Order Code RL31447
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Wilderness: Overview and Statistics
Updated March 18, 200510, 2008
Ross W. Gorte
Specialist in Natural Resources Policy
Resources, Science, and Industry Division
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress
Wilderness: Overview and Statistics
Summary
Congress enacted the Wilderness Act in 1964. This Act created the National
Wilderness Preservation System, reserved to Congress the authority to designate
wilderness areas, and directed the Secretaries of Agriculture and of the Interior to
review certain lands for their wilderness potential. The Act also designated 54
wilderness areas with 9 million acres of federal land. Congress began expanding the
Wilderness System in 1968, and today, there are 649708 wilderness areas, totaling more
than 105107 million acres, in 44 states. Numerous bills to designate additional areas and
to expand existing ones are introduced and considered in every Congress.
The Wilderness Act defined wilderness as an area of generally undisturbed
federal land, but did not establish criteria or standards to determine whether an area
should be designated, because of differing perceptions of wilderness and because of
the varying purposes of wilderness. In general, wilderness areas are undeveloped,
and commercial activities, motorized access, and roads, structures, and facilities are
generally prohibited in wilderness areas. However, in response to conflicting
demands,
Congress has granted both general exemptions and specific exceptions to
the general
standards and prohibitions.
The federal government owns about 29% of the land in the United States,
although the proportion in each state varies widely. Four federal agencies — the
Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and Fish and Wildlife Service
in the Department of the Interior and the Forest Service in the Department of
Agriculture — manage most of the federal lands. These agencies manage the 106107
million acres of designated wilderness, as well as many other lands. In addition, they
have are protecting another 46 million acresThey are also
protecting lands as possible additions to the Wilderness
System, and are reviewing
the wilderness potential of additional lands.
In total, more than 2317% of all federal land, and nearly 75% of all land in the
United States, has been designated as wilderness or is being protected as possible
wilderness. Alaska, because of its size and
relatively pristine condition, dominates
wilderness statistics — more than 5453% of
designated wilderness is in Alaska. In
total, nearly 16% of all land (federal, state,
private, and other) in Alaska has been
designated as wilderness. In contrast, 43% of
all land in the United States outside
Alaska has been designated as wilderness.
This report will be updated after the end of each Congress, to include changes
enacted.
Contents
History of Wilderness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
What Is Wilderness? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Prohibited and Permitted Uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Statistics6
Data on Wilderness Designations and Recommendations,
as of December 31, 2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .as of February 29, 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Agency Land Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Wilderness Statistics: Data Description and Assumptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Wilderness Statistics: Summary of Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
List of Tables
Table 1. Additions to the National Wilderness Preservation System . . . . . . . . . . 3
Table 2. Total Area Managed by Federal Land
Management Agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Table 3. Federal Designated Wilderness Acreage, by State and by Agency . . . . 11
Table 4. Additional Acreage Protected as Potential Wilderness,
by State and by Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13LandManagement Agencies . . . . . . . 10
Table 3. Federal Designated Wilderness Acreage, by State and by Agency . . . . 11
Wilderness: Overview and Statistics
In 1964, the Wilderness Act established a national system of congressionally
designated areas to be preserved in a wilderness condition. The National Wilderness
Preservation System was created with 9 million acres of Forest Service lands.
Congress has since expanded the Wilderness System to more than 105107 million acres
(see Table 1) among some 620623 million acres of land managed by the federal land
management agencies — the Forest Service (FS) in the Department of Agriculture,
and the National Park Service (NPS), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and Bureau
of Land Management (BLM) in the Department of the Interior. (See Table 2.)
Federal agencies, Members of Congress, and interest groups have recommended
more lands for inclusion in the System. Furthermore, at the direction of Congress,
agencies have studied, or are studying, the wilderness potential of their lands. This
report provides a brief history of wilderness, describes what wilderness is, identifies
permitted and prohibited uses in wilderness areas, and provides data on wilderness
designations and federal agency recommendations, as of December 31, 2004as of February 29, 2008.
