National Wilderness Preservation System

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The Wilderness Act protects exceptional undisturbed natural areas and scenery, such as in the Ansel Adams Wilderness

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The US National Wilderness Preservation System protects federally managed land areas that are of a pristine condition. It was established by the Wilderness Act (Public Law 88-577) upon the signature of President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 3, 1964. The National Wilderness Preservation System originally created hundreds of wilderness zones within already protected federally administered property, consisting of over 9 million acres (36,000 km²). As of January 2008, a total of 702 separate wilderness areas, encompassing 107,436,608 acres (434,781 km²) had been set aside.^[1]

On federal lands in the United States, Congress may designate an area as wilderness under the provisions of the Wilderness Act of 1964. Wilderness areas are subject to specific management restrictions. Human activities are restricted to non-motorized recreation (such as backpacking, hunting, fishing, horseback riding, etc.), scientific research, and other non-invasive activities. In general, the law prohibits logging, mining, roads, mechanized vehicles (including bicycles), and other forms of development. The Wilderness Act is the legal basis for the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS). Wilderness areas fall in to IUCN protected area management category Ia (Strict Nature Preserves) or Ib (Wilderness areas).

The National Wilderness Preservation System coordinates the wilderness activities of the four federal agencies — Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Wilderness areas are parts of national parks, wildlife refuges, national forests, and the public domain and may include land in several different units managed by different agencies. Initially, the NWPS included 34 areas protecting 9.1 million acres (37,000 km²) in the national forests. As of January 2008, there were 702 wilderness areas in the NWPS, preserving 107,436,608 acres (434,781 km²). This is approximately 5% of the entire United States, though only about 2.5% of the 48 contiguous states. Wilderness areas exist in every state, excluding Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, and Rhode Island.^[1]

Recently-designated High Schells Wilderness, Nevada.

Recently-designated Red Mountain Wilderness, Nevada.

Some state and tribal governments also designate wilderness areas under their own authority and local laws. These are not federal areas and the exact nature of protection may differ from federal laws.

Most U.S. wilderness areas are in National Forests but the largest amount of wilderness land is administered by the National Park Service. The largest contiguous wilderness complex in the United States is the Noatak and Gates of the Arctic Wildernesses in Alaska at 12,743,329 acres (51,570 km²); the largest wilderness area outside Alaska is the Death Valley Wilderness in southeastern California.

A special exemption to the "no mechanized equipment" rule is made for wilderness areas in Alaska: limited use of motorized vehicles and construction of cabins and aquaculture are permitted.^[2] These exemptions were allowed due to the large amount of wilderness in Alaska and the concerns of subsistence users, including Alaska Natives.

The newest wilderness areas, all in Nevada, are Bald Mountain Wilderness, Becky Peak Wilderness, Bristlecone Wilderness, Goshute Canyon Wilderness, Government Peak Wilderness, High Schells Wilderness, Highland Ridge Wilderness, Mount Grafton Wilderness, Red Mountain Wilderness, Shellback Wilderness, South Egan Range Wilderness, White Pine Range Wilderness. They were all designated on December 20, 2006, by the White Pine County Conservation, Recreation, and Development Act of 2006.^[1] The newest wilderness area is the Wild Sky Wilderness in Washington.