Since 2002, the Campaign for America’s Wilderness has worked with Congress to designate 59 new wilderness areas and add land to 14 existing wilderness areas—adding more than 2.4 million acres—to the National Wilderness Preservation System.
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2006
California: Northern Coastal Wildlands
© Bob Wick
Protects 273,000 acres and 21 miles of rivers in the northwest part of the state. Rising from the ocean to ancient forests of Douglas fir and incense cedar, the wild lands are the home of an unusually large wintering bald eagle population, as well as endangered species that include the California brown pelican, the peregrine falcon, and Roosevelt elk.
Introduced by California Representative Mike Thompson (D) and Senators Boxer (D) and Feinstein (D)
Nevada: White Pine County
© Scott Smith
Protects 558,000 acres of the wildest, most rugged and most beautiful landscapes in eastern Nevada, including Baldy Peak, Goshute Canyon, Becky Peak, and the South Egan, High Schells, and Shellback mountain ranges, including more than 100,000 acres of mountain peaks, steep canyons, and aspen forests.
Introduced by Nevada Senators John Ensign (R) and Harry Reid (D).
New England: New England Wilderness
Protects as wilderness 34,500 acres in the Sandwich Range and Wild River region of New Hampshire's White Mountain National Forest- home to moose, spruce grouse, migratory songbirds, coyotes, fisher, beaver, and deer-and 41,652 acres in Vermont's Green Mountain National Forest, including the spectacular Glastenbury Mountain with its massive and wild ridgeline.
Introduced by Senators John Sununu (R-NH) and Judd Gregg (R-NH) (S. 2463), Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Jim Jeffords (I-VT), and Representative Bernie Sanders (I-VT) (S. 2565/H.R. 5157), and Representatives Jeb Bradley (R-NH) (H.R. 5062) and Charlie Bass (R-NH) (H.R. 5059).
Utah: Cedar Mountains Wilderness
© Ray Bloxham
Protects 100,000 acres of rolling hills, mountains that rise to 7,700 feet, juniper woodlands, and rugged limestone outcrops west of Salt Lake City. The area is home to American eagles, prairie falcons, the occasional mountain lion, deer, and antelope.
Sponsored by Utah Representative Rob Bishop (R).
2005
New Mexico: Ojito Wilderness
© Martin Heinrich
Ensures protection for 11,000 acres of blush-colored desert canyon lands in northwestern New Mexico, characterized by steep sided mesas, remote box canyons, deep arroyos, and historic religious sites of the Zia and Santa Ana Pueblos.
Sponsored by New Mexico Senators Jeff Bingaman (D) and Pete Domenici (R), and Representatives Tom Udall (D) and Heather Wilson (R).
Puerto Rico: El Toro Wilderness
Courtesy U.S. Forest Service
Protects one-third of the Caribbean National Forest in a 10,000-acre wilderness that embraces the only tropical rain forest in America's national forest system. The forest is home to the rare Puerto Rican parrot.
Sponsored by New York Senators Hillary Clinton (D) and Charles Schumer (D) and Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner Luis Fortuño (R).
2004
Nevada: Lincoln County
© Woods Wheatcroft
Protects 14 new wilderness areas, totaling more than 768,000 acres in Lincoln County, Nevada. The area includes the steep and rocky terrain of the Delamar Mountains and Parsnip Peak's prehistoric rock rings, rock shelters and rock art. A variety of raptors can be found here, including the southern spotted owl, mountain plover, and the western yellow-billed cuckoo.
Wisconsin: Gaylord A. Nelson Wilderness
Courtesy Wilderness.net
Grants greater protection to 35,000 acres of wild land on the waters of Lake Superior within the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Known as the ancestral home of the Ojibwa people, the new wilderness includes a series of islands with remarkable cliff formations, sea caves, and some of the most pristine sandscapes remaining in the Great Lakes region.
2002
California: Big Sur Region
© Jim Rose
Expands the Ventana Wilderness by 37,000 acres and the Silver Peak Wilderness by 8,000 acres to protect a highly diverse coastal ecosystem that features ruggedly beautiful mountains characterized by steep-sided, sharp-crested ridges and craggy peaks falling into V-shaped valleys.
Colorado: James Peak Wilderness
© Jeff Widen
Protects 14,000 acres of national forest on the east side of the Continental Divide in mountains that range in elevation from 9,200 to 13,294 feet and that include upper montane, sub-alpine, and alpine ecosystems. The area includes James Peak, named for explorer, historian, and botanist Edwin James, a member of the 1820 Stephen H. Long expedition to Colorado.
Nevada: Clark County
© Howard Booth
Designates 440,000 acres of public lands as wilderness in southern Nevada's Clark County, permanently protecting areas that encompass the snowy summits of the Spring Mountains, the deep shadows of Arrow Canyon, the Joshua tree forests of the McCullough region, and southern Nevada's Mojave Desert.
