What is the difference between a Wilderness Study Area and a designated Wilderness?
A Wilderness Study Area is an administrative designation designed to allow these areas to be studied and considered by Congress for possible designation as wilderness. Wilderness Study Areas are managed to prevent impairment of their suitability for congressional designation as wilderness. A Wilderness is designated by law. Wilderness areas are managed under the Wilderness Act. Some uses, such as motorized vehicles on trails, may be allowed in Wilderness Study Areas, but are generally prohibited in Wilderness Areas. In Utah, BLM manages one Wilderness Area of approximately 100,000 acres and portions of three Wilderness Areas (approximately 27,700 acres total) that were established by wilderness legislation focused largely on Colorado and Arizona and .