History of Wilderness
The federal government acquired 1.8 billion acres of land through purchases,
treaties, and other agreements. Initial federal policy was generally to transfer
ownership to states and private ownership, but Congress has also provided for
reserving certain lands for federal purposes, and over time has reserved or withdrawn
increasing acreage for national parks, national forests, wildlife refuges, etc.1 The
general policy of federal lands disposal was changed to a general policy of retaining
the remaining lands in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.2
Beginning in 1897, management of the national forests emphasized conservation
— protecting and developing the lands. It did not take long for some FS leaders to
recognize the need to preserve some areas in a natural state. Acting at its own
discretion, and at the behest of an employee named Aldo Leopold, the FS created the
first wilderness area in the Gila National Forest (NM)
in 1924. In the succeeding
decades, the agency’s system of wilderness, wild, and
primitive areas grew to 14.6
million acres. However, in the 1950s, increasing timber
harvests and recreation use
of the national forests led to public concerns about the
permanence of this purely
administrative system. The FS had relied on its
administrative authority in making
these designations; there was no law guaranteeing
the future of wilderness.
1
See CRS Report RL30126RL34267, Federal Land Ownership: Constitutional Authority; the History
and the
History of Acquisition, Disposal, and Retention; and Current Acquisition and Disposal Authorities,
by Ross W. Gorte and Pamela Baldwin (archived, available from the authors).
, by Kristina Alexander and Ross W. Gorte.
2
FLPMA, Act of Oct.October 21, 1976; P.L. 94-579, 90 Stat. 2743. 43 U.S.C. §§ 1701, et seq1701-1719, et al.
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In response to these concerns, Congress enacted the Wilderness Act3 in 1964.
The Act defines wilderness, and prohibits or restricts certain activities in wilderness
areas, while permitting other activities to occur. The Act also reserves to Congress
the authority to designate areas as part of the National Wilderness Preservation
System.
The Wilderness System was initially endowed with the 9.1 million acres of
national forest lands that had been identified administratively as wilderness areas or
wild areas. The Wilderness Act also directed the Agriculture Secretary to review the
agency’s 5.5 million acres of primitive areas, and the Secretary of the Interior to
evaluate the wilderness potential of National Park System and National Wildlife
Refuge System lands. The Secretaries were to report their recommendations to the
President and to Congress within 10 years (i.e., by 1974). Separate recommendations
were made for each area; many areas recommended for wilderness have been
designated, although some of the recommendations are still pending (and are
included in Table 3). FLPMA . FLPMA
directed the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a
similar review of the public lands
administered by the BLM within 15 years (i.e., by
1991). The BLM submitted its
recommendations to the President, and presidential
recommendations have been
submitted to Congress.
The 90th Congress began expanding the Wilderness System in 1968, as shown
in Table 1. Five laws were enacted, creating five new wilderness areas with 795,000792,750
acres in four states. Wilderness designations generally increased in each succeeding
Congress, rising to a peak of 60.8 million acres designated during the 96th Congress
(1979-1980). The largest was 56.4 million acres of wilderness designated in the
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.4
In 1977, the FS began a review (RARE II5)II)5 of 62 million acres of national forest
roadless areas, as an acceleration of part of the land management planning process
mandated by the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974
and the National Forest Management Act of 1976.6 The RARE II Final
Environmental Statement was issued in January 1979, recommending more than 15
million acres (24.3% of the study area) for addition to the Wilderness System.
Nearly In
addition, nearly 11 million acres (17.4%) were to be studied further in the ongoing FS
planning under process
FS planning process under NFMA. The remaining 36 million acres (58.3% of the
RARE II area) were to be available for other uses — such as logging, energy and
mineral developments, and motorized recreation — which might be incompatible
with preserving wilderness characteristics. In April 1979, President Jimmy Carter
presented the recommendations to Congress with minor changes.
3
Act of Sept.September 3, 1964; P.L. 88-577, 78 Stat. 890. 16 U.S.C. §§ 1131-1136.
4
ANILCA, Act of Dec.December 2, 1980; P.L. 96-487, 94 Stat. 2371.
5
The first Roadless Area Review and Evaluation (RARE) was begun under the agency’s
administrative authority in 1970, but was abandoned in 1972 because of a lawsuit asserting
the review had been restricted in ways that violated the National Environmental Policy Act
of 1969 (NEPA, Act of Jan.January 1, 1970; P.L. 91-190, 83 Stat. 852; 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321-4347).
6
Respectively: RPA, Act of Aug.August 17, 1974; P.L. 93-378, 88 Stat. 476; and NFMA, Act of
Oct. 22, October 22,
1976; P.L. 94-588, 90 Stat. 2949. 16 U.S.C. §§ 1600-1614, et al.
