Misplaced Pages

#24975

73-417: The Wilderness Act is well known for its succinct and poetic definition of wilderness: "A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain." – Howard Zahniser When Congress passed and President Lyndon B. Johnson signed

146-862: A B.A. degree in English in 1928. Zahniser began his career on the staff of the United States Bureau of Biological Survey (1930) (now part of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior). He also became active in private efforts to conserve undeveloped areas. Ten years after The Wilderness Society was founded, Zahniser was hired as their executive secretary, and later worked as executive director. He served as editor of their journal, The Living Wilderness, from 1945 through 1964. The United States Bureau of Reclamation plans for

219-610: A compromise that eliminated Echo Park Dam and authorized the rest of the project. The Colorado River Storage Project Act became law on April 11, 1956. It stated, "that no dam or reservoir constructed under the authorization of the Act shall be within any National Park or Monument." Historians view the Echo Park Dam controversy as marking the start of an era that resulted in increased efforts to conserve wilderness areas. National campaigns resulted in such major conservationist political successes as

292-556: A conference committee to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill, the Act eventually was eventually signed into law by President Johnson on September 3, 1964. The Wilderness Act of 1964 was significant in American environmental legislation, setting a start for the federal protection of wilderness areas across the United States. It was passed with the support in both

365-643: A critical moment in the history of environmental protection but also set the stage for ongoing debates about the role of government in managing natural resources and the balance between conservation and development. The 1964 Wilderness Act, which was praised for protecting undisturbed American landscapes, encountered strong resistance from the Sagebrush Rebellion in the latter part of the 1970s. The majority of "resource Westerners" who were affected by federal environmental regulations that limited their access to public lands, such as ranchers, miners, and loggers, were

438-1080: A foundation that allows for many new additions of American land to be designated as wilderness. Congress considers additional proposals every year, some recommended by federal agencies and many proposed by grassroots conservation and sportsmen's organizations. Additional laws adding areas to the NWPS include: Congressional bills are pending to designate new wilderness areas in Utah, Colorado, Washington, California, Virginia, Idaho, West Virginia, Montana and New Hampshire. Grassroots coalitions are working with local congressional delegations on legislative proposals for additional wilderness areas, including Vermont, southern Arizona, national grasslands in South Dakota, Rocky Mountain peaks of Montana, Colorado and Wyoming. The U.S. Forest Service has recommended new wilderness designations, which citizen groups may propose to expand. In 2014, America celebrated "50 Years of Wilderness" and Wilderness50 which

511-402: A more unified bureau mission and recognized the value of the remaining public lands by declaring that these lands would remain in public ownership. The law directed that these lands be managed with a view toward "multiple use" defined as "management of the public lands and their various resource values so that they are utilized in the combination that will best meet the present and future needs of

584-590: A pilot project on the Pryor Mountains Wild Horse Range known as the Adopt-A-Horse initiative. The program took advantage of provisions in the WFRHBA to allow private "qualified" individuals to "adopt" as many horses as they wanted if they could show that they could provide adequate care for the animals. At the time, title to the horses remained permanently with the federal government. The pilot project

657-513: A regular and recurring presence on a vast amount of public lands, roads and recreation sites. They focus on the protection of natural and cultural resources, other BLM employees and visitors. Given the many locations of BLM public lands, these rangers use canines, helicopters, snowmobiles, dirt bikes and boats to perform their duties. By contrast BLM special agents are criminal investigators who plan and conduct investigations concerning possible violations of criminal and administrative provisions of

730-512: A span of four days. One month later, the Senate also introduced a draft bill of the Wilderness Act. President John F. Kennedy , was a supporter of the Wilderness Act, his administration worked to rally Legislators to pass the bill. During the 87th Congressional session , the Senate voted and passed a version of the Wilderness Act, however it never made it to a vote in the House and its overall fate

