RALPH SWAIN USFS ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION WILDERNESS & RIVERS PROGRAM MANAGER DIVERSITY OF NWPS

WILDERNESS ACT WAS SIGNED INTO LAW SEPTEMBER 3, Wildernesses – 9.1 Million Acres

NWPS IS SLIGHTLY LARGER THAN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

NWPS IS THE SIZE OF MINNESOTA IF ALASKA’S WILDERNESSES ARE EXCLUDED

WHICH AGENCY HAS THE LARGEST NUMBER OF ACRES IN THE NATIONAL WILDERNESS PRESERVATION SYSTEM? Forest Service National Park Service Bureau of Land Management Fish and Wildlife Service

WHICH AGENCY HAS THE LARGEST NUMBER OF ACRES IN THE NATIONAL WILDERNESS PRESERVATION SYSTEM? Forest Service (37 million acres) National Park Service (44 million acres) Bureau of Land Management (9 million acres) Fish and Wildlife Service (20 million acres)

WHICH AGENCY HAS THE MOST WILDERNESS AREAS IN THE NATIONAL WILDERNESS PRESERVATION SYSTEM? Forest Service National Park Service Bureau of Land Management Fish and Wildlife Service

WHICH AGENCY HAS THE MOST WILDERNESS AREAS IN THE NATIONAL WILDERNESS PRESERVATION SYSTEM? Forest Service (445 units) National Park Service (61 units) Bureau of Land Management (224 units) Fish and Wildlife Service (71 units)

FIRST FS WILDERNESS Gila Wilderness Established June 3,1924 through efforts led by then-forest supervisor Aldo Leopold. First administratively established wilderness to be created by FS; not designated by Congress.

FIRST FWS WILDERNESS Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness, NJ September 28, 1968

FIRST NPS WILDERNESSES Craters of the Moon Wilderness, ID Petrified Forest Wilderness, AZ October 23, 1970

FIRST FS WILDERNESS Scapegoat Wilderness, MT August 20, 1972

FIRST BLM WILDERNESS Santa Lucia and Wild Rogue Wildernesses Endangered American Wilderness Act, 1978 Santa Lucia Wilderness Wild Rogue Wilderness

LARGEST WILDERNESS Texas Montana Colorado Alaska Wrangell-Saint Elias Wilderness (9 million acres)

SMALLEST WILDERNESS Rhode Island Alaska Puerto Rico Florida Pelican Island Wilderness, 5.5 acres

LARGEST CONTIGUOUS WILDERNESS OUTSIDE ALASKA Idaho Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness 2.3 million acres

LARGEST LEGISLATIVE WILDERNESS OUTSIDE ALASKA California/Nevada Death Valley Wilderness 3.1 million acres

IN THE WESTERN STATES, MORE THAN 50% OF THE WATER SUPPLY COMES FROM WILDERNESS AREAS

SAND DUNES Nordhouse Dunes, MI Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune, NY Great Sand Dunes Wilderness, CO Sleeping Bear Dunes Wilderness, MI

SAND DUNES NORDHOUSE DUNES WILDERNESS, MI

SAND DUNES OTIS PIKE FIRE ISLAND HIGH DUNE, NY Designated in 1980, 1,380 acres

SAND DUNES GREAT SAND DUNES WILDERNESS, CO Richard Hebhardt

SAND DUNES SLEEPING BEAR DUNES WILDERNESS, MI Designated March 13, ,556 acres

EASTERN FOREST DOLLY SODS WILDERNESS, WV Kenneth Greenwood

EASTERN FOREST JOYCE KILMER-SLICKROCK WILDERNESS, NC Bill Lea

TUNDRA GATES OF THE ARCTIC WILDERNESS, AK

TUNDRA MOLLIE BEATTIE WILDERNESS, AK

DESERT

COASTAL KING RANGE, CA Longest stretch of undeveloped coastline in US outside of AK

COASTAL SWANQUARTER WILDERNESS, NC

SWAMPS BRADWELL BAY WILDERNESS, FL

SWAMPS BIG LAKE WILDERNESS, AR

SWAMPS GREAT SWAMP WILDERNESS, NJ

WILDLIFE GLACIER BAY WILDERNESS, AK MT. EVANS WILDERNESS, CO David Bahr Verdon Tomajko

WILDLIFE ST. MARKS WILDERNESS, FL GULF FRITILLARY BUTTERFLY & SNOWY EGRET

Piping Plover WILDLIFE BRIGANTINE WILDERNESS, NJ

PEAKS MT. REGAN SAWTOOTH WILDERNESS, ID

PEAKS LONGS PEAK ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK WILDERNESS, CO Ethan Welty

PEAKS CAPITOL PEAK MAROON BELLS-SNOWMASS WILDERNESS, CO MT. WHITNEY, JOHN MUIR WILDERNESS, C A Nate Zeman Nolan Nitschke

100 year old hemlocks UNAKA MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS, TN

Mt. Haleakala (peak) 10,023 ft – home to the silver plants that bloom only once in their lifetime HALEAKALA WILDERNESS, HI

GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS WILDERNESS, TX

CAVES CARLSBAD CAVERN WILDERNESS, NM Sl

CAVES LAVA BEDS WILDERNESS, CA

TROPICAL RAINFOREST EL TORO WILDERNESS, PR Designated in 2005, 10,254 acres – first wilderness in U.S territory