September 3, 1964

In the Rose Garden, September 3, 1964. President Lyndon B. Johnson has just signed the Wilderness Act and hands pens to Mardy Murie (left) and Alice Zahniser. Their husbands, Olaus and Howard, had died during the final year of the long lobbying campaign. Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall leans over the president as members of Congress look on: Senator Frank Church behind Murie; Representative Wayne Aspinall behind Zahniser; Senator Clinton P. Anderson to the right of Aspinall and directly above the president; and Representative John P. Saylor, with glasses, standing closest to Udall.

The Society for Wilderness Stewardship to play key role in celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act

As many of you are already aware, history was made on September 3, 1964 - when President LB Johnson signed the Wilderness Act, thus establishing the National Wilderness Preservation System. The 50th anniversary of this important legislative triumph is approaching quickly in 2014, and as a result, a planning team of wilderness-affiliated non-governmental organizations and the four wilderness-managing federal agencies is currently being assembled to plan the activities for this once-in-a-lifetime wilderness anniversary celebration.

The initial goals for the 50th Anniversary Planning Team are to bring the wilderness community together to celebrate and steward wilderness, and to help the general public become more aware of the many benefits and values of the National Wilderness Preservation System. The Society for Wilderness Stewardship's Program Committee Chair has been asked to serve as the 50th Anniversary Planning Team's Co-Chairperson and has willingly accepted this position. The planning team meets monthly via teleconference and working committees, that will accomplish the bulk of the on-the-ground work for the 2014 celebration, which is currently being formulated.

The American people have supported wilderness since its inception, as the NWPS has grown from its original 9.1 million acres to over 100 million total acres in less than fifty years. Let's all take the unique opportunity of the 50th to come together as wilderness advocates, to do whatever is needed to make the 50th Anniversary Celebration an experience for the ages, and to use this distinctive event to propel us into a new time of shared stewardship and sincere collaborative wildlands management.

For more information on becoming involved with one of the 50th Anniversary working committees please contact the planning team Co-Chair

redroadone@aol.com

National Forest Foundation - Grants for Wilderness Stewardship

Wilderness Stewardship Challenge

In 1964, Congress established the National Wilderness Preservation System, under the Wilderness Act. The legislation allows certain federal lands to be set aside as Wilderness Areas - lands generally 5,000 acres or larger that exist mainly in their "natural" state. The Wilderness Act describes these areas as places "...where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain." The U.S. Forest Service is one of four federal agencies charged with management of the National Wilderness Preservation System, with responsibility for 35 million acres of wilderness areas, or 33% of the overall Wilderness system and 20% of Forest Service land.

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, the U.S. Forest Service issued a Stewardship Challenge, calling for all Wilderness areas in the National Forest System to meet baseline management standards by 2014. To meet this standard, Wilderness Areas are measured on 10 stewardship elements and must achieve 60% of the total available points. As of the end of Fiscal Year 2008, only a small fraction of Wilderness Areas met this standard. The National Forest Foundation (NFF), as the official nonprofit partner of the Forest Service, has increased the resources available to meet this challenge since its inception, providing matching grants of up to $50,000 to nonprofit partners for the implementation of on-the-ground conservation projects that directly benefit National Forest Wilderness Areas.

For 2011, two types of federal grants will be available: (a) requiring a 1:1 nonfederal cash match, or (b) requiring a reduced match of 50% in nonfederal in-kind contributions. Only organizations with an operating budget under $150,000 are eligible to apply for a reduced-match grant. Within this category, priority will be given to smaller organizations, provided the same quality of work.

The NFF encourages organizations to conduct the highest priority work to help meet the Challenge. The NFF will provide weighted advantage for (a) work in Wilderness Area(s) that do not meet the minimum stewardship level and for (b) work that advances or helps meet any individual stewardship element(s) that are not managed to the baseline standard.

For more information or to apply, please visit: http://nationalforests.org/conserve/grantprograms/ontheground/wilderness/application

Why we need wilderness

For the past several months wilderness has been a hot topic in Colorado. Discussion about new wilderness designations and of those involved has reached a fever pitch. Amidst all the discussion, the fundamental idea of wilderness often gets lost in the shuffle.

A recent article in the Sky-Hi Daily News zeroed in on the need for wilderness, and specifically focused on the benefits and values of federally designated wilderness. From the article:

“We simply need that wild country available to us, even if we never do more than drive to its edge and look in. For it can be a means of reassuring ourselves of our sanity as creatures, a part of the geography of hope.” - Wallace Stegner's Wilderness Letter, December 3, 1960

Why Wilderness Matters

“A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized 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).

