We Keep The Promise Of Wilderness
The Wilderness Land Trust acquires unprotected private land within wilderness, returning it to public ownership to guarantee that future generations can enjoy the enduring resources of wilderness
The Wilderness Act of 1964 created the landmark National Wilderness Preservation System. Once a wilderness area is added to that system, its protection and boundary can only be altered by another act of Congress. Through this landmark legislation, Congress creates refuges where “man is just a visitor and shall not remain”. But these areas are not complete. Many are riddled with private lands established by an earlier Congress promoting the settlement of our wild lands.
The Wilderness Land Trust secures and improves this system by acquiring from willing sellers their property, created generations ago through mining claims, various homestead acts, timber claims or railroad grants in since-designated wilderness areas.
The unprotected private parcels within our designated wilderness that remain today are open to development. Our organization buys these lands, and then transfer them to Federal agencies to protect them and the wilderness that surrounds them from “expanding settlement and growing mechanization.”
Help us keep wilderness wild by donating today! Click here to make your tax deductible donation to The Wilderness Land Trust.
“In order to assure that an increasing population, accompanied by expanding settlement and growing mechanization, does not occupy and modify all areas within the United States and its possessions, leaving no lands designated for preservation and protection in their natural condition, it is hereby declared to be the policy of the Congress to secure for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness.”
The Wilderness Act