Do kayaks, canoes and rafts belong in Wilderness areas?
Yes. The Wilderness Act explicitly states that non-motorized boats are wilderness compliant uses. The Wilderness Act is clear that Wilderness areas are to be managed to allow and encourage backcountry recreation on foot, in boats, and on horseback. As Aldo Leopold wrote in “Wilderness” from A Sand County Almanac in 1949, “Wilderness Areas are first of all a series of sanctuaries for the primitive arts of wilderness travel, especially canoeing and packing.” The right to paddle down Wilderness rivers is at the very core of the Wilderness Act and the concept of Wilderness.
