Become a Member Today! Contribute to the Legal Defense Fund and receive discounts from our sponsors! Sign Me Up!
|
05/25/2013:
Wrong Address for Protest Letters
04/25/2013:
Clear Creek Special Meeting
03/27/2013:
BLM Releases Clear Creek Proposed Plan
03/07/2013:
Friends OF Oceano Dunes 11th Annual Crab Feed to Save Pismo Beach
10/25/2012:
Salinas Ramblers ATV/UTV Play Days
CALIFORNIA
Wilderness - 56 areas for 4.5 million acres (22% of FS
land in CA)
Wild & Scenic Rivers -
13 designated rivers totaling 1,070 miles (25% of FS national
total)
NATIONAL
Wilderness - Approximately 100 million acres (400,000 km²)
are designated as wilderness in the United States. This accounts
for 4.71% of the total land of the country; however, 54% of
wilderness is in Alaska, and only 2.58% of the continental
United States is designated as wilderness. Wikipedia
Encyclopedia 2004
Update 2006- Currently there are now 104 million acres of designated Wilderness on public land in the continental United States. This is equal to the land mass of the states of Maine, New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania combined. 273,000 acres of additional wilderness has been designated so far in 2006 and additional wilderness designation proposals are making their way through Congress. As our country converts more and more land into County, State and National Parks, Wilderness Areas and Wildlife Refuges it is becoming increasingly harder for the average recreationist to find a place to simply enjoy open space. It is not that we need more open space protected, it is that access to more and more acres of the country is being cut off to all but the hardiest backpacker. The person who has the health, the affluence and the ability to schedule their time in order meet the restrictions, not only of climatic conditions, but seasonal closures of areas.
Below are the Wilderness acreage figures for each agency from Wilderness.net
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management manages about 270 million acres,
7,796,837 of which are Wilderness. Among other activities, the
Bureau conserves these lands and their historical and cultural
resources for the public's use and enjoyment.
Fish and Wildlife Service
The Fish and Wildlife Service conserves the nation's wild
animals and their habitats by managing a system of more than 500
national wildlife refuges and other areas, totaling about 91
million acres of land and water, 20,730,636 of which are
Wilderness.
Forest Service
The Forest Service manages national forests and grasslands. It
conducts forestry research and works with forest managers on
state and private lands. The Forest Service oversees nearly 200
million acres of national forest and other lands, 35,372,522 of
which are Wilderness.
National Park Service
The National Park Service was established to protect the
nation's natural, historical, and cultural resources and to
provide places for recreation. The Park Service manages 51
national parks and more than 300 national monuments, historic
sites, memorials, seashores, and battlefields. It oversees
43,536,647 acres of Wilderness.
In 1905 there were 83 forest reserves which had increased to 155 National Forests and 20 National Grasslands by 2005. The total number of acres preserved as open space by the Forest Service has increased from 63 million acres in 1905 to 192 million acres in 2005.