803-524: A ten-dam, billion dollar Colorado River Storage Project began to arouse opposition in the early 1950s when it announced that one of the proposed dams would be at Echo Park , in the middle of Dinosaur National Monument . The controversy assumed major proportions, dominating conservation politics for years. David Brower , executive director of the Sierra Club , and Zahniser representing The Wilderness Society led an unprecedented nationwide campaign to preserve

SECTION 10

#1732836932025

876-546: A very specific boundary line in statutory law. Once a wilderness area has been added to the system, its protection and boundary can be altered only by Congress. The basics of the NWPS set out in the Wilderness Act are straightforward: Section 4 lists what usage is not allowed on land protected by the NWPS, and define the exceptions to the rules. Prohibited actions include: Sections 5, 6, and 7 discuss how Congress shall handle acquisition of more land, gifts, and addition of new designated wilderness areas. Some topics surrounding

949-586: Is a growing coalition of federal agencies, non-profit organizations, academic institutions, and other wilderness user groups has been created to document this historical commemoration honoring America's "True American Legacy of Wilderness". A series of projects and events were held to commemorate the 50th year of the Wilderness Act, including community museum, airport and visitor center displays; National website and social media campaign; Smithsonian photography exhibition; Washington D.C. Wilderness Week in September, and

1022-592: Is not protected by a national park or monument designation. The BLM's May 30, 2019 statement proposed an additional 183,668 acres on "lands managed by the Canyon Country, Color Country, Green River, and West Desert districts" that would be listed for the quarterly oil and gas lease sale on September 10, 2019. In their May 2019, September lease offerings, the BLM said that they had "245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 Western states, including Alaska" and across

1095-619: Is the SIG Sauer P320 chambered in 9mm which is replacing the SIG Sauer P226 /P229 both chambered in .40 S&W. The BLM manages free-roaming horses and burros on public lands in ten western states. Though they are feral , the agency is obligated to protect them under the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 (WFRHBA). As the horses have few natural predators, populations have grown substantially. WFRHBA as enacted provides for

1168-528: Is the agency's largest ever purchase in the state. In 2024 the Department of the Interior has begun to advance a new rule according to which the Bureau of Land Management can distribute restoration leases and mitigation leases exactly in the same way as it distributes new leases for oil and gas drilling. The designed land will be used for nature conservation including use of indigenous knowledge. Established in 2000,

1241-466: The Department of the Interior . It took several years for this new agency to integrate and reorganize. In the end, the Bureau of Land Management became less focused on land disposal and more focused on the long term management and preservation of the land. The agency achieved its current form by combining offices in the western states and creating a corresponding office for lands both east of and alongside

1314-701: The Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument in southern Utah, the first of now 20 national monuments established on BLM lands and managed by the agency. The establishment of Grand Staircase–Escalante foreshadowed later creation of the BLM's National Landscape Conservation System in 2000. Use of the Antiquities Act authority, to the extent it effectively scuttled a coal mine to have been operated by Andalex Resources , delighted recreation and conservation enthusiasts but set up larger confrontations with state and local authorities. Under

1387-551: The Library of Congress . The report was completed a year later, and the results released the data that had been requested which provided more information on the current state of federal land. In 1956, about seven years later, the first committee hearings began in House and Senate on the topic of protecting Wildlife Refuge areas. The first drafts of the Wilderness Act were introduced in the House in January 1957, where 6 bills were introduced over

1460-673: The Mississippi River . As a matter of course, the BLM's emphasis fell on activities in the western states as most of the mining, land sales, and federally owned areas are located west of the Mississippi. BLM personnel on the ground have typically been oriented toward local interests, while bureau management in Washington are led by presidential guidance. By means of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, Congress created

1533-698: The National Conservation Lands (formerly known as the National Landscape Conservation System), totaling about 36 million acres (150,000 km ). In addition the National Conservation Lands include nearly 2,400 miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers , and nearly 6,000 miles of National Scenic and Historic Trails . There are more than 63,000 oil and gas wells on BLM public lands. Total energy leases generated approximately $ 5.4 billion in 2013, an amount divided among

