ES RN S W E A D T L C I H W • K WILDERNESS E • E P D IN IL G W W S ILDERNES WATCHER The Quarterly Newsletter of Wilderness Watch Volume 25 • Number 2 • Summer/Fall 2014 Wilderness Milestones of 2014: 50th Anniversary of Wilderness Act, 25th Anniversary of Wilderness Watch By Kevin Proescholdt he year 2014 marks two significant milestones ness protections in the federal statutes were needed for in the history of Wilderness in America. This permanent protection. year marks the 50th anniversary of the signing of the visionary 1964 Wilderness Act, and this year Howard Zahniser, the executive secretary and editor T at the Wilderness Society, deserves the lion’s share of also marks the 25th anniversary of the founding of Wilderness Watch. credit for pushing for permanent wilderness protec- tion in the federal Background of statutes. He had be- Wilderness Act gun working for By the mid-twentieth that organization in century, conservation- 1945 and, with the ists had made some support of his orga- important gains for nization’s governing wilderness protection council, in the late in the United States. 1940s began laying The U.S. Forest Service, the groundwork for for example, under the achieving statutory leadership of Bob Mar- protection for wil- shall and others, had derness. Zahniser established a system of was a gifted writer, administratively-desig- a deep thinker, an nated Wildernesses in indefatigable lobby- the national forests to- ist, and a wilderness taling 14 million acres. enthusiast. His ef- This system of national President Johnson signing the Wilderness Act, September 3, 1964. Photo by Abbie Rowe, courtesy of National Park Service, Harper’s Ferry Center, Historic Graphic Collection. forts were bolstered forest wildernesses had by old-timers on his been designated under the agency’s U-Regulations board like Harvey Broome and Olaus Murie, as well as that Marshall had pushed through in 1939. But these by new recruits like Sigurd F. Olson of Minnesota and administrative protec- Stewart “Brandy” Brandborg from Montana, both of tions were weak and whom joined the governing council in 1956. In This Issue... impermanent, and could Wilderness Milestones Page 1 be changed and were It was Zahniser who wrote the first draft of the President’s Insights Page 2 changed at the whim Wilderness Bill, and he recruited Senator Hubert On the Watch Page 6 of the next Forest Su- Humphrey (D-MN) and Rep. John Saylor (R-PA) Essay by Ed Zahniser Page 10 pervisor on any given to introduce the first version of the bill in the U.S. In Congress Page 14 national forest. Wilder- Congress in 1956. It took eight long years, 19 Con- In the Courts Page 14 ness advocates realized gressional hearings, and many adjustments to the bill that stronger wilder- before it finally passed the House and the Senate in 1964. ...and More Wilderness Milestones continued on page 3 insights from the President ES RN S W E A Two Special Anniversaries D T L C I H W he nation marks a special anniversary this year and the • celebration deserves dancing with glee! At the very least, K E • we can walk through the forests, deserts, beaches, and E P D prairies that make up our 110 million-acre Wilderness system. IN IL T G W On September 3, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed WIL SS the Wilderness Act into law, creating America’s National Wil- DERNE derness Preservation System, the first of its kind in the world. The Wilderness Watcher “A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the is the quarterly newsletter landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are of Wilderness Watch, America’s untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” leading conservation organization dedicated solely to protecting the The Wilderness Act is a story of hard work, wisdom, and courage, with the aspiration to lands and waters in the National protect some of our country’s most beautiful and unique landscapes. Congress established Wilderness Preservation System. the National Wilderness Preservation System “to assure that an increasing population, accompanied by expanding settlement and growing mechanization, does not occupy and Board of Directors modify all areas within the United States…” Congress has designated more and more Louise Lasley, WY President acres of Wilderness since setting aside nine million acres in 1964. The greatest expansion Howie Wolke, MTVice-Pres. came in 1980, when Congress designated 56 million acres in Alaska and the largest Wil- Janine Blaeloch, WA Treasurer derness in the Lower ’48, the 2.4 million-acre River of No Return Wilderness in Idaho. Jerome Walker, MT Secretary Congressional designation as Wilderness provides an area with the highest level of statu- Marty Almquist, MT Franz Camenzind, WY tory land protection available in the United States. Joe Fontaine, CA Wilderness comes in many forms: glaciated