Wilderness Act Turns 50!
The Wilderness Act goal was to provide protection of wild, natural landscapes to remain so forever. No roads, no buildings, no vehicles.
You can basically enter on foot, by canoe, or by horse.
The goal to preserve our amazing natural treasures in perpetuity was and remains a noble goal. Think about it this way, America was carved from the wilderness. The pioneers traveled into the great unknown and built our country. However by the close of the 19th century the country stretched coast to coast. Foresighted conservationists like Theodore Roosevelt began setting aside National Parks, Monuments, Forests and Wildlife Refuges. Millions of acres were saved and many national treasures such as Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon were preserved.
In 1924 the Gila Wilderness was named the worlds first wilderness thanks to the work of people like Aldo Leopold.
Society marched on and by the 1960's we saw that not only should forests be preserved, some should be preserved in their most wild natural state and not be harvested. Some areas of parks should not have roads. There are areas we should set aside forever.
Thus the Wilderness Act was born.
Now we have wilderness stretching from coast to coast. Places where you and your great grand children can enjoy in their pure wild natural state.
I think the founding fathers would be proud.
I have but one image to share with this post- a piece of land deserving of wilderness protection. A desert grassland and mountains covered in petroglyphs. A lonely wild place calling out for protection. A place I call the Lost Mesa.
Here the stars still blaze at night and you can still experience the vast distances and big empty land this is. A place we should set aside as is forever as wilderness.
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