Wilderness Development Vs.

Preservation
Lauren Stephenson
12/12/2017
PRT 1500

Wilderness preservation is crucial for the health of ecosystems and protection of

the environment. It is also necessary for the sanity and health of mankind. Henry David

Thoreau said it best, ​“We need the tonic of wildness...At the same time that we are

earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and

unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us

because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.” If we do not protect our

wilderness future generations will never get to experience what it’s like to fall asleep to

the sound of frogs or explore the forest. They will look at photos of once pristine areas

and wonder if they are photoshopped.

When European settlers first arrived in the Americas there was nothing but

pristine wilderness in every direction. As populations grew they quickly began to destroy

the wilderness to create urban areas and for food and products. Without regulation and

planning the destruction grew exponentially and both the government and citizens

recognized a need to regulate development and to protect beautiful places and have

resources for future generations.

There are several men that we have to thank for our wilderness areas today. One

of the most important is John Muir the founder of the Sierra Club. He was instrumental
to the early conservation efforts in the United States. His popular writing inspired

readers to also appreciate the outdoors. He is referred to as the “Father of our National

Parks System” because of he helped with the designations of Yosemite, Sequoia,

Mount Rainier, Petrified Forest and the Grand Canyon. Muir book “Our National Parks”

got the attention of the President of the United States at the time, Theodore Roosevelt.

They then got together and planned innovative conservations programs. (Wood)

President Theodore Roosevelt was also instrumental in the preservation of

wilderness in the United States. He was known as an avid outdoorsman before his

presidency. With the help of congress he established Yellowstone as the first national

park in the world on March 1, 1872. Now there are National Parks or equivalents all

around the world. During his presidency he protected approximately 200 million acres of

national forests, reserves and wildlife refuges. (History) Today America has 58 national

parks which have about 275 million visitors as of 2017. (NPS) There are also 129

National Monuments in the United States and 10,336 State Parks. (America’s State

Parks)

There are several other governmental agencies that help with the management

and conservation of wilderness areas. The federal agencies that have a focus on

wilderness protection and conservation are Fish and Wildlife Services and the United

States Forest Service. The Bureau of Land Management is involved in conservation but

they have a much more difficult job because they are a multiple use agency.
 Fish and Wildlife Services works to protect and conserve fish, wildlife and plants

in their native areas. (USA) They manage all of the National Wildlife Refuges in the

United States. People recognized the need for refugees and restrictions in the mid

1800’s when wildlife was being killed at alarming rates. They saw loss of wildlife as an

important part of our natural heritage. The first wildlife refuge, Pelican Island National

Wildlife Refuge, was created by an executive order in 1903 by President Theodore

Roosevelt. However the first effort to protect wildlife on federally owned land was done

by President Grant at the Pribilof Island in Alaska to preserve the Seal population there.

This was the first time that the importance of protecting and managing wildlife was

recognized. (NWSR History) Protecting wildlife is important because so millions of

Americans enjoy viewing, fishing or hunting each year. In 2001 Americans spent $108

billion on wildlife related recreation which is a huge boost to the economy and it has

only grown since then. (Service, U. F., 2017) Without proper management these

animals would no longer exist which is why Fish and Wildlife Services is so important.

The U.S. Forest Service is under the Department of Agriculture. They protect and

manage 154 national forests and 20 grasslands in 43 states. The agency’s mission is

“t​o sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands

to meet the needs of present and future generations.” (U.S. Forest Service, About the

Agency) Federal forest management started in 1876 when office of Special Agent was

given the task of assessing the condition of the forest. In 1891 congress passed the
Forest Reserve Act which designated public lands that were referred to then as “forest

reserves” under the Department of the Interior. In 1905 President Theodore Roosevelt

changed their management to the Department of Agriculture and created the U.S.

Forest Service. (U.S. Forest Service, Our History)

The Bureau of Land Management manages more than ten percent, or 247.3

million acres, of the nations surface land and thirty percent of it’s minerals. Their

mission is “to sustain the health, diversity and productivity of America’s public lands for

the multiple use and enjoyment of present and future generations.” The BLM was

established in 1946, taking the place of the General Land Office which was created in

1812 to manage western migration. The Homestead act of 1862 encouraged western

migration because any adult citizen of United States could claim 160 acres of land for a

very small registration fee if they could live on the land for five years. In 1976 the

Federal Land Policy and Management Act or FLPMA made all land that was not

homesteaded yet federally owned. (BLM, History) FLPMA requires these lands to

managed for multiple uses: energy development, livestock grazing, recreation and

timber harvest are the focuses of the BLM. (BLM, Who We Are, What We Do) The BLM

is very important because without their careful management our public land would have

become a tragedy of the commons, meaning no one would be able to benefit from it.

