Posted: February 14th, 2015

The Change of Wilderness

The Change of Wilderness

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Photo courtesy of Martin Nie
Rattlesnake Wilderness near Missoula, Mont.

Wilderness: The Next 50 Years?

By: Martin Nie and Christopher Barns
for Mountain West News
Sept. 10, 2014
September 3, 2014 commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of the Wilderness Act of 1964. No other environmental law, save perhaps the Endangered Species Act, so clearly

articulates an environmental ethic and sense of humility. The system the law created is like no other in the United States. Once designated by Congress, a wilderness

area is to be managed to preserve its wildness, meaning that these special places are to be free from human control, manipulation, and commercial exploitation.

Celebrations are being planned throughout the country and each will undoubtedly take a look back at the history of this law and the land it now protects. But what is

the future of the wilderness system?
The story of wilderness is far from finished. Most at stake are lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Both agencies

manage millions of acres that are potentially suitable for wilderness designation. For the USFS, this includes land that is currently managed pursuant to the 2001

roadless rule (35.7 to 45 million acres depending on the inclusion of the ever-contested Tongass National Forest), and state-specific roadless rules covering Idaho

(9.3 million acres) and Colorado (4.2 million acres). Also at stake are wilderness study areas (3.2 million acres) and places recommended for wilderness designation by

the agency itself (5 million acres).
The BLM manages 528 Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs) totaling approximately 12.8 million acres, most of which were identified in the initial BLM inventory of its lands in

the late 1970s. The agency is currently updating its inventory of other areas with wilderness characteristics, and a very rough estimate is that an additional 5 to 10

million acres will be identified – not including Alaska. The first inventory for areas with wilderness characteristics on lands managed by the BLM in Alaska has

started, and perhaps 40 million acres will be found.
These lands provide the base from which future wilderness designations on USFS and BLM lands may come. Complicated planning processes, interim management measures, and

politics will ultimately determine whether or not these lands are protected in some form in the future. The politics of wilderness is more complicated and challenging

in 2014 than it was in 1964. We believe that three interrelated factors will shape wilderness designations in the future: extreme political polarization, trends in

collaboration, and increasing demands for the manipulation of wilderness.
Congressional Polarization
We begin by focusing on the increasing polarization of Congress and its impact on wilderness politics. Since the Wilderness Act requires an act of Congress to

designate wilderness, what happens in this institution necessarily impacts what happens to wilderness-eligible lands.
The history of the Wilderness Act makes clear that Congressional partisanship and ideology have always factored into wilderness politics. After all, Congress

considered some 65 versions of the law over an eight-year political process. Politics notwithstanding, the U.S. House of Representative still passed the law by a vote

of 374 to 1, and in the previous year, the U.S. Senate passed a version of the Act by a 73 to 12 margin.
What has so remarkably changed since these votes is the degree of partisan and ideological polarization of Congress. The so-called “orgy of consensus” that ostensibly

characterized the environmental lawmaking of the 1960s and 1970s has all but disappeared in a loud and angry falling out of the center.
Political scientists show the extent to which the parties have polarized, or become more ideologically consistent and distinct, since the 1970s. A drastic

homogenization and pulling apart of the parties is evident. A task force convened by the American Political Science Association shows there to be a major “partisan

asymmetry in polarization.” According to the authors, “Despite the widespread belief that both parties have moved to the extremes, the movement of the Republican Party

to the right accounts for most of the divergence between the two parties.”
Polarization has already impacted wilderness politics. For example, the 112th Congress was the only Congress to actually decrease the size of the Wilderness System.

And we cannot recall a House session that has introduced or passed so much anti-wilderness legislation.
There is little reason to believe that polarization will abate any time soon so chances are good that gridlock and dysfunction will characterize wilderness politics,

as it does in so many other policy areas. Designations will become more difficult and those opposing them will ask for a more absurd list of political concessions. If

legislative channels remain blocked, we also suspect that a wilderness-friendly President will take more protective actions in the future, such as using Executive

powers to withdraw lands from mineral development or by using the Antiquities Act to designate national monuments.
Compromise and Collaboration
Some wilderness advocates have embraced more collaborative approaches to wilderness politics, an approach whereby those seeking additional wilderness make deals with

an assortment of interests that want something else, from rural economic development to motorized recreation. While collaboration could potentially break long-time

wilderness stalemates, we fear that those collaborating in today’s polarized political context may make deals that collectively threaten the integrity of the

Wilderness System.
The move towards collaboration in contemporary wilderness politics is understandable for a couple of reasons. First is the nature of the remaining wilderness-eligible

lands managed by the USFS and BLM. Many wilderness battles of the past were focused on protecting “rocks and ice,” high altitude alpine environments with fewer pre-

existing uses than found on lower elevation lands. But many current wilderness proposals now aim to protect lower elevation landscapes—and thus places with more