SECTION 20

#1732836932025

1606-574: The National Landscape Conservation System is overseen by the BLM. The National Landscape Conservation System lands constitute just about 12% of the lands managed by the BLM. Congress passed Title II of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-11) to make the system a permanent part of the public lands protection system in the United States. By designating these areas for conservation,

1679-731: The National Parks System , National Forests , and primitive areas . Unfortunately, many of these designations came short of providing the necessary protections needed to keep the land preserved for future generations. The shortcomings of previous protections were exclaimed by efforts to develop protected lands for mining and energy utilization, a prominent example is the Echo Park Dam controversy at Dinosaur National Monument .The encroachment on existing protected land motivated conservationists to lobby Congress to add additional protections to wilderness land, in particular, Howard Zahniser wrote

1752-518: The National Wilderness Conference . The Wilderness Act of 1964 is a pivotal legislation governing the preservation and management of wilderness areas in the United States. It provides a framework for Congress to designate federally managed lands as wilderness areas and mandates federal land agencies to manage these areas in a manner consistent with their natural wilderness character. Celebrating its fiftieth anniversary in September 2014,

1825-652: The Treasury , the states, and Native American groups. The BLM's roots go back to the Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. These laws provided for the survey and settlement of the lands that the original Thirteen Colonies ceded to the federal government after the American Revolution . As additional lands were acquired by the United States from Spain , France and other countries,

1898-678: The United States Congress directed that they be explored, surveyed, and made available for settlement. During the Revolutionary War, military bounty land was promised to soldiers who fought for the colonies. After the war, the Treaty of Paris of 1783 , signed by the United States, the UK , France , and Spain , ceded territory to the United States. In the 1780s, other states relinquished their own claims to land in modern-day Ohio . By this time,

1971-711: The United States General Land Office as part of the Department of the Treasury to oversee the disposition of these federal lands. By the early 1800s, promised bounty land claims were finally fulfilled. In the 19th century, other bounty land and homestead laws were enacted to dispose of federal land. Several different types of patents existed. These include cash entry, credit, homestead, Indian, military warrants, mineral certificates, private land claims, railroads, state selections, swamps, town sites, and town lots. A system of local land offices spread throughout

2044-541: The 50th anniversary in 2014, it encompassed over 109 million acres across 758 areas in 44 states. This expansion has been largely due to the bipartisan support wilderness designations often receive, reflecting a shared value across the political spectrum. Howard Zahniser Howard Clinton Zahniser (February 25, 1906 – May 5, 1964) was an American environmental activist . From 1945 until his death he led The Wilderness Society as executive secretary, executive director, and editor of The Living Wilderness . Zahniser

2117-415: The Act has facilitated the protection of over 109 million acres of public land. The commemorative symposium, "The Wilderness Act at 50," organized by Lewis & Clark Law School, brought together experts to discuss various facets of the Act's evolution and impact. Notably, discussions delved into the role of litigation in shaping wilderness management, emphasizing strategic decisions by plaintiffs. Moreover,

2190-624: The Act remained unanswered, which has prompted future actions and controversies. When the Wilderness Act was passed, it ignored lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management because of uncertainty of policy makers surrounding the future of those areas. The uncertainty was clarified in 1976 with the passing of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act , which stated that land managed by the Bureau of Land Management would remain federally owned and, between March 1978 and November 1980, would be reviewed to possibly be classified as wilderness. Some argue that

2263-504: The American people." Since the Reagan administration in the 1980s, Republicans have often given priority to local control and to grazing, mining and petroleum production, while Democrats have more often emphasized environmental concerns even when granting mining and drilling leases. In September 1996, then President Bill Clinton used his authority under the Antiquities Act to establish