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Table 1. Additions to the National Wilderness Preservation
System
Congress
Number
of Laws a
Number
of States
Number of Areas
New (Additions)
Acres
Designated b
88th
89th
90th
91st
92nd
93rd
94th
95th
96th
97th
98th
99th
100th
101st
102nd
103rd
104th
105th
106th
107th
108th
1
0
5
3
9
5
6
7
6
5
21
4
7
5
2
2
1
1
8
5
1
13
0
4
12
7
22
21
18
10
5
21
4
8
5
2
2
2
1
6
5
1
54
0
5
25
8
35
35
28
70
7
177
11
22
68
6
79
1
0
18
18
14
( 0)
( 0)
( 1)
( 0)
( 1)
( 0)
( 0)
( 5)
(11)
( 0)
(49)
( 2)
( 4)
( 3)
( 4)
(14)
( 2)
( 1)
( 1)
(13)
( 0)
9,139,721
0
794,550
305,619
912,439
1,264,594
2,142,486
4,555,496
60,799,111
83,261
8,576,450
97,393
1,988,509
1,759,479
424,590
8,272,699
29,420
160
1,086,490
441,520
768,294
Total
104
44
681
(111)
106,255,809
a
Excludes laws with minor boundary and acreage adjustments (less than 10 acres of
net change).
b
Column total differs from this figure, because of acreage revisions.
Number of
Lawsa
Number of
States
88th
1
13
54
( 0)
9,125,721
89th
0
0
0
( 0)
0
90th
5
4
5
( 1)
792,750
91st
3
13
25
( 0)
303,612
92nd
9
7
8
( 1)
913,337
93rd
4
22
35
( 0)
1,271,535
94th
8
23
35
( 0)
2,428,327
95th
7
18
28
( 5)
4,680,519
96th
7
10
71
(11)
60,753,605
97th
6
6
7
( 0)
83,309
98th
21
21
177
(49)
8,530,657
99th
5
5
11
( 2)
99,153
100th
7
8
22
( 4)
1,422,730
101st
5
5
68
( 3)
3,501,160
102nd
2
2
6
( 4)
426,290
103rd
2
2
79
(14)
8,272,871
104th
2
2
1
( 2)
29,970
105th
1
1
0
( 1)
160
106th
8
7
18
( 1)
1,081,465
107th
5
5
18
(13)
529,590
108th
2
2
15
( 0)
801,784
109th
6
7
25
(11)
1,030,748
Total
116
44
708
(122)
Congress
Number of Areas New
(Additions)
Acres
Designatedb
107,443,325
a. Excludes laws with minor boundary and acreage adjustments (less than 10 acres of net change).
b. This total differs from the total of the column because of acreage revisions.
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In 1980, the state of California successfully challenged the FS RARE II
recommendations for 44 areas allocated to nonwilderness uses, with the court
decision substantially upheld on appeal in 1982.7 The Reagan Administration
responded in 1983 by directing a re-evaluation of all RARE II recommendations,
except in states with wilderness laws containing certain provisions known as release
language.8 Tensions between the Administration and Congress, and among interest
7
California v. Bergland, 483 F. Supp. 465 (E.D.Cal. 1980), aff’d in part, rev’d in part, 690
F.2d 753 (9th Cir. 1982).
8
Release language provides direction on the timing of future wilderness review and of the
management of areas not designated as wilderness until the next review. For a history of
the debate over release language provisions, see CRS Report 93-280 ENR, Wilderness
Legislation: History of Release Language, 1979-1992, by Ross W. Gorte and Pamela
(continued...)
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groups, led to a particularly intense debate during the 98th Congress (1983-1984). A
compromise version of release language, achieved in May 1984, led the 98th
Congress to enact 21 wilderness laws designating 8.65 million acres of wilderness in
21 states — more laws and more acres (outside of Alaska) than any Congress since
the Wilderness System was created.
Since the Wilderness Act created the National Wilderness Preservation System
in 1964, Congress has enacted 103115 additional laws designating new wilderness areas
or adding to existing ones, as shown in Table 1. The Wilderness System now
contains 681708 wilderness areas with more than 106107 million acres in 44 states, managed
by the four federal land management agencies, as shown in Table 3. In addition, the
agencies have recommended another 46.5 million acres in 32 statesThe agencies
have recommended additional lands be added to the
Wilderness System, as shown in Table 4; these lands
are generally managed to
protect their wilderness character while Congress considers
adding them to the
Wilderness System. Additional lands are being studied by the
agencies, to determine
if they should be added to the System, but comprehensive. However, data on
lands being
recommended and being reviewed for wilderness potential are not available.