“historic” uses and entrenched interests associated with them. The growing use of motorized recreation also helps us appreciate why some wilderness advocates have a

sense of urgency when it comes to making deals to get wilderness designated sooner rather than later. Wilderness advocates fear that these machines will increasingly

intrude into potential wilderness areas and make their protection more difficult in the future because of associated impairments and claims of “historic use.”
That compromise is part of wilderness, as it is for politics more generally, is not the dispute. What is disputed is whether these compromises have gone too far in

recent years and what precedent they set for the future of the Wilderness System. We suspect that multi-faceted negotiations, in which wilderness is but one part of

larger deals, will increase in scale and complexity. Wilderness may become currency in lop-sided negotiations—providing something to trade in return for more certain

economic development on non-wilderness federal lands.
We are also concerned that those interests collaborating will view the original 1964 law as simply a starting point for negotiations and that there will be increasing

calls for non-conforming uses and special provisions in newly-designated wilderness areas, such as language pertaining to grazing, wildlife management, motorized use,

and fire. Precedent is a special concern in this context because of how often special provisions—to meet the desires of those opposed to wilderness—are replicated in

subsequent wilderness laws. There appears to be a disturbing trend in the collaborators representing “conservation” interests negotiating away central tenets of the

Wilderness Act in exchange for simply getting an area called “Wilderness” designated. As a result, recent legislation appears to be enshrining the WINO – Wilderness In

Name Only.
Wilderness Manipulation
The third issue pertains to what we believe will be increasing demands to control and manipulate wilderness in contravention of the law’s mandate to preserve

wilderness areas as “untrammeled.” Such demands will likely be made in the context of ecological restoration and efforts to mitigate and adapt to various environmental

changes, such as threats posed by climate change. We suspect that future wilderness designations and the politics surrounding them will increasingly use climate

change—whether as a legitimate concern, or merely an excuse—to focus on issues such as water supply, fire, insects, disease, and invasive species.
The relationship between water and wilderness will be particularly problematic in the West. Testifying before Congress on the proposed San Juan Mountains Wilderness

Act of 2011, the USFS shocked many by opposing the bill’s provision to prohibit new water development projects in the new wilderness areas.
The water issue is also likely to manifest itself through the artificial delivery of water to wildlife populations in wilderness. The USFWS acquiesced to the state of

Arizona’s request to build two artificial wildlife waters to benefit bighorn sheep within the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness, despite the presence of over 60

such installations already in the area. However, this decision to manipulate the wilderness ecosystem was contested, and in 2010 the Ninth Circuit ruled that the USFWS

failed to adequately analyze whether these “guzzlers” were necessary to meet the law’s minimum requirements. It seems that the courts will defend the undeveloped

nature of an untrammeled wilderness where the agency charged with its stewardship will not.
Recently introduced legislation goes even further – beyond simply providing artificial water: the Sportsmen’s Heritage Act of 2012 version that passed the House would

guarantee that any action proposed by a state wildlife agency would automatically satisfy the “necessary to meet minimum requirements” test mandated by Section 4(c) of

the Wilderness Act.
Manipulating wilderness ecosystems frequently involves placing structures or installations in areas that are, by law, supposed to be undeveloped. They may make the

area less natural, even though the law requires wilderness to be “protected and managed to preserve its natural conditions.” And, uniformly, they manipulate areas

“where the earth and its community of life are [supposed to be] untrammeled.” These demands may end up as bargaining chips in the designation process – part of the

increase in collaboration and compromise that is the hallmark of recent legislation. Manipulating wilderness ecosystems, which now seems acceptable to some

“conservation” interests, may become a de facto political requirement in an increasingly polarized political climate where it seems one side seems to not care how an

area is managed as long as it’s called “Wilderness,” and the other side doesn’t care what it’s called as long as it’s not managed as wilderness.
So, is “Wilderness” an idea whose time has come and gone?
***
We reflect on the words used by Congress in establishing the Wilderness System in 1964:
In order to assure that an increasing population, accompanied by expanding settlement and growing mechanization, does not occupy and modify all areas within the United

States and its possessions, leaving no lands designated for preservation and protection in their natural condition, it is hereby declared to be the policy of the

Congress to secure for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness.
The italicized words are emphasized because they explain why the reasons for adding to the Wilderness System are stronger in 2014 than they were fifty years ago. In

