West Virginia has some of the most spectacular protected and unprotected wild places in the not only the east, but in the entire United States.  The series of graphs below tell a story about wilderness and how much of the National Wilderness Preservation System we have here in the Mountain State. 

WILDERNESS IN THE UNITED STATES

Less than 5% of the United States is protected as wilderness and over half of this  is in Alaska

Only 4% of the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) is East of the Mississippi River

WILDERNESS ACRES VS. POPULATION

In the East we have over 60% of the population but only 4% of the NWPS

WILDERNESS IN THE EAST

Of the 4% of the NWPS we have in the East, only 3%  is in West Virginia

WILDERNESS IN WEST VIRGINIA

Only 0.5% of West Virginia is currently protected as wilderness

WEST VIRGINIA LAND DISTRIBUTION

Federal land makes up only about 6% of West Virginia, most of this is the Monongahela National Forest

MONONGAHELA NATIONAL FOREST LAND DISTRIBUTION

Less then 9% of the Mon is protected as wilderness, well below the national average (and below average specifically for eastern national forests)