The public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management are the last remaining unprotected wild lands in America.  It is this generation’s challenge to protect millions of acres of these lands in the newest system of land protection ever created. Here are eleven of the priority landscapes for the work of The Wilderness Society.

While it is an integral part of the Grand Canyon ecosystem, the Grand Canyon isolates the area of Arizona known as the Arizona Strip making it one of the most remote and rugged landscapes in the lower 48 states.  It is an isolated land full of spectacular scenic vistas, towering cliffs, deep canyons, ponderosa pine forests, and biological, cultural and historic treasures. 

Contact: Deanna Archuleta
(505) 247-0834

The colorful rock spires, towering buttes and sandy sagebrush country of Wyoming’s Red Desert have formed the imagery and character of America’s Cowboy State.  Stretching from the southern tip of the Wind River Range south to the signature rock hoodoos of Adobe Town, the Red Desert contains an astonishing array of wildlife, scenery, human history and wilderness. 

Contact: Steff Kessler
(307) 332-3462

Tucked away in California’s northeast corner, the Modoc Plateau contains some of the state’s most spectacular and remote lands. This wild region features an array of natural riches: unbroken vistas, abundant wildlife, and millions of acres of intact, undisturbed landscapes. Close to three million acres of public land, this one of the state’s most important natural landscapes.

Contact: Alice Bond
(415) 561-6641

In the heart of the Colorado Plateau lies the San Rafael Swell, redrock scenery that rivals Utah’s many national parks.  Located in southeastern Utah this 2,000 square miles of public land, is known for its scenic sandstone formations, deep canyons, desert streams, and expansive panoramas. Thousands of acres of roadless lands remain unprotected in this region. 

Contact: Suzanne Jones
(303) 650-5818 x102

The Great Plains of central Montana’s Missouri River country include high, gently rolling land interrupted by hills, sandstone outcrops and wide river valleys that have retained much of their unspoiled character.  The region is steeped in the history of exploration, contains rare prairie wilderness and is filled with wildlife including elk, bighorn sheep and migratory waterfowl. 

Contact: Peter Aengst
(406) 586-1600

The Jarbidge area in Southwest Idaho is a dramatic montage of sagebrush steppe, river canyons and mountains that is home to mule deer, sage grouse, pronghorn, elk and bighorn sheep. Isolated mountain lakes brim with trout, world class whitewater waits to be kayaked and awe inspiring canyons play home to birds of prey.  

Contact: Brad Brooks
(208) 343-8153 x18

Between the Hueco and Guadalupe Mountains in eastern New Mexico, 1.2 million acres of Chihuahuan Desert grassland known as Otero Mesa protects the Salt Basin aquifer, provides key habitat for the state’s healthiest and purest herd of pronghorn, and serves as wintering ground for the burrowing owl and countless raptor species.  


Contact: Deanna Archuleta
(505) 247-0834

The Gold Butte region of Nevada in the Virgin Mountains has jagged limestone and basalt peaks, jumbled granite boulder fields, twisted colorful sandstone sculptures as well as evidence of historic and ancient peoples as rugged as the geology. The region includes the Virgin River and is home to the desert tortoise, wild horses and burros, big horn sheep, desert iguana, and kit fox.

Contact: Jeremy Garncarz
(303) 650-5818 x115

One of the most important wetland complexes in the entire circumpolar Arctic is around Teshekpuk Lake in Alaska. This ecosystem provides essential habitat for millions of waterfowl, shorebirds and songbirds that nest in the area. The Teshekpuk Lake caribou herd numbers 45,000 providing hunters from seven Native communities with subsistence harvests.

Contact: Eleanor Huffines
(907) 272-9453

Southeast Oregon’s remote high desert ecosystem remains little known despite a diverse natural and cultural history. The area contains high elevation desert, lush wetlands, stunning lava outcrops, deep canyons and sagebrush expanses. Diverse wildlife habitat supports antelope, wild horses, bighorn sheep, as well as raptors, pelicans and trumpeter swans.

Contact: Bob Freimark
(206) 624-6430

In Colorado’s northwest corner, Lookout Mountain and the adjacent Vermillion Bluffs rise up in a dramatic 1,700-foot escarpment, while the vast, undulating, rainbow-colored Vermillion Basin stretches out below, home to a fantastic collection of petroglyphs and elk, antelope, peregrine falcons, and rare plants.

Contact: Suzanne Jones
(303) 650-5818 x102