National Parks and Monuments, National Forests, BLM and State Parks have

been a great creation in conserving wilderness but they also require development to
create the infrastructure that help people to enjoy these areas. Not many people would

be able to see Yellowstone, Yosemite or Zion if there wasn’t a road going through the

park and waste would be quickly unmanageable without adequate bathrooms and trash

facilities for the growing demand. Developing these areas means that more people are

able to experience it in a positive way while negatively impacting the least amount

possible. If there weren’t trails and walkways leading to iconic features people would

just make their own paths damaging the ecology which would be very unsustainable

and lead to closures.

The approval of the Wilderness Act of 1964 was a crucial moment in preserving

our public lands. It defines wilderness as “an area where the earth and its community of

life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” The

Wilderness Act was created because Congress identified both tangible and intangible

values that these areas provide. This includes, “solitude or a primitive and unconfined

type of recreation”, and “ecological, geological, or other features of scientific,

educational, scenic, or historical value.” (NPS) Now there are 109 million acres of land

designated as wilderness areas. This equates to only five percent of land in the United

States and sixty percent of wilderness areas are located in Alaska. Once land is

designated as a wilderness area it become a part of the National Wilderness

Preservation System. There are multiple uses of wilderness which include protection of

watershed, habitats for wildlife, protecting soil, ecological stability and outdoor

recreation. These lands are open to the public for any activities that don’t destroy the
land. Motorized recreation is not allowed but hiking, fishing, camping, photography and

bird watching are welcome. (Wilderness)

Right now America is moving backwards in the protection of wilderness when this

resource is now smaller than ever. The current president is undesignated areas that

were previously protected as wilderness which is not only immoral but also illegal. He

just announced that he will be reducing the size of Bears Ears National Monument by

eighty-five percent and Grand Staircase Escalante by 50%. This was against the wants

of the majority of the residents in Salt Lake City and the Native American Tribe in this

area. These areas are part of what makes Utah such a great place to live and why so

many people passionate about the outdoors move to this state. (Wood, 2017)

The Trump administration also just auctioned off 10 million acres of Alaska’s

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge through the BLM. In 2013 these areas were put under

special protection. The short term profits of crude oil extractions are not worth forever

damaging this pristine wilderness. The Interior Secretary is also looking at repealing

rules that restrict NPR-A drilling which is a major environmental concern. Their plan is to

begin drilling near Teshekpuk Lake which was protected during the Reagan

administration. (Rosen, 2017) These are just a few examples of the devastating losses

happening currently that are robbing current and future generations of their access to

wilderness areas.
 Wilderness development is however not always a negative. Wilderness

development should always have conservation as the first priority. Conservation means

using nature in a way that is the least harmful to it. This is often confused with the term

preservation which means absolutely no development. Although these terms are

frequently thought of as being interchangeable they have very different mental

meanings. Wilderness development with conservation in mind benefits the population

with recreation opportunities and access natural resources that they wouldn’t have had

without it. With careful planning and management wilderness can be developed in a

way that is least harmful to the environment and beneficial to humans and surrounding

communities.

Recreating in nature has many benefits to an individual's well being. Not only

does it help your physical health by lowering blood pressure, weight loss, osteoporosis,

cardiovascular disease and even reduces the risk of some kinds of cancer. Access to

outdoor recreation lowers the risk of obesity in communities. These health issues are

affecting millions of Americans and lead to premature death. Our country should be

invested in the preventative health of its citizens so providing access to outdoor

recreation is imperative. Outdoor activities have also been shown to increase

confidence and concentration, improved creativity and higher self esteem. This is

because natural settings slow down thoughts which changes outlooks which will

hopefully lead to a more positive way of thinking. The outdoors also helps reduce a
number of mental health issue like stress, anxiety and depression. Happy healthy

people are more likely to be productive members in society. (Evans)

Rapid population growth means that it will only become harder for people to

experience true solitude and wilderness which is important to human health both

mentally and physically. It’s one thing not to seek it out because of a lack of interest but

it is another things to not even have the opportunity to experience it like so many people

today. Access to wilderness should be a right not a privilege. Healthy wilderness

promotes healthy populations which is a goal that everyone should be working towards.

Protecting our natural resources has never been an easy battle, but they are

worth the fight. If John Muir or Theodore Roosevelt would have let themselves become

discouraged after losing a fight we would have no where near as much wilderness as

we have today. It is important but difficult to not become discouraged about all of the

destruction and loss of wilderness and to not be apathetic towards a situation that you

seemingly have no control over. Wilderness conservation along with preservation helps

to guarantee that future generations will be able to experience nature the same way that

get to today.
 References

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https://www.blm.gov/about

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https://www.fs.fed.us/learn/our-history

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Service, U. F. (2017, August 02). Why Protect Wildlife? | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
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U.S. Forest Service. (n.d.) NWRS History | Overview | Short History. (n.d.). Retrieved
December 12, 2017, from ​https://www.fws.gov/refuges/history/over/over_hist-a_fs.html
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