Wilderness Act - Misplaced Pages Continue

2336-495: The BLM and other statutes under the United States Code. Special agents are normally plain clothes officers who carry concealed firearms and other defensive equipment, make arrests, carry out complex criminal investigations, present cases for prosecution to local United States Attorneys and prepare investigative reports. Criminal investigators occasionally conduct internal and civil claim investigations. The current sidearm

2409-513: The BLM is "to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations." Originally BLM holdings were described as "land nobody wanted" because homesteaders had passed them by. All the same, ranchers hold nearly 18,000 permits and leases for livestock grazing on 155 million acres (630,000 km ) of BLM public lands. The agency manages 221 wilderness areas , 29 national monuments and some 636 other protected areas as part of

2482-615: The Biden administration, the BLM is working on a pilot project called "outcomes-based grazing", to see if cattle grazing can help achieve conservation, agency director Tracy Stone-Manning said in an interview published in April 2022. In June 2022, the BLM finalized two acquisitions in Colorado and Wyoming, acquiring over 40,000 acres of previously inaccessible land. The acquisition in Wyoming for 35,670 acres

2555-416: The Interior, emerged as a key player in this situation. During his tenure, he worked to extend the scope of mineral rights to include coal and oil, a goal that suited the interests of people impacted by the Wilderness Act and other environmental laws. Watt aimed to reduce federal constraints and give local governments more authority over land management choices. These efforts were perceived as a direct answer to

2628-557: The National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund each year for five years for needed maintenance for critical facilities and infrastructure in national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, recreation areas and American Indian schools. The Act also committed $ 900 million a year in royalties from offshore oil and natural gas to permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund investments in conservation and recreation opportunities across

2701-565: The Senate (73–12) and the House of Representatives (373–1), showing bipartisan agreement on the importance of preserving natural landscapes for future generations. This act established the National Wilderness Preservation System, defining wilderness as areas, according to Wilderness Society president Howard Zahniser, "where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man." It also stopped most forms of development and motorized vehicles in these areas. The success of

2774-599: The Trump administration, the BLM offered millions of acres of available Federal lands for 10-year leases for commercial development, potentially in oil and gas and mining, with the stated goal of "promoting American energy security". The BLM holds quarterly oil and gas lease sales. According to a June 18, 2018 article in The Atlantic , under the tenure of then- United States Secretary of the Interior , Ryan Zinke "practically gave away hundreds of thousands of acres of open land across

2847-550: The United States another "700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate" is under their management. The statement also said that these "diverse activities authorized on these lands generated $ 96 billion in sales of goods and services throughout the American economy in fiscal year 2017" while supporting over 468,000 jobs". On August 4, 2020, President Trump signed the Great American Outdoors Act into law, committing up to $ 1.9 billion from energy development revenues to

2920-475: The United States needed revenue to function and land was sold as a source of income for the government. In order to sell the land, surveys needed to be conducted. The Land Ordinance of 1785 instructed a geographer to oversee this work as undertaken by a group of surveyors. The first years of surveying were completed by trial and error; once the territory of Ohio had been surveyed, a modern public land survey system had been developed. In 1812, Congress established

2993-792: The United States. There are several herds of horses and burros roaming free on 26.9 million acres of range spread out in ten western states. It is essential to maintain a balance that keeps herd management land and animal population healthy. Some programs and partnerships include the Mustang Heritage Foundation, U.S. Border Patrol, Idaho 4H, Napa Mustang Days and Little Book Cliffs Darting Team. These partnerships help with adoption and animal population as well as education and raising awareness about wild horses and burros. In 2009, BLM opened Renewable Energy Coordination Offices in order to approve and oversee wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal projects on BLM-managed lands. The offices were located in

Wilderness Act - Misplaced Pages Continue

3066-719: The West, leasing it to energy companies for pennies on the dollar." The Salt Lake Tribune reported that in March 2019, the price per acre for leases near the Golden Spike National Historical Park , in Utah were "$ 1.50 an acre for the next two years". By September 11, 2018, the Department of Interior was offering 2.9 million acres to be leased to commercial operations including drilling for oil and gas and mining in New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and other states where public land

