mywilderness

As an American, you own 618 million acres of federal wildlands, of which nearly 110 million acres are designated wilderness. Hear artists, activists and adventurers share what the ownership and legacy of these American wildlands means to them.

Jeremy Jones

For professional snowboarder Jeremy Jones, wilderness is a set for making action films and a place to protect.

T.A. Barron

Young adult author T.A. Barron dreams up books about the magical ways wild places transform his characters.

Betty White

Actress Betty White first experienced wilderness visiting California's Sierra Nevada as a girl.

Wendie Malick

Actress Wendie Malick says wilderness helps her to retreat from the bustle of urban life and rejuvenate.

Dave Matthews

Musician Dave Matthews wants to help draw attention to America's wild places and inspire us all to protect them.

Forrest Shearer

A professional snowboarder, Forrest Shearer has seen first-hand how climate change is affecting our wild places.

Cornelia Funke

Fire your imagination by exploring wild places — just like children’s author Cornelia Funke.

Dudley Edmonson

A wildlife photographer and youth outdoor leader, Dudley Edmonson wants to give more people opportunities to experience wild places.

Kai Hagen

Kai Hagen first connected with wilderness exploring Maryland's Catoctin Mountains, a short distance from the nation's capital, Washington, D.C.

Lynn Donaldson

Mom and photographer Lynn Donaldson talks about her work to connect her children with wild places and raise them as "outdoorsy" kids.

Shawn Stewart

Seattle radio personality Shawn Stewart shares how wilderness has brought her closer to one of her best friends in life, her adopted dog Charlie.

  • Members of the Western Clean Energy Advocates (WCEA), signed a letter encouraging Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper to  to sign SB 252, to increase the renewable energy portfolio standard for rural electric providers

    . WCEA is a diverse and growing coalition working to transform the way we produce, use, and distribute energy across the West. WCEA aims to create jobs, protect the West’s water, wildlife, and ecosystems, address climate change, and enhance energy security.

  • Smart Steps to Establish a Responsible Program for Renewable Energy on Public Lands

    Since its first day in office, the Obama Administration has made rapid and responsible expansion of renewable energy a top priority. The public lands have played a major role in achieving early goals, but only because of focused effort to correct decades of inattention and inactivity toward developing renewable energy as a major component of the nation’s energy mix.

  • Expanding energy development to meet the growing needs of America must be balanced with protecting vital wild places. 

    The Wilderness Society has launched a new quarterly report "By The Numbers" to track how many acres of American land have been protected by Congress and the Executive branch, and how many acres have been leased out to energy development.

  • Tim Woody

    Witness testimony today by Noble’s Offshore Installation Manager Todd Case as he was questioned by the National Transportation Safety Board revealed that the Kulluk drill rig -- which Shell attempted to tow across the Gulf of Alaska with a single tow vessel before it broke loose and ran aground last New Year’s Eve -- should have had multiple tow vessels for safe transport.

    Case was aboard the Kulluk when it went adrift and ran aground on a small island south of Kodiak.

  • Tim Woody

    U.S. Representatives Don Young and Doc Hastings have introduced H.R. 1964 in an effort to scrap the Department of the Interior’s recently finalized, comprehensive plan for the western Arctic’s National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, the nation’s largest tract of public land. The bill is scheduled for a hearing tomorrow on Capitol Hill.

  • jdickson

    Identifying smart steps the Obama Administration, including the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management, can take to continue building a responsible program for renewable energy  are part of a “blueprint for action” released by The Wilderness Society today.