Transcript Wilderness Viewpoints Anthropocentric vs. Biocentric

Wilderness Viewpoints
Anthropocentric
vs.
Biocentric
Evolution of Wilderness
System
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1872 - Designation of Yellowstone
1913 – Hetch-Hetchy
1916 – Establishment of National
Park Service
Evolution of Wilderness
System
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1929: L-20 Regulation on FS lands
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Permitted uses today considered
incompatible with wilderness but made it
more difficult to implement them:
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logging
grazing
road construction
mechanical devices
Evolution of Wilderness
System
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1935: Wilderness Society formed by
Bob Marshall and Aldo Leopold
Evolution of Wilderness
System
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1939: U regulations on Forest Service land
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Bob Marshall (Chief, F.S. Div. of Rec. and Lands)
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Three use categories:
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U-1: Wilderness (> 100,000 acres)
U-2: Wild areas (5,000 to 100,000 acres)
U-3: Roadless areas (managed for rec.use)
Grazing & mining permitted
Evolution of Wilderness
System
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1956: Howard Zahniser (Director of
Wilderness Society) proposes first
wilderness bill
1964: Wilderness Act finally passed by
Congress
National Wilderness System
Wilderness Act of 1964
Created a national wilderness
system.
Bob Marshall
Wilderness Area
Wilderness Area
“An area where the
earth and its
community of life
are untrammeled by
man, where man
himself is a visitor
who does not
remain.”
Wilderness Act, 1964
Sunlight Basin, Shoshone NF
Wilderness Criteria
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5,000 acres minimum or adequate size
to make preservation possible.
Unnoticeable human impact.
Opportunities for solitude and primitive
recreation.
May contain features of ecological,
geological, scientific, educational,
historic, or scenic value.
Wilderness Study Areas
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Areas being considered for designation
as wilderness areas.
Undergo a formal study of their
resources to assess their suitability for
wilderness designation.
National Wilderness System
Eastern Wilderness Act of 1975
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Made it possible to designate areas in
the eastern U.S. as wilderness.
Less stringent concerning human
impacts.
Smaller parcels allowed (1,000 acres
minimum).
Wilderness Managers
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National Park Service
US Forest Service
US Fish & Wildlife Service
Bureau of Land Management
Designation
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Wilderness Study Areas designated by
President.
Wilderness Areas designated by
Congress.
Is this use permitted?
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Grazing?
Roads?
Mechanical devices?
Buildings?
Timber harvesting?
Mining?
Fire control?
Wilderness outfitters & guides?
Aircraft use?
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Coastal Plain:
1.5 million acres
Brooks
Range,
ANWR
Gwich’in Indians
Inupiat Eskimos