I thought Wilderness Areas were supposed to be pristine & untouched by man. :rolleyes:
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Park commissioners tire of wilderness study area

CODY (AP) -- Park County commissioners are reevaluating their chances of getting the McCullough Peaks Wilderness Study Area revoked.

"Congress has final authority when it comes to wilderness designations," Commissioner Marie Fontaine said Tuesday. "And in analyzing the makeup of Congress, I think it's a losing battle to try to remove the wilderness study area."

Fontaine said she met with U.S. Bureau of Land Management officials Nov. 17 to discuss land use issues and the wilderness area in the vast McCullough Peaks area south of Powell.

The McCullough Peaks Wilderness Study Area covers about 8,000 acres. If ever designated by Congress as an official wilderness area, the area would be subject to tighter regulation.

"If this goes through, there will be no motorized vehicle use in that area," Fontaine said.

Commission Chairman Tim Morrison expressed frustration with the situation. "It sounds like we're almost being held hostage to the process," he said.

It was not the first time commissioners voiced displeasure over how the area is managed. Officials from the BLM's Cody Field Office in August sought the commission's thoughts managing travel, including which routes near the wilderness study area should be designated for off-road vehicles.

Commissioners expressed concern about a BLM proposal to close roads.

"I have a problem with them shutting down roads," Commissioner Tim French said. "There's roads out there that people have used for a long, long time for recreation."

An environmental assessment for the area is expected in January, followed by a final report on road closure recommendations in designated areas, according to Fontaine.

"If this goes through, signage on open roads up there and closure of other ones could come soon," she said.

http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2003/12/07/news/wyoming/c595e2917b9961c687256df40080a101.txt

Originally posted by Crowdog
I thought Wilderness Areas were supposed to be pristine & untouched by man. :rolleyes:


Jon, read this, especially the last paragraph. What you are talking about is a very common mistake when it comes to the legal definition of wilderness, this explains the way it really is:

http://www.wildernesswatch.org/Wild%20Library/Concepts/Untrammeled.htm

Untrammeled

"Untrammeled. A key descriptor of wilderness in the Wilderness Act, untrammeled refers to the freedom of a landscape from the human attempt to intervene, alter, control, or manipulate natural conditions or processes to provide particular benefits."
— USFWS Draft Wilderness Stewardship Policy, 2001

Dictionary descriptions of "untrammeled" include "unrestrained," "unrestricted," "unimpeded," and "unfettered." Remaining untrammeled from intentional human manipulation is what keeps wilderness wild.

The first sentence in Section 2(c) of the Wilderness Act defines Wilderness:

"A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain."

In a Senate hearing in 1963, Zahniser referred to this sentence, noting:

"In this definition the first sentence is definitive of the meaning of the concept of wilderness, its essence, its essential nature -- a definition that makes plain the character of lands with which the bill deals, the ideal."

















That first sentence in Sec. 2(c) of the Wilderness Act that Zahniser was referring to contains two key defining qualities of wilderness. First, wilderness is to be in contrast to areas where human civilization dominates the landscape. Secondly, wilderness is to be untrammeled, a place where the earth and its community of life remain uncontrolled and free of intentional manipulation by humans. Wilderness is to remain self-willed land, where the earth and its community of life are shaped by natural processes, not by human will. The first sentence in Sec. 2(c) essentially defines wilderness as special places that are set apart, places where humans interact differently with nature than we do in any other landscape, places where humility, restraint, and respect must guide our interactions with these places rather than a primary emphasis on human use, convenience, and utility.

When questioned about choosing the word untrammeled instead of undisturbed Zahniser explained that he had very carefully selected the word untrammeled after "dissatisfaction with almost every other word that had been suggested." He explained why the word undisturbed did not express his intent:

"The problem with the word "Disturbed" (that is, "Undisturbed") is that most of these areas can be considered as disturbed by the human usages for which many of them are being preserved; that is, temporarily disturbed. The idea within the word "Untrammeled" of their not being subjected to human controls and manipulations that hamper the free play of natural forces is the distinctive one that seems to make this word the most suitable one for its purpose within the Wilderness Bill."
— Howard Zahniser, 1959

The word untrammeled therefore is not based on the current physical appearance of the landscape. Untrammeled does not mean "untrampled" or "undeveloped." It is the forces of nature that are to be left untrammeled. The definition of untrammeled lays out the kind of relationship that we as humans are to have with wilderness. It defines how we will interact with wilderness. We are to allow wilderness to be self-willed, not controlled and manipulated by our own human goals and desires. Being in contrast to civilization and untrammeled by human control and manipulation are key to the very meaning of wilderness, and are what differentiates wilderness from other undeveloped landscapes.