What does "WILDERNESS" really mean?

This is a question that many writers and philosophers have struggled with for years. Ultimately everyone has their own definition of wilderness. It is a place that exists in the mind as much as it is a tangible place on a map! Henry David Thoreau wrote that "in wildness is the preservation of the world", he might well have meant that in wildness is the preservation of humanity, for it is in wild places that we are reminded of where we come from and how much we a part of the natural world.

Through recent history, Western European cultures and traditions have maintained a distinct separation between the land and our human existence. We conquered the frontier of the "new world", and only when it was done did we realize that should the last pieces of wilderness be lost, something fundamentally important would be lost to us. Wilderness embodies the freedom of the American frontier -- and that freedom calls to ALL Americans, regardless of ancestry or culture.

Many people are beginning to see the connections, beginning to see that we cannot separate ourselves from the land. Wilderness has many values. Recognizing these diverse and unique values opens a world of understanding about the natural world. Preserving Wilderness may someday be seen through eyes of historians as the most important contribution societies can make to the health of the global environment.

Here are some of those values:

Reservoirs of Biological Diversity

"The outstanding scientific discovery of the twentieth century is not the television, or radio, but rather the complexity of the land organism. Only those who know the most about it can appreciate how little is known about it."
Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac (1949)

Wilderness is one part of the "land organism". Wilderness plays a significant role in the overall health of ecosystems. Rare and endangered plant and animal species require habitats that are relatively undisturbed so gene pools can be sustained, adaptations made, and populations maintained. Many rare and endangered species are indicators of ecological health, or they may play key roles in the balance of the ecosystem. Natural disturbance, like floods or fires, maintain natural processes, systems, and patterns. Few places are left where rivers flood and trees are allowed to burn in natural cycles. Wildness is the heart of the "land organism".

Scientific Value

Wilderness serves as a unique and irreplaceable "living laboratory" for medicinal and scientific research. Wilderness also protects geologic resources. Undisturbed, naturally occurring geologic phenomena are protected for present and future generations so they may pursue the origin of this planet and the universe.

Watersheds

Many Wildernesses are the headwaters of our rivers and water systems. These watersheds provide sources of clean water. Minimal human activity or development in these areas preserves waters for future generations. Without clean water, societies cannot flourish. The connection between our Wildernesses and our cities is most evident with water, our basic resource.

Life Support Systems

Wilderness serves as critical habitat for animal and plant life. Wilderness maintains gene pools to provide diversity of plants and animal life. Today, as we learn more about the green-house effect and the depletion of the ozone layer, more and more people realize that humanity is part of an interconnected "web of life," and that the survival of our own species may ultimately depend on the survival of natural areas.

Historic and Cultural Values

Wilderness is a unique repository for cultural resource. Artifacts and structures protected by the Archeological Resources Protection Act or other laws take on a new perspective when experienced within the context of the Wilderness. These features tell a valuable story about the human relationship with wildlands. In addition, culture has been defined by wilderness. Our American values of freedom, ingenuity and independence have been affected by the wild environments from which we created societies. Wildness has been a part of America since its beginnings. For this reason, Americans have a special attraction to wildness.

Spiritual Values

The spirit of the land can be understood through the Judeo-Christian, Islam, Buddhist and other traditions or simply an individual's connections through experience. These wild lands offer opportunities for reflection, for observation, for explorations of the ideas and experiences that can only be found in wilderness. They have become churches of sorts, for our personal growth and our understanding of the relations between humans and the land.

Aesthetic Values

The sudden change from a hot sunny day to a powerful storm exploding in lightning and roaring thunder, the delightful sound of a trickling stream, the feel of bark from a thousand year old Bristle-cone pine, the morning light beaming on cliffs and ridges; a glassy lake reflecting a peak. These are
moments we cherish, whether seen in picture books or movies or with our own eyes. Call it beauty. Humans are enchanted by nature. We are not in control. We are participants. This is the aesthetic of Wilderness that has a special value.

Recreation

Many people enjoy traveling in Wilderness areas for the challenge or the pure joy of such an experience. Values such as self reliance are particularly important. You are responsible for yourself. Your actions are of consequence. Lessons of the wild teach us something about being human and what our relationship to nature is all about.

Refuge

Wilderness serves as a haven from the pressure of our fast-paced industrial society. It is a place where we can seek relief from the noise and speed of machines, confines of steel and concrete, and the crowding of people.

Educational Values

Wilderness is a teacher. Wilderness areas are living classrooms from which knowledge about ourselves and our world are lessons, waiting to be learned.

"In wildness is the preservation of the World."
- Henry David Thoreau

"In human culture is the preservation of wildness."
- Wendell Berry