Year:
2003
Publication type:
Miscellaneous Publication
Primary Station(s):
Rocky Mountain Research Station
Source:
George Wright forum. 20(3): 26-33
Description
Wilderness preservation is strongly supported by the American people (Cordell et al. 1998) and a substantial portion of the public domain has been allocated to wilderness. The Wilderness Act of 1964 and more than 135 subsequent wilderness bills have created a National Wilderness Preservation System of 661 wilderness areas with a total acreage that exceeds 106 million acres. The proportion of the United States currently designated as wilderness is 4.5%. Designated wilderness constitutes more than 16% of lands owned by the federal government, 57% of National Park Service lands, 22% of Fish and Wildlife Service lands, 18% of Forest Service lands and 2% of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands. Moreover, wilderness acreage is likely to increase substantially in the future.
Keywords
Citation
Cole, David N. 2003. Agency policy and the resolution of wilderness stewardship dilemmas. George Wright forum. 20(3): 26-33