Questions and discussions persist over the protection and management of areas
that some believe should be designated as wilderness and others believe should be
available for development. The Clinton Administration moved to protect many of
the remaining national forest areas that could be designated as wilderness, initially
in January 1998 with a temporary moratorium on road construction in roadless areas,
and finally with a rule that prohibited most road construction and many other
activities in inventoried roadless areas (i.e., the remaining undesignated RARE II
areas).9 The Clinton rule was twice enjoinedenjoined twice, and the Bush Administration has
proposed a new general rule 10 that would allow governors to petition the FS for
separate statewide rules on roadless area management.11
promulgated a new rule that has also been enjoined. The status of roadless area
protection rules continues to be disputed.9
Questions also persist over BLM wilderness study areas (WSAs). These WSAs
are the
areas the BLM studied as potential wilderness under § 603 of FLPMA. Under
§ 603(b), the BLM is required to protect the wilderness characteristics of all WSAs
(including areas not recommended for wilderness) “until Congress determines
otherwise.” Some BLM WSAs have been designated as wilderness by Congress (as
reflected in Table 3), and generally in the same statutes, Congress has released the
BLM from the requirement to protect the wilderness characteristics of certain other
areas. However, release language in BLM wilderness statutes has generally been
more controversial than for national forest areas.12
8
(...continued)
Baldwin (archived, available from the authors).
9
66 Fed. Reg. 3244 (Jan. 12, 2001).
10
69 Fed. Reg. 42636, July 16, 2004.
11
7
California v. Bergland, 483 F. Supp. 465 (E.D.Cal. 1980), aff’d in part, rev’d in part, 690
F.2d 753 (9th Cir. 1982).
8
Release language provides direction on the timing of future wilderness review and of the
management of areas not designated as wilderness until the next review. For a history of
the debate over release language provisions, see CRS Report 93-280 ENR, Wilderness
Legislation: History of Release Language, 1979-1992, by Ross W. Gorte and Pamela
Baldwin (archived, available from the author).
9
For more background information on and the current status of these rules, see CRS Report
RL30647, The National Forest System Roadless Areas Initiative, by Pamela Baldwin.
12
See CRS Report RS21917, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wilderness Review
Issues, by Ross W. Gorte and Pamela Baldwin.
CRS-5Kristina Alexander and
Ross W. Gorte.
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otherwise.” Congress has designated some BLM WSAs as wilderness (included in
Table 3), and generally in the same statutes, Congress has released the BLM from
the requirement to protect the wilderness characteristics of certain other areas.
However, release language in BLM wilderness statutes has generally been more
controversial than for national forest areas.10
What Is Wilderness?
The Wilderness Act defines wilderness as an area of generally undisturbed
federal land. Specifically, §2(c) states:
A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his works dominate the
landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of
life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not
remain. An area of wilderness is further defined to mean .... an area of
undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence, without
permanent improvements or human habitation, which is protected and managed
so as to preserve its natural conditions and which (1) generally appears to have
been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man’s work
substantially unnoticeable; (2) has outstanding opportunities for solitude or a
primitive and unconfined type of recreation; (3) has at least five thousand acres
of land or is of sufficient size as to make practicable its preservation and use in
an unimpaired condition; and (4) may also contain ecological, geological, or
other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value.
This definition provides some general guidelines for determining which areas
should, or should not, be designated wilderness, but there are no specific criteria in
the law. The phrases “untrammeled by man,” “retaining its primeval character,” and
“man’s work substantially unnoticeable” are far from precise. Even the numerical
standard — 5,000 acres — is not absolute; smaller areas can be designated, if they
can be protected, and the smallest wilderness area — Wisconsin Islands Wilderness
in the Green
Bay National Wildlife Refuge — is only 2 acres.
One reason for the imprecise criteria for wilderness is differing perceptions of
what constitutes wilderness. To some, a “wilderness” is an area where there is
absolutely no sign of human presence: no traffic can be heard (including aircraft);
no roads, structures, or litter can be seen. To others, sleeping in a van or camper in
a 400-site campground in Yellowstone National Park is a “wilderness experience.”
Complicating these differing perceptions is the wide-ranging ability to “get away
from it all” in various areas; in a densely wooded area, “getting away” might be
measured in yards, while in mountainous or desert terrain, human developments can
sometimes be seen for miles.
In an attempt to accommodate these contrasting views of wilderness, the
Wilderness Act provided certain exemptions and delayed implementation of
restrictions for wilderness areas, as will be discussed below. At times, Congress has
also responded to the conflicting demands of various interest groups by allowing
10
See CRS Report RS21917, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wilderness Review
Issues, by Ross W. Gorte and Pamela Baldwin.
