ABSTRACT
This is not the first, but the fourth biennial wilderness conference I have had the privilege of attending, but it is the first in the distinguished history of these conferences that the Sierra Club has planned and carried out jointly with another great, nationwide conservation organization. As president of that cosponsoring organization, the National Audubon Society, and as cochairman of the EARTHCARE Conference with Judge Sherwin, I find it gratifying, and a genuine honor, to join him in welcoming you to this, the Fourteenth Biennial 27Wilderness Conference, in this, the headquarters city of the National Audubon Society. And a very special wilderness conference this is, for EARTHCARE is the first to be primarily international and thus to endeavor to contribute to the global protection of natural areas, an historical concern of the National Audubon Society and a very special concern of the Sierra Club as well.
