Op-Ed: Honoring the 45th birthday of the Wilderness Act of 1964

The Wilderness Act of 1964 has grown the protected pristine places in the United States to 109 million acres, and today it celebrates its 45th anniversary.

On Wednesday, September 3 people who love and cherish the rich wilderness lands in America celebrated the signing of The Wilderness Act, which established the National Wilderness Preservation System and also protected the first of 9 million acres. From New Mexico’s Gila Wilderness to Glacier Peak in Washington (both of which this journalist has spent countless days and nights wandering in) to the John Muir Wilderness and the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, the system of pristine lands has grown since being signed into law by then, President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964 to now include 109 million acres of Wilderness across the United States. Last March was one of the largest expansions of the wilderness system of lands in the last 15 years with the passing of the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act. It covered 9 states and two million acres of Wilderness. Protected was California’s Sierra mountains, Mt. Hood in Oregon, Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, and a good part of the Jefferson National Forest in Virgina. One of the great names in wilderness protection John Muir left this famous quote for generations to follow in his foot steps: “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.” The Wilderness Act ensures that our generation and future generations will have places with clean air, pure water, and a wide variety of recreational opportunities in some of the remaining great areas of wilderness in the United States. The Wilderness Act has saved a vital part of our heritage and our legacy. But that only encompasses 2.5 per cent of the existing wild lands which shrink each year do to development, mining, logging, oil drilling and many other encroachments. President Barack Obama issued this proclamation September 3rd: United by a common purpose of preserving our precious natural spaces and our wilderness hertige, we will ensure that future generations inherit the unique gift of knowing nature’s peace.

I call upon all Americans to visit and enjoy our wilderness areas, learn more about out wilderness heitage, and explore what can be done to protect and preserve these precious national treasures.

Currently in Colorado there are three projects underway -- the San Juan Mountains Wilderness Proposal which Congressman John Salazar will be introducing to Congress, the Hidden Gems Wilderness Campaign, and Colorado’s Canyon County Wilderness Proposal which is a accumulation of 20 years of inventorying BLM lands across Colorado for preservation.

by Mike Drach

A wildlife lookout point stretching into Wisconsin fields, near Madison

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Having spent decades wandering the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico coming into contact with Elk, Black Bear, Mountain Lion, the Grey Wolf, Mule Deer, Rattlesnakes, and Raccoons, fishing in rivers, streams, and lakes for trout, and hiking 100’s miles through pristine wilderness and seeing some of the most spectacular sunsets and sunrises in my lifetime, I can personally attest to the validity and the importance that the Wilderness Act of September 3rd 1964 has had in my life and the nation. It is our responsibility as caretakers of this planet and its species to forge ahead and protect what pristine lands are left for future generations of humanity to connect too, the wilderness is our soul food. It's from where our spirit can be reborn, rejuvenated, and reconnected with our humanity. The wilderness is our window to our humanity, it is our doorway to our salvation. The wilderness is our best opportunity to continue to evolve our humanity and transcend beyond our existence. The wilderness is ours to care for, it is ours to cherish, it is our responsibility to ensure that we leave a legacy of nature.