Many visitors to Wilderness areas are profoundly touched by these wild places. Experiencing the Wilderness first-hand often leads to a desire to contribute to its preservation. Inspired visitors want to ensure that future generations are able to enjoy these sacred places, just as we have had them passed down and cared for by the stewards who have gone before us.

You Can Help – Learn More About Stewardship
A good place to start is the website and programs of the LEAVE NO TRACE CENTER (www.LNT.org), a world leader in teaching minimum impact skills to adults and young people. Additional information can be found at wilderness.net. Contact local wilderness managers for other ideas promoting stewardship.

Leave No Trace Wilderness Principles

Sierra Nevada Wilderness, An American Treasure
Much of the beloved “High Sierra” is protected as Wilderness Areas to provide for present and future generations “an enduring resource of wilderness”. The United States is unique among nations in creating a National Wilderness Preservation System. Less than 4% of the land area of the U.S. is protected as Wilderness, but this represents some of the most beautiful, undisturbed, natural landscapes in the world.

2014 marked the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act which defines Wilderness as a place “Where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man” and mandates that “Preserving the Wilderness Character” is the primary goal in the management of Wilderness Areas.