What is a wilderness area?
The Wilderness Act of 1964 established the National Wilderness Preservation System, a network of individual wilderness areas on federal public lands. Designating these lands as wilderness areas provides the highest level of protection and can only be done through an act of Congress. Today, the National Wilderness Preservation System protects over 111 million acres of land.
Wilderness stewardship builds upon the ongoing relationship of shared connections between people and the land. It’s important to recognize and respect the rich cultural traditions of indigenous people, and later immigrants, with these lands that existed long before national parks and wilderness areas.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
