Wilderness Areas
Wilderness areas are special places where the earth and its community of life are essentially undisturbed. They retain a primeval character, without permanent improvements and generally appear to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature. The Bureau of Land Management is responsible for 222 Wilderness Areas with 8.6 million acres in 10 Western States (3 percent of BLM's total acreage in the contiguous United States).
Help to preserve your wilderness areas by following these guidelines offered by the nonprofit organization Leave No Trace.
Why were Wilderness Areas designated?
In 1964, Congress established the National Wilderness Preservation System and designated the first Wilderness Areas in passing the Wilderness Act. These areas of undeveloped federal land retain their primeval character without permanent improvement or human habitation and are managed to preserve their natural conditions. They offer outstanding opportunities for solitude and may contain ecological, geological or other scientific, scenic or historical values.
What Wilderness Areas are in Utah?
The Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area managed by the Salt Lake field office was designated in 2006.
Utah contains three portions of wilderness areas that are contiguous with other states.
The Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-11) designated 14 new wilderness areas totaling over 129,000 acres, all of which are managed by the St. George field office in Washington County, Utah, including:
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