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Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act — and the wild places that have been protected 
2004 marks the 40th anniversary of the passage of the Wilderness Act — a historic piece of legislation that envisioned protecting forever some of America's most spectacular wildlands. From the icy peaks of the Glacier Wilderness in Washington, to the rivers of grass in Florida's Everglades, to the forests and high alpine meadows of California's John Muir Wilderness, the Wilderness Act has safeguarded a slice of America's unique natural heritage for future generations to explore and enjoy. "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, it is hereby declared to be the policy of the Congress to secure for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness." The original Act passed on September 3, 1964 and protected 9.1 million acres in state such as California, New Mexico, Idaho and Washington. Since then, the National Wilderness Preservation System has increased to more than 106 million acres in 44 states across the country. As impressive as that sounds, it represents only 5% of the nation's land mass. There are millions of acres of forests, mountains, desert and grasslands that are worthy of protection. The need to move swiftly to protect America's public lands is made more urgent given the increasing threats to these landscapes. The Bush Administrationdeclared in 2003 that the United States has all the wilderness it needs. As a result, the Department of Interior issued a policy that prevents federal land managers from taking inventory or protecting our nation's remaining wilderness quality lands. Moreover, the Bush Administration is pushing an aggressive policy to open these lands to increased resource extraction — oil and gas development, logging, mining and roadbuilding. In the spring of 2003, for example, the BLM approved the drilling of 82,000 new oil and gas wells in the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming alone. In the face of this threat, Sierra Club activists across the country are working to save America's last best wild places. There are budding wilderness proposals in 20 states where activists are working on the ground to identify and promote the protection of forest, mountains and deserts as wilderness. The campaigns are at different stages. Some activists are strapping on their hiking boots and taking inventory of lands that may be suitable for Wilderness designation. Some are working in coalitions with other stakeholders to come to agreement on acreage for a Wilderness proposal. Other grassroots advocates are building support for actual Wilderness legislation that is moving through Congress. The 40th anniversary of the Wilderness Act is an opportunity to rekindle the public interest in safeguarding our nation's unique natural heritage for future generations to enjoy. It is a time to identify and protect wildlands that are at risk from the Bush Administration's policies that leave them vulnerable to logging, mining, oil and gas drilling, road building and ORV abuse. But it is also a time to celebrate the tremendous accomplishments of Sierra Club and other activists across the country who have helped secure wilderness designation for America's most precious landscapes. In 2004, let's engage our neighbors in the campaign to ensure we leave a rich legacy of unspoiled wildands for our families, for our future.
Photo: Everglades National Park. Photo courtesy NPS. Up to TopHOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use |