3139-640: The Wilderness Act and the growing federal oversight of environmental protection, opposition movements like the Sagebrush rebellion and the Wise use movement emerged, particularly in the American West. These movements represented a shift in the political landscape, fighting against what they saw as federal overreach and advocating for states' rights and individual property rights over public land management. The conflict over wilderness protection and public land management showed

3212-522: The Wilderness Act had a lot to do with the groups who supported it. These groups included not only environmental organizations like the Wilderness Society and the Sierra Club but also labor and civic groups, showing great public interest in preserving America's wilderness. The Wilderness Act of 1964 included a few provisions (sections), that covered different aspects its implementation. Section 2 of

3285-482: The Wilderness Act of 1964 and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act . In his capacity with The Wilderness Society, Zahniser drafted the Wilderness Act in 1956, which was introduced in the United States Congress that same year — in the House of Representatives by Congressman John P. Saylor of Pennsylvania, and in the Senate by Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota. Zahniser was the main proponent of the Wilderness Act over

3358-637: The Wilderness Act on September 3, 1964, it created the National Wilderness Preservation System . The initial statutory wilderness areas, designated in the Act, comprised 9.1 million acres (37,000 km²) of national forest wilderness areas in the United States of America previously protected by administrative orders. The current amount of areas designated by the NWPS as wilderness totals 757 areas encompassing 109.5 million acres of federally owned land in 44 states and Puerto Rico (5% of

3431-426: The Wilderness Act provides a justification for and definition of what constitutes an area of land as wilderness. Wilderness Act land is chosen from existing federal land and by determining which areas are considered to meet the following criteria: Section 3 of the Act outlines the creation and regulation of the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS). When Congress designates each wilderness area, it includes

3504-414: The administrating agencies to ban bicycles from wilderness areas based on the statutory text prohibiting "other mechanical forms of transport". It is noteworthy that mountain bikes did not exist when the Wilderness Act was enacted, hence they were not explicitly identified in the statute. The prohibition on bicycles has led to opposition from mountain bikers to the opening of new wilderness areas. Because of

3577-578: The benefit of future generations of people and wildlife alike. Wilderness areas are designated by act of Congress; under the framework of the Wilderness Act, which Zahniser created, they are identified on existing lands managed by the United States Forest Service , National Park Service , United States Fish and Wildlife Service , and Bureau of Land Management . Zahniser is buried in Tionesta's Riverside Cemetery; his rough-hewn marker, taken from

3650-450: The country. Also in August 2020, the BLM headquarters was relocated to Grand Junction, Colorado , by an order signed by Interior Secretary David Bernhardt . The relocation was praised by Republican Western politicians but criticized by Democrats as a move to weaken the agency through the loss of experienced staffers, who opted to stay in Washington, D.C. Some ranchers were concerned about

3723-481: The criteria to determine wilderness are vague and open to interpretation. For example, one criterion for wilderness is that it be roadless, and the act does not define the term roadless. Wilderness advocacy groups and some agency staff have attempted to use this standard: "the word 'roadless' refers to the absence of roads that have been improved and maintained by mechanical means." For more information, see Revised Statute 2477 . The Wilderness Act has been interpreted by

SECTION 50

#1732836932025

3796-524: The demands of the Sagebrush Rebellion. Due to regulatory rollbacks which were perceived as a decrease in federal government control over Western lands, the Sagebrush Rebellion temporarily felt victorious due to its alliance with the Reagan administration. The pioneering research and advocacy work of Margaret and Olaus Murie and Celia Hunter, along with the Alaska Conservation Society, was crucial to

