Why are wilderness areas designated?
The Wilderness Act states that wilderness areas are established, “. . .in order to assure that an increasing population, accompanied by expanding settlement and growing mechanization, does not occupy and modify all areas within the United States and its possessions, leaving no lands designated for preservation and protection in their natural condition. . . ..
The Wilderness Act states that wilderness areas are established “to assure that an increasing population, accompanied by expanding settlement and growing mechanization, does not occupy and modify all areas within the United States and its possessions, leaving no lands designated for preservation and protection in their natural condition.” Today, wilderness is designated for a variety of benefits, including clean water and air, habitat for rare plants and animals as well as primitive recreation.
