Gaylord A. Nelson Wilderness, Wisconsin
Timeline: 1950-2000
|
The ecologic and economic futures of entire ecosystems became a growing concern during these decades.
"The concept of a wilderness system marked an innovation in the history of the American preservation movement." —Roderick Nash Wilderness and the American Mind, 1967 |
1962 - Scientist Rachel Carson publishes Silent Spring, stirring public consciousness about pesticides and the environment. 1964 - Authored by Howard Zahniser of the Wilderness Society, the Wilderness Act creates the National Wilderness Preservation System. 1968 - Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness becomes the first FWS wilderness to be added to the NWPS. 1969 - The National Environmental Policy Act is passed, requiring public involvement in land management planning and systematic evaluation of the environmental impacts of proposed projects on public lands. 1970 - Senator Gaylord Nelson founds Earth Day, focusing national attention on the environment. 1970 - Petrified Forest N.P. and Craters of the Moon N.M. become the first NPS sites to include designated wilderness areas. 1975 - The Eastern Wilderness Act is passed, allowing additional lands with wilderness character and potential to be included in the NWPS. 1976 - The Federal Land Policy and Management Act designates the BLM as the fourth federal agency to manage wilderness. 1980 - President Jimmy Carter signed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act establishing 10 new NPS sites, 9 wildlife refuges, and additional BLM conservation units. 1983 - The Bear Trap Canyon portion of the Lee Metcalf Wilderness is designated, the first wilderness managed by the BLM. 1996 - Grand Staircase-Escalante N.M. is created, the BLM's first national monument, including 1.7 million acres of the most remote wild lands in the lower 48 states. 2000-present |
|