On this day 45 years ago, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Wilderness Act, which immediately added protections to 9.1 million acres of pristine national forest land.
The act permanently saved most of those acres from being marred by construction, mountain bikes and motorized vehicles. Only existing private property and certain existing rights within the affected national forest land, including for water, grazing, and oil and gas exploration, were exempted from many of the restrictions.
Johnson explained at the signing ceremony why he considered the act important.
"If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them something more than the miracle of technology," Johnson said. "We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it."
The act outlined how citizens, working cooperatively with Congress in future years, could recommend wilderness designation for more federally owned land.
Today the designation has been extended to 109 million acres in a National Wilderness Preservation System that includes deserts, mountainous areas, meadows and forests.
Created simultaneously with the Wilderness Act, the preservation system's credo is that the protected lands are to be used "in such manner as will leave them unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as wilderness."
Though the wilderness designation is sometimes criticized by people who want to build on the acreage, or drive off-road vehicles through it, millions of other people find it perfect for a variety of activities, including cross-country skiing, hunting, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, photography, bird watching and camping.
Those enjoying these activities include the disabled, whose use of nonmechanized wheelchairs is allowed.
In addition to offering recreational opportunities, wilderness cleans the air and water for miles around and provides habitat for all manner of wildlife.
Before Johnson signed the Wilderness Act, the House passed it 373-1 and the Senate passed it 73-12. That's the level of support the act should continue to receive if, as Johnson said, we want future generations to remember us with gratitude.
