About Us
The Wilderness Society on Facebook
Our mission: To protect wilderness and inspire Americans to care for our wild places.
Since 1935, The Wilderness Society has led the conservation movement in wilderness protection, writing and passing the landmark Wilderness Act and winning lasting protection for 109 million acres of Wilderness, including 56 million acres of spectacular lands in Alaska, eight million acres of fragile desert lands in California and millions more throughout the nation.
It is our calling and our passion to protect America’s wilderness, not as a relic of our nation’s past, but as a thriving ecological community that is central to life itself.
To meet our goals, we use science and collaboration with communities and conservation groups to bring about sensible policies and positive change in land conservation.
Above all, we work to achieve our mission: to protect wilderness and inspire Americans to care for our wild places.
Our issues:
Committed to Collaboration and Stewardship
We provide scientific, economic, legal and policy guidance to land managers, communities, local conservation groups and state and federal decision-makers. In doing so, we ensure the best management of our lands – national forests, parks and refuges, as well as public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
Integrity Rooted in Science
Science is the foundation of all we do. We never bend the facts to suit our purposes. In fact, our very founders were scientists and policy experts, many of them public servants:
- Robert Marshall, among the first to suggest that large tracts of Alaska be preserved.
- Aldo Leopold,world-renowned for his ground-breaking work on an ethical treatment of the land.
- Benton MacKaye, the “father” of the Appalachian Trail.
- Robert Sterling Yard, protector of our national parks.
- Harvey Broome, revered conservationist in the Smokies who was our president for nine years.
The Wilderness Society remains true to our founders’ principles and dedicated to the concept that careful, credible science, bold advocacy and unswerving vision are essential underpinnings of conservation policy.
Noteworthy Councilors to The Wilderness Society have included:
Take Action
Wilderness Experts View All >
Alan Rowsome
Alan Rowsome has been with The Wilderness Society for over 3 years - first as Executive Assistant to the President and now as Conservation Advocacy Associate.
... more