1964, the U.S. population was 192 million, it is now approaching more than 319 million. Along with this increasing population has come a staggering expansion of

settlement, especially in the American West, and a phenomenal increase in the amount and power of motorized and mechanized use on public lands. The Wilderness System

remains vital in protecting places and values that are increasingly rare in modern society.
Now, more than ever, we need the transcendent anchor provided by Wilderness. This is not asking for too much when we consider that roughly 5 percent of the entire U.S.

is protected as wilderness, and a mere 2.7 percent when Alaska is removed from the equation. Nor is it too much when we consider that the majority of the U.S. has

already been converted to agricultural and urban landscapes, with much of the remaining lands networked with roads. We are not so poor economically that we must

exploit every last nook and cranny of our wild legacy for perceived gain; we are not yet so poor spiritually that we should willingly squander our birthright as

Americans.
This is why we must fight for “Capital W” Wilderness, as originally envisioned, and make a stand for those last remaining roadless areas with wilderness

characteristics that deserve our protection. It also means pushing back against the tide of comprising away the very essence of wilderness, and resisting the urge to

manipulate wild places as if they were gardens to produce some desired future as if we knew what was always best for the land.
We need Wilderness, real Wilderness. Now, more than ever.
***
________________________________________
Martin Nie is Director of the Bolle Center for People & Forests at the University of Montana. Chris Barns is a BLM Wilderness Specialist in the National Landscape

Conservation System Division, and that agency’s representative at the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center. His contribution to this essay should not be

taken as an official position of the Department of the Interior or BLM. The Article from which this essay stems will be published by the Arizona Journal of

Environmental Law & Policy in October of 2014.

Retrieved from http://mountainwestnews.org/Page3.aspx?a=Perspectives&ID=177

Explanatory Essay (Essay 1)
Defining Wilderness: Past, Present and Future

For this essay, you are asked to explain how the concept of wilderness has changed over the history of America.  You will do this by comparing and contrasting the

views and information shown in 2-3 assigned texts (articles & essays).  To effectively explore the topic, you should start by considering the following broad

questions:

How have the definitions of nature and wilderness changed over time?
What purposes have nature and wilderness served over time?
Is wilderness necessary now – why or why not?
What role, if any, might wilderness/nature play in the future?

Please note that the questions listed above are meant to provide only a starting point in your discovery process.  You must come up with your own meaningful

thesis/main idea based on your analysis of the assigned articles.  The fact that this is an essay assignment means that you should interpret source information and

include your own knowledge and experiences as they relate to the topic and support your thesis.  You should NOT just summarize each article.

For sources, you MUST use at least two readings as sources in your paper, and not more than four.
•    The first required source is Noel Perrin’s “Forever Virgin: The American View of America,” which describes how philosophical views on nature and the purpose of

wilderness affected the nation’s development and psyche.
•    The second required source is “Wilderness: The Next 50 Years?” by Martin Nie and Christopher Barns.  This article analyzes how wilderness preservation should

be addressed in both the present and the future.
•    For additional background, you may also read an article from Wildernesswatch.org, which provides additional text from and explanation of the 1964 Wilderness

Act.

Keep in mind that your task is to use information and ideas from the articles to support your thesis; you are not expected to comprehensively explain or give all the

information and ideas from  each article.

Due Dates:  (Please note that draft due dates are changed from the Assignment schedule & calendar)
Outline DUE Mon. 2/9
First draft DUE Wed. 2/18: (for peer review)
Final draft DUE Wed. 2/25 (with outline, 1st draft & peer review forms attached)

Further Requirements:

o    The first draft must have a title, introduction (that ends in a clear thesis statement), body and conclusion.  Since this is not a five-paragraph essay, you

will need to devote more than one paragraph to each major point.  Be sure to include specific facts and examples to support all general statements.

o    Each draft must be typed and double-spaced with 1-inch margins.  Length must be 2 ½ – 4 pages (with 2-sided printing, if possible).  Please do NOT include a

title page for this assignment; instead, type your name, the course name/section and the date in the upper right corner of the first page (single-spaced).

o    Sources used must be cited in the paper via parenthetical citations per APA style

Scoring Rubric:

Outline, drafts and peer reviews completed per assignment requirements;
Substantial revision between 1st & final draft

Organization:
•    Introduction hooks reader & leads effectively to a clear thesis
•    Conclusion effectively wraps up the argument
•    Organization is clear and coherent (within sentences, paragraphs
& overall) and all required components are included
Content & Development:
•    Content is specific, relevant, accurate & well-developed
•    Quality of writing shows clear critical thinking & original thought
•    Length is appropriate
•    Source information & ideas are effectively used and presented

Language & Style:
•    Tone, purpose & audience are appropriate
•    Word choices are specific, correct and effective
•    Grammar & Mechanics are correct

Correct APA format, in-text citations & references page

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