as the sheer beauty of their natural landscapes. The original legislation applied a higher degree of preservation security to 9.1 million acres scattered across 13 states in 54 pristine areas, some of which were already designated as wilderness or primitive or wild areas within national forests and parks. Since then, Congress has expanded the system’s protection to 662 units totaling nearly 106 million acres in 44 states. These wilderness areas are more than pretty. They are reservoirs for native flora and fauna, the foundation for recreational industries and the headwaters of rivers that provide clean water for fish, wildlife and humans alike. The notion of “locking up” land from development has always stirred controversy, especially in the ranks of natural resource industries. Even after wilderness designations are hammered out by debate and compromise, new debates arise over issues such as managing fire and preventing hordes of wilderness visitors from loving the pristine places to death. But our affinity for the natural landscape is uniquely American and securing wilderness apparently is worth the effort. At least 20 states, including Idaho and Washington, are currently considering more areas for wilderness designation. In upcoming issues, the Outdoors & Travel section will explore wilderness areas, from the politics and issues to the pure wide-eyed adventure that lures people to them.

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