What is wilderness?
The Wilderness Act describes wilderness as an area of undeveloped federal land which generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of mans work substantially unnoticeable. The Act recognizes wilderness as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.
The National Wilderness Preservation System was created in 1964 by Congress to protect natural areas for both humans and wildlife. According to the Wilderness Act, Wilderness: • Generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprints of man’s work substantially unnoticeable; • Has outstanding opportunities for solitude or primitive and unconfined recreation; • Has at least 5,000 acres or is of sufficient size as to make practical its preservation use; • May also contain ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic or historical value.
Wilderness is defined by the Wilderness Act of 1964 as “. . . an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain. An area of wilderness is further defined to mean in this Act an area of undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions and which (1) generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man’s work substantially unnoticeable; (2) has outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation; (3) has at least five thousand acres of land or is of sufficient size as to make practicable its preservation and use in an unimpaired condition; and (4) may also contain ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value” .
Wilderness designation and classification is decided by Congressional action. The Wilderness Act of 1964, states that wilderness areas are areas “where earth and its community of life remains untrammeled, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” The Payette National Forest has portions of two classified wildernesses. The Hells Canyon Wilderness (administered by the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area) is associated with the deepest gorge in the United States. The Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness at 2.2 million acres, is one of the largest wilderness areas in the lower 48.
Related Questions
- Is it fair to say that, as a human, you enjoy the chaos and beauty of wilderness and nature, but not enough to prefer it over right angles, sterilized order, pathological security and rigorous predictability?
- How is wilderness different from other federal public lands?
- How does wilderness designation in a park affect people?
