Wilderness provides essential services…
-
Healthy watersheds to provide clean water
-
Healthy plant communities that give us fresh air to breathe
-
Healthy soil that provides nutrients for our bodies
Wilderness is a great place for backcountry recreation…
-
Hiking, camping, backpacking
-
Being with family and friends
-
Photography, wildlife viewing, star watching
-
Hunting and fishing
-
Canoeing, kayaking, rafting
-
Snowshoeing, snowboarding and cross county skiing
-
Solitude and beauty
-
Getting away from busy city life and tuning into nature
-
Finding peace and clarity in nature
-
Adventure; testing yourself against the land on its terms
Wilderness is a great place for wildlife…
-
Habitat for wildlife species to live, thrive and migrate
-
Biological diversity; an intact web of life that preserves the connections and dependence among species
-
A storehouse of scientific and medical innovations still waiting to be discovered
-
Large, wild landscapes often are not enough for wildlife populations to remain robust. It’s also necessary to preserve connectivity between protected areas within and between regions. When designated well, wilderness areas can keep migration routes intact, allowing species the opportunity to move in response to seasonal or climatic changes, or in response to crises, such as wildfire. Isolated wildlife populations that cannot move in response to changing conditions are threatened with extinction.
Wilderness provides economic stability and quality of life…
-
Beautiful views
-
Higher property values
-
Increased tourism
-
Recreation and other “lifestyle amenities” that attract and keep quality companies and workers
Wilderness keeps the past alive…
-
Wilderness gives Native Americans places for collecting plants for traditional uses
-
Wilderness protects important cultural resources, historic sites
Wilderness provides a legacy for the future…
-
Wilderness gives our children and grandchildren the opportunity to explore and enjoy the world as we inherited it from the past
-
Wilderness is an outdoor classroom, enabling us to learn about this world