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additional exemptions for certain uses (especially for existing activities) in particular
wilderness designations. Ultimately, “wilderness areas” are whatever Congress
designates as wilderness, regardless of developments or activities which some might
argue conflict with the definition of wilderness.
Prohibited and Permitted Uses
In general, the Wilderness Act prohibits commercial activities, motorized
access, and roads, structures, and facilities in wilderness areas. Specifically, §4(c)
states:
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Except as specifically provided for in this Act, and subject to existing private
rights, there shall be no commercial enterprise and no permanent road within any
wilderness area designated by this Act and, except as necessary to meet minimum
minimum requirements for the administration of the area for the purpose of this Act
Act (including measures required in emergencies involving the health and safety of
of persons within the area), there shall be no temporary road, no use of motor
vehicles, motorized equipment or motorboats, no landing of aircraft, no other
form of mechanical transport, and no structure or installation within any such
area.
This section prohibits most commercial resource exploitation (such as timber
harvesting) and motorized entry (via cars, trucks, off-road vehicles, aircraft, or
motorboats) except in emergencies. However, §4(d) provides numerous exceptions,
including (a) possible continued use of motorboats and aircraft; (b) fire, insect, and
disease control measures; (c) mineral prospecting conducted “in a manner compatible
with the preservation of the wilderness environment;” (d) water projects; (e)
continued livestock grazing; and (f) commercial recreation activities.
In addition to these exemptions, the Wilderness Act extended the mining and
mineral leasing laws for wilderness areas in national forests for 20 years, through
1983. New mining claims and mineral leases were permitted for many wilderness
areas, and exploration and development were authorized “subject, however, to such
reasonable regulations governing ingress and egress as may be prescribed by the
Secretary of Agriculture.”1311 Despite this authority, no permits for on-site exploration
were considered until James Watt became the Secretary of the Interior in 1981.1412
Litigation halted a drilling application in Montana that year, and Congress enacted
a moratorium on wilderness area leasing and exploration in the Department of the
Interior appropriations laws for FY1983 and FY1984 (P.L. 97-394 and P.L. 98-146,
respectively). However, mineral rights existing on or before December 31, 1983 (or
before the area was designated), remain valid, and can be developed if the rightholder chooses, under “reasonable regulations” determined by the Secretary of
Agriculture, and some mineral exploration has occurred in designated wilderness
areas under such regulations.15
The Wilderness Act also directs that the Act not alter existing federal-state
relationships with respect to state water laws or state fish and wildlife
responsibilities. Specifically, §4(d) (as codified at 16 U.S.C. §1133) states:
13right11
Most lands in the National Park System and the National Wildlife Refuge System have
been withdrawn from access under the mining and mineral leasing laws, while extensive
BLM wilderness designations were apparently not contemplated until FLPMA was enacted
in 1976. Thus, the Wilderness Act addressed mining and mineral leasing only in the
national forests.
1412
Although national forests are managed by the FS in the Department of Agriculture, mining
claims and mineral leases on most federal lands, including the national forests, are
administered by the BLM in the Department of the Interior.
15
Olen Paul Mathews, Amy Haak, and Kathryn Toffenetti, “Mining and Wilderness:
Incompatible Uses or Justifiable Compromise?” Environment, v. 27 (April 1985): 12-17, 3036.
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holder chooses, under “reasonable regulations” determined by the Secretary of
Agriculture, and some mineral exploration has occurred in designated wilderness
areas under such regulations.13
The Wilderness Act also directs that the Act not alter existing federal-state
relationships with respect to state water laws or state fish and wildlife
responsibilities. Specifically, §4(d) (as codified at 16 U.S.C. §1133) states:
(7) Nothing in this Act shall constitute an express or implied claim or denial on
the part of the Federal Government as to exemption from State water laws.
(8) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting the jurisdiction or
responsibilities of the several States with respect to wildlife and fish in the
national forests.
However, the extent and nature of federal water rights that might arise from
wilderness designations continue to be an important issue for Congress.1614
Finally, as noted above, Congress has also enacted numerous exemptions to the
Wilderness Act’s standard prohibitions on activities and developments.1715 These
exemptions typically apply to one or a few areas and typically authorize a particular
activity (that might not be permitted under the Wilderness Act’s management
guidance) to be allowed to continue in the area at the level or intensity that occurred
prior to the area’s designation as wilderness.
