Hunter-Fryingpan Wilderness, Colorado. Photo by Steve
Hach.
WINTER 2006 LETTER FROM PRESIDENT REID HAUGHEY
Dear Friends,
In winter, the Wilderness Areas
we value so deeply have a special quality—the crisp
silence, the sound of your own breath. It is a privilege to
venture into wilderness in winter. To do so is to be acutely
aware how powerful the landscape can be in defining who we
are. The sense of being truly alone is dazzling, as is the
beauty of all that surrounds us.
It is increasingly urgent that
we secure these areas from development so that we will always
have a refuge from an ever more urban landscape. We estimate
that more than 400,000 acres of private land remain within
the boundaries of designated Wilderness Areas, which are vulnerable
to development, mining and logging. If even an acre of these
wilderness lands is developed, it has a devastating effect
on the surrounding wilderness we worked so hard to create
and value so highly.
Since 1992, The Wilderness Land
Trust has purchased private land in designated and proposed
Wilderness Areas from landowners who wish to sell, adding
thousands of acres to America’s treasury of protected
wilderness. Over the last year, the Trust has more than doubled
our volume of work, and we hope that you will read about our
activities and most recent acquisitions in Arizona,
California,
Colorado,
Washington,
and other
states.
Wilderness is a precious resource
during all times of the year; when the first snows fly and
when the first flowers bloom. It is a resource for all time
and our efforts to protect it through designation should be
secured. As a publicly supported, non-profit organization,
we are thankful for all of our supporters who are helping
to ensure that wilderness will always be available for our
children to enjoy. We hope that you will take a moment to
read about our recent
activities and past
projects.