peaks, lowland swamps, pristine beaches, Gary Macfarlane, ID eastern forests, wide prairies, vast arctic expanses, and sweeping deserts. Although only Fran Mauer, AK about 4.5% of the country’s land area, these areas harbor our most sensitive and endan- Bob Oset, MT gered species, supply clean air and water, and provide solitude and primitive recreation Senior Advisor found nowhere else. Only Congress can designate or undesignate federal lands as Wil- Stewart M. Brandborg derness. Unfortunately, simply designating a Wilderness or Wild and Scenic River does not guarantee its protection. Executive Director George Nickas Twenty-five years after the Wilderness Act was signed, a group of citizens became con- cerned that these lands were in danger from lax attention to the stewardship required to Staff Attorney fulfill the intent of the Wilderness Act. Founded in 1989, Wilderness Watch celebrates Dana Johnson its 25th anniversary as the only national organization whose sole focus is the preservation and proper stewardship of lands and rivers included in the National Wilderness Pres- Conservation Director ervation System. For 25 years Wilderness Watch has educated the public, and engaged Kevin Proescholdt and encouraged citizens and governments to protect these special places. We have joined Membership & Development with land management agencies and our elected officials in guiding and developing laws Jeff Smith and regulations that will not harm wilderness. And when necessary, we’ve challenged wilderness-damaging projects in court. The threats have changed over the years, but the Communications & Outreach passion of citizens around the country and the skill and experience of Wilderness Watch Dawn Serra remain dedicated to the mission of keeping Wilderness wild. Advisory Council While Wilderness Watch and the country celebrate these great anniversaries, we also look to the future. And we envision a future where informed citizens are the strongest Magalen Bryant Dr. Derek Craighead supporters of these special lands. It is the people who might be out this summer in the Dr. M. Rupert Cutler Wilderness area close to home. It is the people who value the solitude, space for reflec- Dr. Michael Frome tion, and challenge of Wilderness. It is the citizens and leaders who will direct and guide Dr. Roderick Nash the best possible stewardship for continued protection. It is a future that reflects over 50 years of gratification and fulfillment in Wildernesses around the country. Wilderness Wilderness Watch Watch sees a future where we recognize the intrinsic value of wild lands, as envisioned by the architects of the Wilderness Act. P.O. Box 9175 Missoula, MT 59807 Wilderness Watch is proud of our accomplishments over the past 25 years and remains Phone: (406) 542-2048 committed to protecting our nation’s Wilderness forever. S www.wildernesswatch.org [email protected] —Louise Lasley 2 Wilderness Watcher, Summer/Fall 2014 Wilderness Milestones (continued from page 1) Howard Zahniser was the tireless advocate at every step gan such an effort, identifying people on the ground across of the way. Zahniser, who had hired Brandborg in 1960 as the country, providing training sessions in Washington, DC, his key assistant to help push the bill over the finish line, and elsewhere to empower them, and turning these new- unfortunately died from heart problems in May of 1964 at ly-minted wilderness activists loose to identify areas to be the young age of 58. His death came after the final hear- designated as Wilderness and to pressure their local Con- ing but before the Wilderness Bill became law. President gressional delegations to pass wilderness designation bills. Lyndon Johnson signed the Wilderness Act into law at a Rose Garden signing ceremony on September 3rd, and These efforts by Brandy, David Brower of the Sierra Club, gave the pens he used in and others were ecumenical as well. They didn’t care if an signing it to Alice Zahn- activist was a member of iser (Howard’s wife) and the Wilderness Society, Mardy Murie (Olaus’ Sierra Club, Audubon, or wife) whose husbands unaffiliated. They built the had worked so hard for wilderness movement to a passage but who had died greatly expanded size and before that landmark day. strength, and their work paid rich dividends as the The new Wilderness Act Wilderness System began created a 9.1 million- to grow in the late 1960s, acre National Wilderness throughout the 1970s, and Preservation System con- on to modern times. From sisting of 54 Forest Ser- the original 9.1 million vice-administered areas. acres in 1964, the National It provided an eloquent Wilderness Preservation definition of Wilderness System has grown to to- crafted by Zahniser as day’s 110 million acres. “an area where the earth And all four major federal and its community of life Howard Zahniser at the family cabin, Adirondack Mountains, NY.