StatisticsData on Wilderness Designations and
Recommendations, as of December 31, 2004as of February 29, 2008
The following tables present data on the federal lands managed by the four
principal federal land management agencies and on the acreage designated as
wilderness and recommended by the agencies for wilderness. The data were gathered
from several agency sources, as described below. This section describes the agency
land data shown in Table 2 and the wilderness data shown in Tables 3, 4, and 5Table 3.
Agency Land Data. Table 2 shows the area managed by the four major
federal land management agencies.1816 The data are not directly comparable across
agencies, however, because of differences in accounting practices. The agency data
also differ from the data maintained by the U.S. General Services Administration
(GSA).19 Differences occur in part because official ownership status often differs
from managerial responsibility; for example, the FS administers 462,678 acres in
Oregon that are technically public (BLM) lands. Another complication is partial
ownership, such as split estates, with the federal government owning only the surface
(or the subsurface), and another owner for the subsurface (or surface) rights;
similarly, some lands are managed by the federal government under easements and
long-term leases, without federal ownership. Thus, the agency acreage statistics in
Table 2 may overstate actual federal land ownership.
16
13
Olen Paul Mathews, Amy Haak, and Kathryn Toffenetti, “Mining and Wilderness:
Incompatible Uses or Justifiable Compromise?” Environment, v. 27 (April 1985): 12-17, 3036.
14
For a more thorough discussion of this issue, see CRS Report 89-11 A, Wilderness Areas
and Federal Water Rights, by Pamela Baldwin (archived, available from the author of this
report, Ross W. Gorte).
15.
17
See CRS Report RS22025RL33827, Wilderness Laws: Prohibited and PermittedPermitted and Prohibited Uses, by Ross W.
Gorte.
1816
Other federal agencies, such as the Department of Defense, controladminister some federal land, but
but land and resource management is not their primary mission.
19
U.S. General Services Administration, Office of Governmentwide Policy, Overview of the
United States Government’s Owned and Leased Real Property: Federal Real Property
Profile as of September 30, 2003, at [http://www.gsa.gov/gsa/cm_attachments/GSA_
DOCUMENT/Annual%20Report%20%20FY2003-R4_R2M-n11_0Z5RDZ-i34-pR.pdf],
visited on March 18, 2005.
CRS-8
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(GSA).17 Differences occur in part because official ownership status often differs
from managerial responsibility; for example, the FS administers 462,678 acres in
Oregon that are officially BLM lands. Another complication is partial ownership,
such as split estates, with the federal government owning only the surface (or the
subsurface), and another owner for the subsurface (or surface) rights; similarly, some
lands are managed by the federal government under easements and long-term leases,
without federal ownership. Thus, the agency acreage statistics in Table 2 may
overstate actual federal land ownership.
The data in Table 2 are from agency sources; agency data (rather than GSA
data) were used because they most closely match the agency wilderness data. The
acreage shown in Table 2 is generally limited to the lands owned by the federal
government (i.e., excluding easements and long-term leases) and administered by the
agency or for which the agency has primary management responsibility. This list
The
following list identifies the land area data source for each of the agencies.
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Land Areas Report As of September 30,
2004, at — as of Sept 30, 2007, at
[http://www.fs.fed.us/land/staff/lar/LAR04/table4.htm], visited on
March 16, 20052007/TABLE_4.htm].
U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service, Land Resources Division, Public
Use Statistics Office, National Park System Listing of Acreage as of: 9/30/2004,
at [http://www2.nature.nps.gov/stats/acrebypark04fy.pdf], visited on March 16,
2005National Park System Listing of Acreage
by State as of 12/31/2007; personal communication with Mike Walsh, NPS Land
Resources Division, Washington, DC, on March 7, 2008.
U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Realty, Annual
Report of
Lands Under Control of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as of
September 30, 2003, 2006,
Table 2, — Summary by States, Associated Governments and
Possessions, at
[http://www.fws.gov/realty/PDF_Files/2003_lands.pdf], visited
on March 16, 2005pdf_files/2006LandsReport.pdf].
U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Public Land Statistics 2003,
at 2005, at
[http://www.blm.gov/natacq/pls03pls05/pls1-4_03.pdf], visited on March 16, 2005.
Wilderness Statistics: Data Description and Assumptions. The
4_05.pdf].18
Wilderness Statistics. The wilderness statistics presented in Tables 3 and 4 Table 3 are the
current acreage estimates by
the agencies. Acreages are estimates, since few (if any)
of the areas have been
precisely surveyed. Table 3 is the acreage for areas that have
been designated by
Congress. Table 4 identifies the acreage of areas being protected by the agencies for
possible addition to the Wilderness System, but which have not yet been acted upon
by Congress. In addition, the agencies continue to review the wilderness potential
Congress. In addition, the agencies have recommended areas for
addition to the National Wilderness Preservation System, and continue to review the
wilderness potential of other lands under their jurisdiction, both of congressionally
designated wilderness
study areas and under congressionally directed land
management planning efforts.