3869-508: The early successes of the adoption program, the BLM has struggled to maintain acceptable herd levels, as without natural predators, herd sizes can double every four years. As of 2014, there were more than 49,000 horses and burros on BLM-managed land, exceeding the BLM's estimated "appropriate management level" (AML) by almost 22,500. The Bureau of Land Management has implemented several programs and has developed partnerships as part of their management plan for preserving wild burros and horses in

3942-482: The first draft of the Wilderness Act. The Wilderness Act of 1964 went through numerous discussions and drafts before finally being enacted during the 88th Congress. The concept of developing a Federal Wilderness system through Congress began to be seriously explored in 1948 when a group of Congressional members requested a report be compiled on the topic through the Legislative Reference Service within

4015-618: The free-flowing rivers and scenic canyons of the Green and Yampa rivers. They worried that damaging a national monument would be a bad precedent for attempts to preserve other wilderness areas. Powerful members of Congress and their constituents in western states were committed to the Colorado River Storage Project in order to secure water rights, obtain cheap hydroelectric power , and develop reservoirs as tourist destinations for recreation. After much debate, Congress settled on

4088-541: The growing division in American environmental politics, showing bigger cultural and ideological divides. This period of environmental opposition not only challenged the principles of federal land management but also contributed to the reorganization of political ideas, playing a role in the evolution of the New Right and the Republican Party's stance on environmental regulations. The Wilderness Act, therefore, not only marked

4161-440: The isolation of Grand Junction compared to other Western cities, having limited flights and road access. After the announcement, 87% of D.C.-based employees left, prompting former lead career BLM official Steve Ellis to state "the bureau lost a tremendous amount of expertise...[of] very seasoned people." On September 17, 2021, Secretary Deb Haaland announced that the headquarters would be moved back to Washington, D.C. Under

4234-539: The land in the United States). Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, there were growing concerns about the rapidly growing population in America after World War II , a period known as a baby boom . Additionally, American transportation systems grew in size which made transportation easier and increased environmental concerns. A leading concern was that environmental degradation would have an impact on air and water quality, this

4307-859: The law directed the BLM to ensure these places are protected for future generations, similar to national parks and wildlife refuges . Source: BLM Resources and Statistics The BLM, through its Office of Law Enforcement & Security, functions as a federal law enforcement agency of the United States Government. BLM law enforcement rangers and special agents receive their training through Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC). Full-time staffing for these positions approaches 300. Uniformed rangers enforce laws and regulations governing BLM lands and resources. As part of that mission, these BLM rangers carry firearms and defensive equipment, make arrests, execute search warrants, complete reports and testify in court. They seek to establish

4380-482: The ones who initiated this backlash. The Federal Land Policy Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976, which changed the Bureau of Land Management's emphasis from resource extraction to conservation, was a major source of dispute because it significantly restricted these groups' ability to make a living. Many in the West were unhappy as a result of this alleged government overreach and saw it as "federal colonialism." James G. Watt, nominated by President Ronald Reagan as Secretary of

4453-620: The passage of the Wilderness Act, and to the creation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Margaret Murie testified passionately before Congress in favor of the Wilderness Act. Margaret worked with Wilderness Society staffer Howard Zahniser , author of the bill, to promote passage of the act, and she attended the signing ceremony. As of 2014, the National Wilderness Preservation System comprised over 109 million acres (441,000 km²), involving federal lands administered by four agencies: The Wilderness Act has created

SECTION 60

#1732836932025

4526-520: The public rangelands by establishment of advisory boards that set grazing fees. The Oregon and California Revested Lands Sustained Yield Management Act of 1937, commonly referred as the O&;C Act, required sustained yield management of the timberlands in western Oregon. In 1946, the Grazing Service was merged with the United States General Land Office to form the Bureau of Land Management within

4599-597: The removal of excess animals; the killing of lame, old, or sick animals; the private placement or adoption of excess animals; and even the killing of healthy animals if range management required it. The killing of healthy or unhealthy horses has almost never occurred. Pursuant to the Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978 , the BLM has established 179 "herd management areas" (HMAs) covering 31.6 million acres (128,000 km ) acres where feral horses can be found on federal lands. In 1973, BLM began

