Sweeping federal review presents grave threat to wilderness

Since assuming power, the current administration has been intent on undermining protections for public lands to benefit a few private interests. In the latest phase of this effort, it is pressing forward with an ominous “review” of wilderness management policies that could open beloved backcountry areas to development, resource extraction and unregulated motorized vehicle use—tarnishing them forever.

The wildlands at stake—designated wilderness, recommended wilderness, proposed wilderness, wilderness study areas, lands with wilderness characteristics, eligible wilderness, potential wilderness––are some of the last undeveloped landscapes in the United States. Many of these are lands that have not yet received permanent protection from Congress through the Wilderness Act but have been identified by experts as meeting all the eligibility requirements for protection and therefore deserving special management in the meantime. These are the quiet places that many Americans cherish for the freedom to explore the outdoors, in clean air and surrounded by stunning wildlife habitat.

To illustrate just how much is at stake, we’ve created a map of all the wilderness administratively protected by the Department of the Interior that could be affected by this new “review”.

The brunt of this effort stems from an unexpected, sweeping review of management policies across multiple agencies within the Department of the Interior. Specifically, Interior announced that it will solicit potential changes to the management of wilderness areas, recommended wilderness, proposed wilderness, wilderness study areas, lands with wilderness characteristics, potential wilderness and eligible wilderness across all three agencies.  

But this attack on provisionally protected wildlands extends beyond the Department of the Interior. The announcement came on the heels of reporting by The New York Times that Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins is expected to issue a memo directing the Forest Service to review its management of recommended wilderness. These moves, along with the Forest Service’s proposal to repeal roadless forest protections, have bolstered suspicion that both the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service will also revise or repeal their Travel Management Rules governing motorized vehicle use on public lands.

Changing the management of these wildlands would have grave ramifications in both the near and long term. In the near term, opening these places to development and unregulated motorized vehicle use would shatter the unspoiled tranquility that many set out to find on public lands. Long term, changes will prevent identified places from ever receiving Congressional designation as wilderness by harming their qualifications—preventing future generations from ever experiencing them.

All of this is consistent with the administration’s agenda, which is stretching the public lands system to its breaking point. Through rule repeals, executive orders, secretarial memos, layoffs and budget cuts, the administration is decimating the capacity of agencies to effectively steward our shared lands—tilting the scales so drilling, mining, logging and other forms of development are made king above all other uses.

This is not what the American people want or value. Time and time again, an overwhelming majority of the public has expressed that it wants our public lands to be thoughtfully stewarded so that current and future generations alike have access to clean resources and unparalleled freedom to explore nature. The administration should follow the views of the public and reverse course before it’s too late for the damage to be undone.