Can previously logged areas be designated wilderness?
Yes. Wilderness is defined as an area of federal land “retaining its primeval character and influence…which generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man’s work substantially unnoticeable.” This language was drafted particularly to provide for the preservation of wild land in the East. Thus, lands which have been impacted by man but which are returning to their natural state are eligible for designation. Consequently, evidence of prior timber harvests and dirt roads do not automatically disqualify candidate sites. The key is that the imprint of man’s prior work be substantially unnoticeable.
