WILDERNESS: MYTH AND REALITY

Myth: Hunting and fishing are not allowed in wilderness.

Reality: Hunting and fishing are two of the primary intended uses of wilderness in the National Forests. Some of the best hunting and fishing in the US is in our Wilderness areas.

Myth: Wilderness designation involves acquisition of additional land by the federal government.

Reality: Wilderness designation occurs on land already owned by the public through the federal government. No additional land purchases are required.

Myth: Wilderness conflicts with �multiple use� of public lands.

Reality: Wilderness is �multiple use�, by fact and law. The five multiple uses of National Forests are wildlife, watershed, recreation, range and timber. All 5 occur in wilderness however, the timber remains standing!

Myth: Wilderness �locks up� commercial forest land.

Reality: The National Forests produce less than 5% of the U.S. timber supply. Timber in potential wilderness is generally less accessible than privately owned timber. Wilderness �frees up� land from being developed.

Myth: Wilderness harms local economies.

Reality: Wilderness provides numerous economic benefits and helps maintain the natural capital that can help communities diversify economies by attracting and retaining new businesses, residents, and a local workforce. Wilderness can also protect scenic backdrops that improve property values, thereby increasing county revenues.

Myth:  Wilderness restricts recreational opportunities, making it available only to the young, healthy and wealthy

Reality: One of the most important purposes of National Forest wilderness is to provide people with a broad array of outdoor recreational opportunities. These include hunting, fishing, backpacking, camping, horseback riding, mountaineering, rock climbing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, wildlife viewing, photography, canoeing, and kayaking.  

Myth:  Only pure, pristine, and virgin lands qualify for Wilderness designation.

Reality: The 1964 Wilderness Act carefully defines wilderness as "an area of undeveloped federal land retaining its primeval character and influence and which generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man's work substantially unnoticeable."   The Eastern Wilderness Act of 1975 made allowances for a certain degree of impact in wilderness lands east of the Mississippi.  It recognized the need for wilderness in the very populous eastern half of the country despite the relative lack of 'untouched' lands there.

Myth:  Wilderness erodes private property rights.

Reality: Only federal land may be designated Wilderness.  Private property inside designated wilderness areas can be acquired only if the owner agrees to sell, unless the acquisition is specifically authorized by Congress.  Private land may  be surrounded by wilderness, but wilderness area management restrictions do not apply to the private land.  Property owners must be assured "adequate access" to their parcels, and that could include permission to drive through a wilderness.

Myth:  Motorized transportation is totally prohibited in wilderness areas, even in emergencies

Reality: While the Wilderness Act prohibits the general use of motorized equipment or vehicles in wilderness, the law clearly allows for their use by managing agencies for search and rescue, firefighting, and other circumstances where they are found to be the minimum tool necessary for the administration of an area.  For example, helicopters may be used to evacuate an injured person, and chainsaws might be allowed to clear massive blow downs across trails.

Myth:  Fires, insects, and diseases may not be controlled in wilderness areas.

Reality: Section 4(d)(1) of the Act states that "such measures may be taken as necessary in the control of fires, insects and diseases.