The U.S. Congress passed and President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Wilderness Act on September 3, 1964, to provide the highest level of protection for some of America's iconic, wild landscapes. Twelve years later, in 1976, the U.S. Congress passed legislation (Public Law 94-544), which President Ford signed, creating the Point Reyes Wilderness. In 1985, the US Congress passed Public Law 99-68, which, with President Reagan's signature, renamed the designated Wilderness area of Point Reyes National Seashore as the "Phillip Burton Wilderness."
Wilderness areas are public lands. This means Wilderness belongs to everyone. Wilderness areas provide intact habitat for wildlife, clean drinking water for cities, recreational opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts, sources of inspiration for artists, and much more. In 2014, the NPS invited the public to join in recognizing the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act by reflecting on what Wlderness means to you—is it a place of inspiration? Adventure? Or maybe even a place you have not visited but still appreciate?
The National Park Service manages 50 parks with designated Wilderness that provide opportunities for solitude and primitive recreation, enjoyment of the natural night sky, and spiritual replenishment. These areas are diverse and include forested mountains, deserts, alpine meadows, tundra, lava beds, coasts, and even swamps. Over 40 million acres of lands are designated as Wilderness across the national parks system because they have outstanding opportunities for solitude that people enjoy through recreational, scenic, scientific, educational, conservation, and historical use.
Point Reyes National Seashore is home to the Phillip Burton Wilderness Area, where visitors can explore over 30,000 acres of forested ridges, coastal grasslands, sand dunes, and rugged shoreline. Visitors can enjoy a quiet evening on a secluded beach watching the sun set over the Pacific Ocean, or experience the power of a winter storm or the spring winds generating massive waves on the Point Reyes Beach. Over 100 miles of trails wind their way through the park's Wilderness, inviting visitors to leave the stress of today's mechanical/electronic world behind for an hour or a day. Wildlife also thrives throughout the park's Wilderness. Visitors may observe tule elk on Tomales Point, harbor seals, waterfowl, and shorebirds in the Estero de Limantour, and a multitude of marine invertebrates in tidepools. All of this within a couple-hours travel time for over eight million San Francisco Bay area residents.
50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act, making it the perfect time to have a wilderness experience. In celebration of the act's 50th anniversary, visitors from around the world hiked wilderness trails, explored wilderness areas online, and further strengthened their connection to these special American places. We can all be stewards of these special places and ensure their protection for another fifty years. To learn more about how you can be a wilderness steward, visit http://www.wildernessvolunteers.org/.
National parks across the country recognized this important anniversary in ways as diverse as the landscapes they honored—wilderness walks, art exhibits, trail maintenance projects, guest speakers, etc. The public was invited to join your national parks to recognize the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act by participating in one of the many activities offered.
Learn more about Wilderness Stewardship and Science in Park Science's Winter 2011–2012 issue.
