Wilderness Act of 1964

1. Wilderness Act of 1964 Created by Heather Ryan

2. History and Authorization • The Wilderness Act of 1964, was written by Howard Zahniser of the Wilderness Society and signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 3, 1964.

3. Goal /Purpose • The Wilderness Act of 1964, was an act to establish a National Wilderness Preservation System for the permanent good of the whole people.

4. Functions of the Wilderness Act • This act institutionalized an idea, describing 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.”

5. Contributions • Due to the Wilderness Act of 1964, the American philosophy made a drastic switch from “conquering the lands”, to preserving the wilderness. The original bill established 9.1 million acres of federally protected wilderness in national forests. Certain public lands became off-limits to mechanized vehicles and industrial consumption.

6. Legacy • From 1964 on, rather than having to wait for land management agencies to make recommendations through a time-consuming administrative process, citizens could develop their own wilderness proposals and submit them directly to a member of Congress.

7. Bibliography • http://www.wilderness.org/Library/Documents/WildernessActHandbook2004.cfm • http://www.coloradowilderness.com/wildact.html • http://www.fws.gov/laws/lawsdigest/WILDRNS.HTML • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilderness_Act • http://www.wilderness.net/index.cfm?fuse=NWPS&sec=legisAct&error=404