Wilderness 101: What Makes Federal Wilderness Different

Image from the National Park Service's page.

What a wilderness area is

The Wilderness Act of 1964 set up the National Wilderness Preservation System, a network of individual wilderness areas on federal public lands. Wilderness designation gives land the highest level of protection, and only an act of Congress can make it. The system now protects over 111 million acres, and over 80 percent of all National Park Service lands are managed as wilderness.

Caring for wilderness builds on a long relationship between people and the land. Indigenous people, and later immigrants, had rich cultural traditions tied to these lands long before national parks and wilderness areas existed, and those deserve recognition and respect.

Wilderness character

The 1964 act first used the term wilderness character, the defining attribute that sets federal wilderness apart from other public lands. It is a holistic idea that brings together the physical environment, personal experience and symbolic meaning.

Part of it is intangible: a sense of adventure, inspiration or relaxation. Part of it is five tangible qualities tied to the biophysical environment:

1. natural;
2. untrammeled;
3. undeveloped;
4. opportunities for solitude or primitive or unconfined recreation;
5. other features of value.

Getting out there

Preserving wilderness character includes giving people chances to connect with it, and the ways to do that are as varied as the landscapes and the visitors: hiking, climbing, paddling, fishing, hunting, horseback riding, skiing, snowshoeing and more. Wilderness can also be reached by wheelchair. Those who can't visit can explore wilderness online.

How to help

• Plan ahead. Check the park's website for trip options, conditions and what to prepare.
• Enjoy it lightly. Choose an adventure that suits you and follow Leave No Trace.
• Pass it on. Share what you know to inspire others and help protect wilderness for the future.

Sources

• National Park Service, "I Didn't Know That!: Wilderness 101": https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/idkt_wilderness101.htm
• National Park Service, "I Didn't Know That! Wilderness For All": https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/idkt_wildernessforall.htm
• The NPS page's photograph of the Buffalo National River Wilderness, credited to a named photographer, and its shareable graphic card are not reproduced here.
• The NPS page lists the fourth quality as "Opportunities for Solitude or Primitive of Unconfined Recreation"; "of" is read here as a slip for "or".