The Wilderness Bill

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how the Wilderness Bill, developed out of the work of the Wilderness Society, led by Howard Zahniser. It looks at how the bill came about as a response to the rapid urbanization and sprawl of the nation, which resulted in a rapid decline in the amount of protected wilderness space. It also shows how, at its core, the bill created a legal definition for "wilderness" and, when the Wilderness Act was enacted on September 3, 1964, it protected over nine million acres of federal wilderness area.

From the Paper:

"The parameters of the Wilderness Act are aimed at ensuring real protection to federal lands for the preservation for future generations. According to the Wilderness Act, all land that is protected under its jurisdiction became areas of public land. Further, a designation as being a wilderness is an additional protection given to the land that supersedes any less protection granted by the administrative agency overseeing the national forest, national park, wildlife refuges and other forms of public land. The Wilderness Act also places an emphasis on conservation instead of tourism or public use. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Gorte, Ross W. Wilderness Laws: Permitted and Prohibited Uses. Congressional Research Service. Washington: Library of Congress, 2005.
• Harvey, Mark. Wilderness Forever: Howard Zahniser and the Path to the Wilderness Act. Seattle: Washington University Press, 2005.
• Scott, Doug. The Enduring Wilderness: Protecting Our Natural Heritage through the Wilderness Act. Golden: Fulcrum Publishing, 2004.
• The Wilderness Act. 16 United States Code 1131 - 1136. (1964).
• The Wilderness Society. The Wilderness Act Handbook. Washington: The Wilderness Society, 2004.

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