There are 78,986 acres of congressionally designated “wilderness” on the National Forest Service lands in Grand County, and 92,888 acres of wilderness within Rocky Mountain National Park, offering hikers and backpackers the solitude they might not find on other public land.

In addition to the beauty of being surrounded by wilderness, there are long-term economic benefits.

Last August, The Wilderness Society reported the role wilderness plays in local economies: “Federally designated wilderness areas provide incredibly valuable services — like increasing local income and employment, boosting recreation and tourism and naturally filtering our air and drinking water. Economic studies show that wilderness can boost residential property values by almost 19 percent. Wilderness is also often a motivation for people to move to and stay in places, which leads to economic development.”

Read the full article here: http://www.tinyurl.com/23sm56r

30 years of Wilderness: Designation has helped define Kenai Peninsula

In an interesting retrospective article, managers from the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge – 1.35 million acres of which are federally designated wilderness – look at the history of the refuge, the significance of the wilderness designation and the future of the lands protected under the Wilderness Act that compromise the refuge. Specific management topics such as invasive species, fire and traditional use of wilderness are discussed.

From the Peninsula Clarion:

Rick Johnston spoke to a small audience inside a cabin on Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. Images of moose, bears and past managers hiking through the forest were cast onto the back wall by a projector while the longtime Fish and Wildlife Service employee spoke about the genesis of the refuge. When Johnston first came to work there, it was called the Kenai Moose Range. The title changed 30 years ago when the Alaska National Interests Land Conservation Act turned the game sanctuary into federally designated Wilderness.

Wilderness comprises more than two-thirds of the 1.95 million-acre refuge. By the Wilderness Act's definition, the 1.35 million acres on the refuge are "untrammeled by man" and have no established signs of civilization. The Wilderness Act was passed in 1964, but the refuge didn't become the refuge until 1980 passage of ANILCA.

No permanent structures can exist in the Wilderness; historic cabins, however, and related structures can be protected under the National Register of Historic Places. The act allows hiking and camping, but bans generators, chainsaws and any kind of motor-powered or mechanical device. Anyone who stays within the lands is bound to practice "leave no trace" camping.
The spike in the Peninsula's population and changes in the planet's climate could drastically alter the refuge's untouched lands, but Supervisory Biologist John Morton said that they're still deliberating on solutions for the unmanaged expanses.

Read the full article here: http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/stories/101110/new_718960679.shtml

Prophetic

“If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them more than the miracles of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it."

President Lyndon B. Johnson, upon the signing of the Wilderness Act, 1964

Society for Wilderness Stewardship Launched!

Society for Wilderness Stewardship Launched

BELLINGHAM, WA September 3, 2010 – This week marks the 46th anniversary of the Wilderness Act and launch of the Society for Wilderness Stewardship, a national professional society for wilderness managers, scientists, rangers, educators and stewards. The Society for Wilderness Stewardship is the first and only national membership organization dedicated to informing, uniting, and supporting the extensive institutions, organizations and individuals actively engaged in stewardship of America’s National Wilderness Preservation System.

The Society for Wilderness Stewardship is a national, not-for-profit, member-based organization. It unites a wide range of people to share knowledge, expertise and abilities in support of local and national wilderness management and stewardship activities. The Society was envisioned and launched in support of both wilderness and the professionals who are connected to it. It supports best management practices, development of new stewardship frameworks, and an inter-disciplinary mission committed to the long-term health and benefits of wilderness for the nation. To find out more, visit www.wildernessstewardship.org

“The National Wilderness Preservation System benefits from professionals who share a strong passion for wilderness and an appreciation of its intrinsic values and benefits,” said Don Hunger, board chairperson. “What's needed is a forum where those individuals can work together to examine and address wilderness stewardship issues, and provide an institutional framework and legacy to ensure future generations enjoy the same benefits and opportunities. The Society for Wilderness Stewardship provides that forum.”

Integrity of the National Wilderness Preservation System is challenged by being understaffed and underfunded. It is facing ecological trends including exponential growth of invasive species, global climate change, and heavy, concentrated use of environmentally sensitive areas. In addition, changing demographics have created both challenges and opportunities to connect people with wilderness. Please consider joining and shaping the Society for Wilderness Stewardship to build upon the incredible legacy we’re entrusted with for the future.