The Wilderness Act: A Triple Anniversary
By Joel Connelly
This year marks a triple anniversary for a pioneering American innovation, which is achieving unparalleled popularity in these parts as well as other corners of the world. The innovation is the conservationist vision for creating wilderness areas as destinations to replenish the soul and wild places to preserve for future generations.
Saving wilderness has been a struggle for many generations. A century ago, in 1924, 755,000 acres of the Gila National Forest in New Mexico became the world’s first designated wilderness. Hitherto, particularly in Europe, wildlands were hunting grounds reserved for royalty or marked for development.
The year 1964 saw President Lyndon Johnson sign legislation creating the National Wilderness Preservation System, protecting 9.1 million acres for “use and enjoyment of the American people in such a manner that will leave them unimpaired for future uses as wilderness and preserve their untouched character.”
In 1984, the third of our triple anniversaries, President Ronald Reagan signed a million-acre Washington Wilderness bill, largely the work of two men who had campaigned against each other the year before – Sen. Dan Evans and U.S. Rep. Mike Lowry. By this time, national acreage designated as wilderness by Congress had soared above 100 million acres. It has since climbed to 111.7 million acres – in 44 of 50 states.
https://www.postalley.org/2024/05/18/the-wilderness-act-a-triple-anniversary/