4672-605: The subsequent eight years that it took to pass the legislation, including overseeing numerous rewrites, attending all 18 public hearings on the bill, and personally lobbying virtually every member of Congress in support of the legislation. Zahniser died of heart failure at age 58 on May 5, 1964, a few months before President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Wilderness Act into law in September of that year. The Wilderness Act established America's National Wilderness Preservation System , which today permanently protects more than 111 million acres (450,000 km²) of federal public land for

4745-562: The surrounding forest, faces his beloved Allegheny River. Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management ( BLM ) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering U.S. federal lands . Headquartered in Washington, D.C. , the BLM oversees more than 247.3 million acres (1,001,000 km ) of land, or one-eighth of the United States's total landmass. The Bureau

4818-431: The symposium highlighted the National Environmental Policy Act's (NEPA) significant influence on promoting wilderness designation and constraining agency management practices in wilderness areas. Overall, the Wilderness Act remains a cornerstone of wilderness preservation, subject to ongoing refinement to ensure the enduring protection of these natural treasures. Over the decades, the Wilderness System has grown steadily. By

4891-439: The territories, patenting land that was surveyed via the corresponding Office of the Surveyor General of a particular territory. This pattern gradually spread across the entire United States. The laws that spurred this system with the exception of the General Mining Law of 1872 and the Desert Land Act of 1877 have since been repealed or superseded. In the early 20th century, Congress took additional steps toward recognizing

4964-399: The value of the assets on public lands and directed the Executive Branch to manage activities on the remaining public lands. The Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 allowed leasing, exploration, and production of selected commodities, such as coal , oil , gas , and sodium to take place on public lands. The Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 established the United States Grazing Service to manage

5037-641: Was created by Congress during the presidency of Harry S. Truman in 1946 by combining two existing agencies: the United States General Land Office and the Grazing Service . The agency manages the federal government's nearly 700 million acres (2,800,000 km ) of subsurface mineral estate located beneath federal, state and private lands severed from their surface rights by the Homestead Act of 1862 . Most BLM public lands are located in these 12 western states: Alaska , Arizona , California , Colorado , Idaho , Montana , Nevada , New Mexico , Oregon , Utah , Washington and Wyoming . The mission of

5110-432: Was partly addressed by the initial passage of the Clean Air Act in 1963. The problem of American wilderness still persisted even after attempts to regulate pollutants. Part of America's identity was the vast untamed wilderness that was untouched by humans, which had fallen to about 2.5% of the total land in America by the 1960s. Previous efforts to conserve nature had yielded public land designations and protections such as

5183-478: Was regarded as uncertain at the time. Early in the 88th Congressional term , the Senate debated and eventually passed the Wilderness Bill in April 1963. After President Kennedy's assassination , President Lyndon B Johnson continued the executive efforts for the Wilderness Act to be passed. During a press conference on June 23, 1963, President Johnson included the Wilderness Act as a piece of legislation that needed to be passed in his list of 30 "musts." After going to

5256-457: Was so successful that BLM allowed it to go nationwide in 1976. The Adopt-a-Horse program quickly became the primary method of removing excess feral horses from BLM land given the lack of other viable methods. The BLM also uses limited amounts of contraceptives in the herd, in the form of PZP vaccinations; advocates say that additional use of these vaccines would help to diminish the excess number of horses currently under BLM management. Despite

5329-715: Was the primary author of the Wilderness Act passed by Congress in 1964. Zahniser was born in Franklin, Pennsylvania , to a family that had migrated from Germany in the 1750s. His father was a Free Methodist minister. He grew up in nearby Tionesta along the banks of the Allegheny River close to the Allegheny National Forest . He attended college at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois, where he graduated with

#24975