When President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Wilderness Act in 1964, he created one of our nation’s most cherished wildland systems: the National Wilderness Preservation System.
Editor's note: The name and bill number of the “Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act” (H.R 2834) has been changed to the “Sportsmen’s Heritage Act” (H.R. 4089)
The Wilderness Act of 1964 allows agencies to take any measure to control a fire. This includes creating fire roads, fire breaks, backfires or aerial suppression.
President Obama recently declared September to be National Wilderness Month, calling on Americans to “renew our pledge to build upon the legacy of our forebears.”
It’s a magnificent, if incomplete, legacy, one that has come to symbolize both democratic values and a rugged national character.
By Associate Director for National Wilderness Campaigns Paul Spitler
Today's action clears the most significant hurdle to protecting some of the country’s most cherished landscapes. This legislation is the most important conservation measure in a decade.
Aldo Leopold, co-founder of The Wilderness Society and a preeminent voice in the conservation world defined wilderness as “a continuous stretch of country preserved in its natural state, open to lawful hunting and fishing, big enough to absorb a two week’s [horse] pack trip.” In his most famous book, A Sand County Almanac, he provided two examples of “primitive skills in pioneering travel…”one of these is canoe travel, and the other is travel by packtrain.”
It’s been a big month for climate change. “YOU LIE!” you say? Well, if you don’t geek out on environmental politics all day (in other words, you are a relatively normal person) you may be under the mistaken impression that healthcare is the only game in town these days. But don’t be fooled. September has seen several game-changing developments on the climate front. Here’s a quick recap of some highlights from this month so far:
So much has changed since 1964. In many ways, the America of today bears scant resemblance to the America of 45 years ago. There are few corners of our country that have not changed dramatically in the last two generations. Many of the small towns we or our parents grew up in have become cities or suburbs, farmland has given way to strip malls, back roads have become superhighways.
America's Wilderness spans magnificent lands from coast to coast — north to south. We can celebrate these outstanding natural benefits today — and be sure they will be available to us tomorrow — because forty-five years ago, our nation’s leaders introduced visionary legislation unlike any the world had ever seen: The Wilderness Act. A deliberate and farsighted effort to protect from development vast areas of wild places, the Wilderness Act preserves the lasting benefits of wilderness for the enjoyment of all Americans.
