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Threats to Wilderness

While Wilderness designation provides the highest level of protection available to public lands, it does not provide sanctuary from threats that can diminish Wilderness character. Forces both inside and outside Wilderness can affect Wilderness. The demand for economic growth and a growing population exert significant pressures on wilderness. Many of these pressures are the same threats that other public lands face: overuse, fire suppression, invasive species, pollution, and lack of public awareness.

Overuse

The Wilderness Act of 1964 gave land managers a difficult and challenging mandate. Wilderness areas are to be kept in a wild and natural state--relatively free of human control--while, at the same time, providing for their use and enjoyment. Recreational use of Wilderness has increased 10 times in the past 40 years and more than 12 million people now visit Wilderness each year.


If too many people visit the same place too many times, or if people don't know how to "leave no trace" of their visit, the area looses its natural quality. Some places are so beat-up that trails and campsites have hardened like city sidewalks, plants no longer grow, animals have little food, and this compacted soil encourages run-off. It can take a long time to repair these places once they become damaged, so if we're not careful, we can love Wilderness to death.

Fire suppression

Some people think of fire as a bad thing, but natural fire cycles are important to create and maintain ecosystems that are protected in Wilderness. When fire occurs naturally, it causes new types of plants to grow, which are important for animals to eat and it destroys invasive plants. When we suppress fire, or eliminate it, from an ecosystem, unnatural species and quantities of plants can take over the landscape. This results in unhealthy ecosystems. When a single bolt of lightening or spark from a careless human ignites these unhealthy ecosystems, they can burn at such hot temperatures that the remaining soil cannot support plant life.

Invasive species

Almost half of all endangered species are threatened by invasive species--plants, animals, insects, fungi and pathogens that do not normally live along side native species.

Plant	Animal	Fungus
Leafy Spurge USDA/ARS	Nutria	White Pine Blister Rust USDA Forest Service
While no single species is considered to be invasive across the entire National Wilderness Preservation System, the above images show examples of invasive species that are found in Wilderness areas in different parts of the country. To search for information about invasive species in your part of the country, visit http://www.invasivespecies.gov or the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute website.

Invasive or exotic species compete with native species for food, water, and sunlight. Sometimes, they even kill the native species. For example, white pine blister rust, a disease that kills white-bark pine trees, has spread to nearly all Wilderness areas where white-bark pine trees grow. This disease affects more than the trees. For example, loss of trees means loss of seeds, a primary food source for grizzly bears. Nearly every Wilderness suffers the harmful impacts of invasive species.

Pollution

Until recently, Wilderness managers focused primarily on keeping Wilderness from being loved to death by visitors. Today, however, we are finding more and more that what people do outside Wilderness directly affects what happens inside Wilderness. For example, wind can blow air pollution from cities, factories, and coal-burning power plants into Wilderness areas. When pollution is precipitated out of the atmosphere as rain or snow, it may fall in Wilderness and change the natural balance of the lakes found there. This, in turn, can kill the food that fish eat. When fish die, larger animals that eat fish, like raccoons and bears, do not have the food they need. Global climate change is another exterior threat to wilderness (read about National Park Service research on global climate change in the Great Lakes region).

Two other types of pollution, though less well known than air and water pollution, are affecting Wilderness ecosystems and visitor experiences. Although Congress has mandated that 'sights and sounds' may not be used as a criteria when lands are designated as Wilderness, light and sound pollution are negatively affecting Wilderness. Today, even remote areas are being exposed to increased illumination from light pollution or "sky glow," the combined lights of cities and towns, sometimes hundreds of miles away that produce a dull glow in the night sky.


