Spotlight: Wilderness in America
Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act
What You’ll Find
Wilderness showcases to the world some of America’s most special places and landscapes—forested mountains, alpine meadows, rock peaks above timberline, tundra, lava beds, deserts, swamps, coastal lands and islands.
Spending time in a Wilderness area transports you to a place and time that resembles nothing in our modern world. Hiking for hours without encountering another person, rafting a section of river seeing only white water and wildlife and setting up camp in a remote clearing with only what you can carry on your back are the ingredients of lifetime memories. It is in these “untrammeled” wild places that we are able to shed reminders of our hectic lives and regain a sense of wonder and connectedness to something much greater than ourselves. Discover a Wilderness area near you.
Join in the Celebration
Community-based events are being held and planned across the country to celebrate this golden anniversary. It is clear that Wilderness inspires in creative and meaningful ways. Activities throughout the year range from art exhibits to musical concerts to snowshoe outings to workshops to hikes and so much more.
Make Sure You
Plan ahead and be prepared! Traveling and camping in Wilderness requires advance planning, appropriate supplies and good maps. Here are some helpful tips by the Klamath National Forest.
The El Toro Wilderness within the El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico is the only tropical forest in the Wilderness Preservation System. The area covers about 10,000 acres and is named after the highest peak, which is a prominent feature on this island. If you visit, you can enjoy swimming, wildlife viewing, bird watching, primitive camping and hiking.
Did You Know?
In September of 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson, signed into law the Wilderness Act. Immediately, 34 areas, covering 9.1 million acres were designated as Wilderness. The Act provided for future designation by Congress and during the next 50 years, a total of 757 Wilderness areas in 44 states across the U.S., including Puerto Rico were included in this preservation system. These areas cover nearly 110 million acres, which is about five percent of the land in the U.S.—half of these acres are located in Alaska.