However, statistics on acreage in pending
recommendations and being studied, particularly in the planning efforts, are
unavailable.
17
U.S. General Services Administration, Office of Governmentwide Policy, Overview of the
United States Government’s Owned and Leased Real Property: Federal Real Property
Profile as of September 30, 2004, at [http://www.gsa.gov/gsa/cm_attachments/GSA_
DOCUMENT/Annual%20Report%20%20FY2004%20Final_R2M-n11_0Z5RDZ-i3
4k-pR.pdf].
18
Public Land Statistics 2006 is available, but BLM-administered acreage by state is
rounded off to the nearest 100,000 acres.
CRS-9
For the FS, the same report as for general land statistics (listed above) provides
wilderness data, at [http://www.fs.fed.us/land/staff/lar/2007/TABLE_9.htm]. The
BLM’s Public Land Statistics, 2006 shows designated wilderness, at [http://www.
blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/wo/Business_and_Fiscal_Resources/2006_
pls.PAR.36087.File.dat/Part_5.pdf]. NPS data on designated wilderness areas are
available on an NPS website, at [http://wilderness.nps.gov/maplocator.cfm]. FWS
designated wilderness data are in Table 8 of the agency’s general lands report, listed
above. The data have been updated to reflect wilderness designations enacted since
the agencies’ tables or lists were prepared.
As of February 29, 2008, Congress had designated 107.4 million acres of federal
land in units of the National Wilderness Preservation System, as shown in Table 3.
Nearly 54% of this land — 57.6 million acres — is in Alaska, and includes most of
the wilderness areas managed by the NPS (76%) and by the FWS (90%). About a
third of the Wilderness System is managed by the FS, but 84% of FS wilderness area
is outside Alaska. Wilderness areas have been designated in 44 states plus Puerto
Rico; only Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, and Rhode Island have
no federal lands designated as wilderness.
CRS-10
Table 2. Total Area Managed by Federal LandManagement Agencies
(in acres)
being studied, particularly in the planning efforts, are
unavailable.
For the FS, the same report as for general land statistics (listed above) provides
designated wilderness data, at [http://www.fs.fed.us/land/staff/lar/LAR04/table9.
htm], visited on March 16, 2005. FS wilderness recommendations are from the
Roadless Area Conservation FEIS,20 with updated information for the agency.21 The
BLM’s Public Land Statistics, 2003 also shows designated wilderness and wilderness
20
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Roadless Area Conservation Final
Environmental Impact Statement, Volume 1 (Washington, DC: Nov. 2000), Appendix A,
pages A-5 — A-11.
21
Personal communication with Gary Yeck, Office of Legislative Affairs, USDA Forest
Service, Washington, DC, on Jan. 31, 2005.
CRS-9
study areas, at [http://www.blm.gov/natacq/pls03/pls5-4_03.pdf] and [http://www.
blm.gov/natacq/pls03/pls-5-5_03.pdf], respectively, visited on March 16, 2005.22
NPS data on designated, recommended (by the Secretary or the President), and
proposed (by the agency) wilderness areas are available on other NPS sites,
respectively, at [http://wilderness.nps.gov/maplocator.cfm?f=5], [http://wilderness.
nps.gov/maplocator.cfm?f=3], and [http://wilderness.nps.gov/maplocator.cfm?f=4],
visited on January 6, 2005. FWS designated wilderness data are in Table 8 of the
agency’s general lands report, listed above. Recommended FWS wilderness are from
an unpublished 2000 FWS report, adjusted to reflect subsequent congressional
designations.
Wilderness Statistics: Summary of Data. As of December 31, 2004,
Congress had designated 106.3 million acres of federal land in units of the National
Wilderness Preservation System, as shown in Table 3. More than 54% of this land
— 57.5 million acres — is in Alaska, and includes most of the wilderness areas
managed by the NPS (76%) and by the FWS (90%). Nearly a third of the Wilderness
System is managed by the FS, but 83% of FS wilderness area is outside Alaska.
