In 1964, Congress established the National Wilderness Preservation System, under the Wilderness Act. The legislation allows certain federal lands to be set aside as Wilderness Areas, generally 5,000 acres or larger, that exist largely in their “natural” state. The Wilderness Act describes these areas as places "...where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain." The U.S. Forest Service is one of four federal agencies charged with management of the National Wilderness Preservation System, with responsibility for 35 million acres of Wilderness Areas, or 33% of the overall Wilderness system and 20% of Forest Service land.

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, the U.S. Forest Service issued a Stewardship Challenge, calling for all Wilderness Areas in the National Forest System to meet baseline standards by 2014. The NFF, as the official nonprofit partner of the Forest Service, will increase the resources available to meet this challenge by providing matching grants of up to $50,000 to nonprofit partners to implement on-the-ground conservation projects that directly benefit Wilderness Areas within the National Forest System.

Interested in learning more about the Matching Awards Program? Visit the application process page.