2024 marks the 60th anniversary of the Wilderness Act signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson and the establishment of our nation’s Wilderness Preservation System. This landmark conservation bill was designed to permanently protect wild, untrammeled landscapes for future generations to discover, explore, and experience the profound beauty and solitude of nature.
Approximately 176,000 acres of inholdings remain in the lower 48's National Wilderness Preservation System. Colorado wilderness is threatened by almost 200 inholdings covering nearly 8,000 acres. These inholdings are gaping holes in the fabric of the landscape that don’t carry the same protections as the surrounding wilderness: roads can be built, minerals can be extracted, old-growth timber extracted and residential homes and lodges constructed.
As the only organization with a lands program solely dedicated to removing the threat of industrial, commercial, and private development within, and adjacent to, federally designated wilderness, we hold a unique position in the wider world of land conservation. And, while the properties we acquire and transfer range from 2.5 acres to several thousand, it’s fair to say we have had a positive impact on more than 17 million acres of wilderness, not to mention nimbly and efficiently expanding our national wilderness preservation system year after year without fail. Because the majority of our work occurs in regions with economies dominated by outdoor recreation, natural resource extraction, and real estate development, these projects matter because they bring each wilderness area one step closer to being a holistic and protected system.
In 2022, to celebrate our 30th anniversary, the board and staff revisited our mission, vision, and impact as a way to reflect on our accomplishments and, at the same time, anticipate a roadmap for the future. What we came away with is a simple value proposition that suggests that our nation’s wilderness is guaranteed for you and your children’s children to experience nature in a way that is unique to wilderness; for wildlife, water, forests, and biodiversity, for ecological health and climate resilience, for equitable access for enjoyment, appreciation, solitude, and rejuvenation, and economies based on the beauty of nature.
How we go about this in our next thirty years includes the following:
• Continue to offer a fair and honorable service to federal agencies and landowners,
• Ensure smart decision-making based on current and accurate data and a project prioritization system that is based on land conservation values and impact,
• Assume reasonable risks to pursue land transaction opportunities that meet our values and provide a reasonable return on investment for our federal partners and donors,
• Collaborate and contribute to the wilderness movement in a meaningful way,
• Operate at full organizational capacity to fulfill our mission, and;
• Cast a wide net to attract and keep new and diverse audiences who are engaged in the protection of wilderness and wildlands.
Leveraging our expertise, distinct niche, and excellent reputation, we imagine a future that capitalizes on a successful business model to increase philanthropic mission support, building a broader, more diverse, engaged constituency of individuals who believe in a future where protected wildlands and wilderness are key to combatting global threats caused by climate change, biodiversity loss, and development pressures both within and on the edge of wilderness.
"One of the main tenets of Zen is the understanding that there is no separation. When one thing happens, it has an effect in the whole universe. This means there is no separation from nature – the way we take care of nature is the way we take care of ourselves. Conservation is an expression of this caretaking. With the property now protected, it will be open for people from all walks of life and spiritual practices to come and learn its lessons of resiliency, stillness, solitude, and connection."
- Sozan Miglioli, president of the San Francisco Zen Center and WLT landowner partner
"Transferring this property into public ownership will help ensure conservation of the valuable resources this land has to offer for future generations. Without the hard work and dedication of the Wilderness Trust and its partners, this opportunity to enhance Sheep Mountain Wilderness would not be possible. This is a true legacy opportunity made possible through public/private partnerships."
- Jody Noiron
Forest Supervisor, Angeles National Forest, California
"When I learned about The Wilderness Land Trust, I realized that, although small, the Trust was taking big steps to protect wilderness and build climate resilience that is so desperately needed for the health and well-being of nature and all of its inhabitants."
- Dr. George Sardina, WLT Sentinel Society Donor
We Keep the Promise of Wilderness - The Wilderness Land Trust acquires and transfers inholdings to public ownership that complete designated and proposed wilderness areas, or directly protect wilderness values.
Established in Colorado in 1992, The Wilderness Land Trust is a national, nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to purchasing lands for the federal wilderness system to ensure their preservation.
Our goal is to ensure that America keeps its promise to future generations that America's wilderness will remain forever wild.
With the Wilderness Preservation Act in 1964, Congress established the world's first National Wilderness Preservation System, where men and women are " visitor(s) who do not remain." But simply drawing lines on a map and declaring it a wilderness area does not necessarily make a wilderness whole. Wilderness areas are often riddled with private ownership. Many such "inholdings" predate the Wilderness Act and are vulnerable to mining, logging, oil and gas drilling and development. The Wilderness Land Trust works to acquire these lands. We then transfer them to federal agencies to be protected as wilderness forever.
By removing these threats we not only protect these lands from development, but also the integrity of the surrounding wilderness. Donors make this work possible.
Beyond its inherent beauty, many would say that wilderness defines the American spirit. Wilderness has long inspired American thinking, writing and art. As we face unprecedented global environmental challenges, wilderness is a last refuge for endangered wildlife, a source of clean air and water, and critical to understanding and limiting climate change.
Organization name
The Wilderness Land Trust
other names
WLT
1992
Category
Environment
Organization Size
Large Organization
Address
2 North Last Chance Gulch Suite 3-4Mailing
PO Box 881CO, US
CA, US
WA, US
NM, US
ID, US
Phone
206-397-5240
other
720-505-1700