Astronomers were the first to notice the effects of sky glow, as faint celestial objects billions of miles away began to disappear from their telescopes. Now other scientists, primarily ecologists, are realizing that the ecosystem effects of artificial night light can be subtle to severe. For billions of years, life has evolved with established day and night cycles that both nocturnal and diurnal species have adapted to. For example, many birds migrate at night using the stars and glow of dusk and dawn for directional orientation. Many nocturnal reptiles and amphibians use darkness to their advantage to hunt and forage. For diurnal species, those that are awake during the day and sleep at night, nighttime is important for finding shelter and hiding. Ecologically, light pollution changes these normal behaviors, especially for organisms that require certain degrees of darkness and are far more sensitive to light levels than humans are. These organisms are correspondingly more affected by light level changes. In addition to having ecological effects, light pollution affects Wilderness character. It's difficult to imagine camping "underneath the stars" without the view of the cosmos above. Even today, one must often travel to the most remote places to experience truly dark skies.


Similarly, sound pollution affects both the ecological and social aspects of Wilderness. Birds, insects, mammals, and amphibians rely on complex communication networks to live and reproduce. In habitats where wildlife vocalizations signify mating calls, danger from predators, or territorial claims, hearing these sounds is essential to animal survival and interruptions from unnatural sounds can change animal behaviors. In addition, visitors to Wilderness have an expectation of seeing, hearing, and experiencing phenomena associated with a specific natural environment. The sounds made by wind, birds, geysers, elk, wolves, and waterfalls, for example--not chainsaws, car alarms, cell phones, or airplanes--are associated with a desirable Wilderness experience.

Lack of public awareness

It was once said that if something is not understood, it is not valued; if it is not valued, it is not loved; if it is not loved, it is not protected, and if it is not protected, it is lost. Public surveys have found that Americans who know about Wilderness value it tremendously, yet those who do not know about or understand Wilderness are disconnected from it and do not value it. Research also shows that the majority of Americans simply do not understand what Wilderness is, how it shaped our nation, and how they benefit from it. As such, misconceptions about wilderness persist. The fact is, however, that people benefit from wilderness whether or not they ever actually visit a Wilderness area. Even if you never set foot inside a Wilderness area, the water you drink, the air you breathe, the animals you love, and your America heritage all have roots deeply imbedded in Wilderness.

How you can help

High visitation in sensitive areas has disrupted the natural systems on which sensitive plants and animals rely. Huge expanses of Wilderness have experienced destructive changes because of fire suppression. Invasive species are invading and destroying native species in Wilderness areas all across the country. Our behavior outside Wilderness can negatively impact Wilderness. In light of all these issues, it would be easy to become frustrated by the sheer size of these challenges and do nothing. You can always do something, however, to help protect and preserve Wilderness, and you do not have to visit Wilderness to actively protect it.

Wilderness is part of our country's system of public lands--lands that are set aside for the public and managed by the public. Every citizen has a voice that affects Wilderness through local or national government. How are you involved with Wilderness? How would you like to be involved with Wilderness?

Building awareness and better understanding is the first step toward addressing these and other challenges, and by exploring this website, you've taken that first step! Next, share what you've learned with your family and friends.

The decisions and choices you make every day also affect Wilderness: Will you use more or less energy? Will you create more or less waste? Given the size of our population, small actions by individuals can make a huge difference. You can remember to turn inside and outside lights off when you're not home or they're not needed. You can ride your bike or take the bus instead of drive a car. You can turn the water off when you're brushing your teeth or lathering up in the shower. You can purchase energy- and water-efficient appliances. You can refuse to buy over-packaged items. By knowing when enough is enough, by exhibiting restraint, by starting right where you live, you can help preserve Wilderness for today and tomorrow.

Another great way to work for Wilderness is to volunteer. You can check with your local land management agency office to see what stewardship or volunteer projects you can become involved in. You can also get involved with any of the many organizations involved in Wilderness preservation.

Finally, if you visit Wilderness, you accept the challenges and risks it has to offer. While these are important lessons to learn, preparation is key to both learning and surviving in Wilderness. Are you prepared for an unexpected snow storm in July that would make it unsafe for you to travel? What if you were lost for days? What if you took a short cut and climbed a slope that you realized was too steep? What if you fell and sprained your ankle, or worse? If you're not prepared, not only can you hurt yourself but you can hurt Wilderness too. So, before visiting Wilderness, read about things to consider.