Why protect wilderness
Wilderness Designation
Congress can give public lands permanent protection by designating them as wilderness. A wilderness designation helps ensure treasured lands from coast to coast are protected for future generations.
Wilderness designation is the highest form of protection the government can give to a public land. No roads, vehicles or permanent structures are allowed in designated wilderness. A wilderness designation also prohibits activities like logging or mining.
Wilderness is designated through wilderness bills and through local, on-the-ground campaigns. The revolutionary Wilderness Act, introduced in 1964, gives Congress the power to protect a public land with a wilderness designation.
What is wilderness
Wilderness belongs to us. Protected wilderness has no roads, no development — it is our last unspoiled, natural refuge from the urban world. It’s our job to make sure wilderness thrives for generations to come.
Why protect wilderness
Since the Wilderness Act passed in 1964, Congress has designated nearly 110 million acres of federal wildlands as official wilderness. Official wilderness has the highest form of protection of any federal wildland.
How we designate wilderness
We work with local grassroots coalitions on campaigns to build support for wilderness and other conservation designations, both on the local and congressional levels.
Issues and threats
There are persistent issues and threats related to wilderness, from fires to grazing. Because these issues each impact wilderness differently, they require individual analysis and attention.
Current campaigns and legislation
Every year, new and existing wilderness designation campaigns emerge to protect America’s treasured wildlands.
Wilderness Act
The revolutionary 1964 Wilderness Act gave Congress the power to permanently protect public lands as wilderness.
Wilderness Designation FAQs
Want to know more about wilderness? Check out our Wilderness FAQs.
Notes from the Hill
Stay current on legislation moving in Congress, issues affecting wilderness and wilderness designation campaigns with our Notes from the Hill.
Take Action
Add your voice to important wilderness causes and take action to stop threats to our wildlands by joining our community of wilderness activists.
Policy and Science Library
Find fact sheets, reports and other resources related to wilderness policy and conservation.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013The effort is part of a trio of bad drilling bills resurfacing in the House this week, proving that while Congress has its wilderness champions, it also has its share of wilderness foes who just won't quit when it comes to legislation that attacks wildlands
Tuesday, May 21, 2013Despite decades of Americans saying “no” to oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska’s governor has proposed a plan that includes seismic testing and exploratory drilling in the very heart of the refuge – the coastal plain.
Monday, May 20, 2013The Forest Service proposed a ban last year on horizontal drilling, also known as fracking. Their decision will determine how this forest is managed for at least the next decade.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013Yet, here we are, with people and the government unable to stop furloughs, job losses, and lower revenue to keep the government functioning. Our public lands have certainly not been spared from this indiscriminate budget ax.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013But Alaska’s Sen. Lisa Murkowski refused to accept that decision. She and residents of the tiny community of King Cove are fighting to have the decision overturned.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013Birdwatchers travel from far and wide to northwest Colorado to see male sage-grouse strut their stuff in hopes of attracting a mate. Early spring is prime season to catch these timid grouse dancing on the lek and shaking their tail feathers through organized tours.
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.
April 24, 2013
Dear Senator:
Wednesday, May 22, 2013Witness 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.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013U.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.
Monday, May 20, 2013Identifying 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.