Wilderness Laws

Congress enacted the Wilderness Act in 1964. It established a National Wilderness Preservation System of federal lands "where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain". The act designated 54 wilderness areas containing 9.1 million acres of federal land within the national forests. It also reserved to Congress the authority to add areas to the system, although it also directed agencies to review the wilderness potential of certain lands. This book summarises the various statutory provisions and provisions on prohibited and permitted uses within wilderness areas.