List Of U.S. Wilderness Areas
Four federal agencies of the United States government administer the U.S. Wildernesses, which includes 756 Wildernesses and 109,478,939 acres (443,045.55 km2). These agencies are:
- United States Forest Service
- United States National Park Service
- United States Bureau of Land Management
- United States Fish and Wildlife Service
This is an area larger than Iraq or the state of California. In Alaska, there are 57,425,569 acres (232,393.03 km2) of wilderness. This represents about 52% of the wilderness area in the United States. The National Park Service (NPS) has oversight of 43,890,500 acres (177,619 km2) of wilderness at 60 locations. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has responsibility for 20,702,350 acres (83,779.4 km2) in 71 areas. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) oversees 8,726,011 acres (35,312.91 km2) at 221 unique sites. The Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Forest Service oversees 36,160,078 acres (146,334.64 km2) of wilderness areas in 439 areas. Some wilderness areas are managed by multiple agencies, so the above totals exceed the actual number of units (756) in the system. In addition, some of the 60 NPS areas with wilderness have multiple units designated as such (for example, Lake Mead National Recreation Area).
Some areas are designated wilderness by state or tribal governments. These are not governed by the Federal National Wilderness Preservation System.
Read more about List Of U.S. Wilderness Areas: Wilderness By State, Wilderness Alphabetically
Famous quotes containing the words list of, list, wilderness and/or areas:
“My list of things I never pictured myself saying when I pictured myself as a parent has grown over the years.”
—Polly Berrien Berends (20th century)
“Feminism is an entire world view or gestalt, not just a laundry list of women’s issues.”
—Charlotte Bunch (b. 1944)
“Every tree sends its fibres forth in search of the Wild. The cities import it at any price. Men plow and sail for it. From the forest and wilderness come the tonics and barks which brace mankind.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“... two great areas of deafness existed in the South: White Southerners had no ears to hear that which threatened their Dream. And colored Southerners had none to hear that which could reduce their anger.”
—Sarah Patton Boyle, U.S. civil rights activist and author. The Desegregated Heart, part 1, ch. 16 (1962)