Fifty years ago, on Sept. 3, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Wilderness Act into law, setting aside for the benefit of all Americans portions of this nation "where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man."
A half century later, the wilderness preservation system has fomented debate even among friends of wild lands. Some suggest that the Wilderness Act has outlived its usefulness in this world of extensive environmental change. Others respond that the law, and ideas behind it, are more relevant than ever. Foes of the act aim to gut it.