ABSTRACT
The principal activity of the Society has been the designation of wilderness areas on public lands: on national forests, national parks, federal wildlife preserves, BLM lands and other public lands. That job continues and intensifies. The Council of The Wilderness Society adopted a policy statement on "The Management of Wilderness Use." This is the first such statement adopted by a national organization. Marshall, Aldo Leopold, Benton MacKaye, Robert Sterling Yard and Ernest C. Oberholtzer, who shared in the establishment of the Society, were all professional men, but they clearly recognized that the preservation of wilderness depended on the leadership and active participation of a spirited citizens' group. The plan must be for a wilderness as a whole and indivisible unit, not subdivided by agency administrative units. Each plan should address specific issues, such as fire, insects and disease, recreation trails, permits, access, fish and wildlife and give specific attention to any commodity uses involved.
