Aleutian Islands Wilderness, Alaska
Support Wilderness.net
ShareCreation and Growth of the National Wilderness Preservation System
When the Wilderness Act was passed in 1964, 54 areas (9.1 million acres) in 13 states were designated as wilderness. This law established these areas as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Since 1964, the NWPS has grown almost every year and now includes 756 areas (109,478,939 acres) in 44 states and Puerto Rico. In 1980, the passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) added over 56 million acres of wilderness to the system, the largest addition in a single year. 1984 marks the year when the most new wilderness areas were added.Think you know a lot about the NWPS? You can also test your knowledge by taking one of our quizzes.
Fast Facts at a Glance
- Number of Wilderness Areas
756 wilderness areas - Total Wilderness Acreage
109,478,939 acres (does not yet include acreage designated under the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009.) - Smallest Wilderness
Rocks and Islands Wilderness, northern California (5 acres) - Largest Wilderness
Wrangell-Saint Elias Wilderness, Alaska (9,078,675 acres) - Largest Wilderness complex (contiguous Wilderness acreage)
Noatak and Gates of the Arctic Wildernesses, Alaska (12,743,329 acres) - Largest Wilderness complex (contiguous Wilderness acreage) in the contiguous United States
Frank Church-River of No Return and Gospel-Hump Wildernesses, Idaho (2,572,553 acres) - Second largest Wilderness complex (contiguous Wilderness acreage) in the contiguous United States
Wildernesses in central California consisting of the southern half of the Yosemite Wilderness and the Ansel Adams, Dinkey Lakes, John Muir, Monarch, Sequoia-Kings Canyon, Golden Trout, and South Sierra Wildernesses (2,241,439 acres) - States with the most Wildernesses
California, Arizona, Nevada, Alaska, Colorado - States with the most Wilderness acres
Alaska, California, Arizona, Washington, Idaho - States with no Wildernesses
Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Rhode Island - Agency managing the most Wildernesses
Forest Service - Agency managing the most Wilderness acres
National Park Service - Newest Wildernesses
On 3/30/09 President Obama signed the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (Public law 111-11) into law. This law designates 52 new wilderness areas and adds acreage to 26 existing areas, a total addition to the NWPS of over 2 million acres. Although they are not yet pictured on Wilderness.net's maps, you can view a list of these areas. - Trivia Question
How many designated Wildernesses does the Appalachian National Scenic Trail traverse? Answer: 21
Wilderness Area Database
Information about all of the 756 wildernesses that make up the National Wilderness Preservation System is available in a searchable format. Use the data search to find Wilderness areas by name, agency, state, size or year of enacting legislation.Current acreages above are the sum of acreage measurements reported by each administrative unit for each Wilderness. Data last updated on 4/29/09 - read data disclaimer.
|