Home | Site map | Search | Bookmark page | Contact us Click on a photograph above to visit the image library. The National Wilderness Preservation System   What is wilderness?   Fast facts   Common misconceptions   Map search   Search wilderness data    Wilderness Fast Facts Click on one of the topics below to explore these other important aspects of Wilderness: Facts Misconceptions Timeline Benefits Threats Designation Wilderness Act Other laws Management Howard Zahniser Other Activists Writers Facts at a Glance: Click on the graph icons below () to view system-wide statistics reports. Number of Wilderness Areas 704 wilderness areas Total Wilderness Acreage 107,514,938 acres Smallest Wilderness Rocks and Islands Wilderness, northern California (5 acres) Largest Wilderness Wrangell-Saint Elias Wilderness, Alaska (9,078,675 acres) Largest Wilderness complex (contiguous Wilderness acreage) Noatak and Gates of the Arctic Wildernesses, Alaska (12,743,329 acres) Largest Wilderness complex (contiguous Wilderness acreage) in the contiguous United States Frank Church-River of No Return and Gospel-Hump Wildernesses, Idaho (2,572,553 acres) Second largest Wilderness complex (contiguous Wilderness acreage) in the contiguous United States Wildernesses in central California consisting of the southern half of the Yosemite Wilderness and the Ansel Adams, Dinkey Lakes, John Muir, Monarch, Sequoia-Kings Canyon, Golden Trout, and South Sierra Wildernesses (2,241,439 acres) States with the most Wildernesses California, Arizona, Nevada, Alaska, Colorado States with the most Wilderness acres Alaska, California, Arizona, Washington, Idaho States with no Wildernesses Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Rhode Island Agency managing the most Wildernesses Forest Service Agency managing the most Wilderness acres National Park Service Newest Wildernesses On 5/8/08 President Bush signed into law the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008. This law designates the 106,577 acre Wild Sky Wilderness in Washington's east Snohomish County, which lies in the front range of the Cascades, north of the U.S. 2 Stevens Pass highway and the towns of Index and Skykomish. The area straddles the Beckler River and North Fork Skykomish River within the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. Trivia Question How many designated Wildernesses does the Appalachian National Scenic Trail traverse? Answer: 21 Growth of the National Wilderness Preservation System When the Wilderness Act was passed in 1964, 54 areas (9.1 million acres) in 13 states were designated as Wilderness. These areas established the National Wilderness Preservation System. Since 1964, the System has grown almost every year and now includes 704 areas (107,514,938 acres) in 44 states. In 1980, the passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) added over 56 million acres of wilderness to the system, the largest single addition . 1984 marks the year when the most new wilderness areas were added . Wilderness Area Database Information about all of the 704 units that make up the National Wilderness Preservation System is available in a searchable format. Use the search engine to locate Wilderness areas by name, agency, size and state, and year of enacting legislation. NOTE: Current acreages above are the sum of acreage measurements reported by each administrative unit for each Wilderness. Data last updated on 6/12/07. Read our data disclaimer. * Percentage derived using current reported acreage measurements and total state acreages. Acreage figures for total state land area are taken from Major Uses of Land in the United States. 1997. Economic Research Service, USDA, Statistical Bulletin No. 973 (Appendix table 1, pages 32, 33).  OTHER RESOURCES Wilderness Research Learn about organizations that conduct wilderness research. Search graduate research on wilderness. K-12 Education Learn about K-12 wilderness education resources and curricula. University Education Learn about university wilderness education programs and resources. Image Library Search for wilderness images donated by the Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, National Park Service and the public. Wilderness Law Library Search public laws that affect wilderness. Audio and Video View wilderness-related multimedia clips. Links Link to other wilderness-related websites. Quotes Read quotes about wilderness. Community Search for a resource or join the wilderness community. Wilderness.net is a partnership project of the Wilderness Institute at The University of Montana's College of Forestry and Conservation, the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center, and the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute. Contact Wilderness.net | Website Policies