What We Do

We speak for the wilderness, and for the people, communities, wild animals and plants that depend on wilderness for survival.

Designation of Wilderness lands is one of our top priorities. Since the passage of the Wilderness Act, The Wilderness Society has helped gain permanent protection for more than 109 million acres of wild places.

And we do much more:

We protect wild places by:

• crafting and winning passage of legislation protecting wilderness and wild lands;
• gaining adequate federal funding to ensure good management of the lands;
• defending places like the America's Arctic from oil drilling.

We improve the way our lands and resources are managed by:

• leading new research and making sure that the latest science guides decisions about our public lands;
• working with decision makers to ensure that wild places stay that way while awaiting wilderness protection;
• pressing for sensible management decisions about such things as oil and gas development, off road vehicle use and logging.

We inspire Americans to care for their lands through:

• promoting our vision for wilderness protection;
• building diversified support for wildland protection.