Another 46.5 million acres are being protected by various agencies as possible
additions to the Wilderness System, as shown in Table 4. More than half of these
are pending recommendations in the National Park System, and include several large,
well-known areas, such as Yellowstone, Big Bend, Glacier, and Great Smoky
Mountains National Parks. For the FS, Congress has not acted on RARE II
recommendations for Idaho and Montana; the FS data shown in Table 4 are largely
the result of the agency’s land management planning process. The BLM submitted
its recommendations to the President by 1991, as required by FLPMA, and Presidents
Bush and Clinton sent recommendations for BLM wilderness to Congress. The 14.6
million acres of BLM WSAs account for nearly a third of the possible wilderness.
In total, 152.8 million acres, of a total U.S. landmass of 2.27 billion acres, have
been designated as wilderness or are being protected as possible wilderness. Nearly
half of this — 76.0 million acres — is in Alaska, and accounts for 16% of all land in
the state. The remaining 76.8 million acres are distributed among 45 other states;
only Connecticut, Iowa, Kansas, and Rhode Island have no federal lands designated
as wilderness or protected as possible wilderness. Total land designated as or
recommended for wilderness accounts for less than 7% of all land in the United
States, and more than 23% of all federal land.
22
The data in Table 4 are actually the preliminary data from Public Land Statistics, 2004,
which is not yet published, but which corrects the 2003 data for wilderness designated in
P.L. 108-424.
CRS-10
Table 2. Total Area Managed by Federal Land
Management Agencies
(in acres)
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Territories/Other
U.S. Total
USDA Forest
Service
National Park
Service
National Park Fish & Wildlife
Service
Bureau of Land
Management
667,314
21,973,662
11,262,527
2,593,028
20,769,716
14,498,801
24
0
1,156,827
865,205
1
20,715,568
293,101
200,935
0
108,175
811,042
604,373
53,040
0
0
2,868,468
2,840,385
1,171,158
1,489,327
16,923,859
352,252
5,836,348
732,413
0
9,419,498
16,211
1,254,876
1,105,977
236,638
400,172
15,667,116
513,427
0
623,724
2,014,005
700,974
755,389
8,193,568
393,868
1,664,071
9,276,203
1,041,094
1,527,336
9,238,063
28,149
16,715
51,078,663
2,602,990
98,374
7,554,824
604,333
5,719
0
2,435,335
39,575
353,405
96,268
12
10,379
2,708
461
94,033
14,540
66,706
39,848
32,947
631,590
139,508
103,155
54,173
1,214,234
5,434
774,509
8,072
35,216
376,527
33,130
362,592
71,241
19,238
9,998
190,955
48,411
5
27,687
141,317
351,108
1,183,236
2,094,161
8,830
305,448
1,832,050
62,537
61,731
2,343,693
21,764
30,042
76,567,246
1,677,951
360,803
281,258
70,042
899
25,173
288,996
473,318
298,374
48,563
82,407
13,693
65,202
29,447
9,526
535,882
61,054
45,448
16,893
113,282
460,867
208,833
58,804
627,548
172,333
2,333,538
18,832
69,068
326,664
27,134
435,782
480,264
8,277
105,036
557,686
10,003
2,210
121,732
203,444
48,850
493,941
107,227
33,144
129,080
146,771
18,572
196,940
70,674
1,720,487
111,369
85,652,163
12,228,398
295,185
15,198,670
8,368,106
0
0
26,899
0
0
11,993,499
224
0
378
0
0
321,734
0
0
0
74,807
146,658
56,212
2,094
7,964,028
6,354
47,860,756
0
0
13,371,431
0
0
59,482
0
2,136
16,135,906
0
0
0
274,450
0
11,833
22,867,662
0
805
403,316
0
159,982
18,355,293
0
192,857,908
77,659,476
90,269,238
261,950,378
CRS-11
Table 3. Federal Designated Wilderness Acreage, by State and by Agency
(in acres and percentage of agency/federal land)
USDA
Forest
Bureau of Land
4-Agency Total
Service
Service
Service
Management
668,947
16,715
31,904
111,369
828,935
21,972,605
51,084,827
76,607,085
85,553,261
235,217,778
11,262,527
2,618,735
1,678,394
12,229,583
27,789,239
2,598,417
98,404
367,151
295,185
3,359,157
20,802,641
7,560,432
286,772
15,208,002
43,857,847
14,519,030
609,625
137,094
8,362,619
23,628,368
24
5,719
956
0
6,699
0
0
25,220
0
25,220
1,160,324
2,436,995
277,287
26,899
3,901,505
866,024
39,645
480,889
0
1,386,558
1
353,661
298,596
0
652,258
20,466,617
507,425
48,507
11,995,125
33,017,674
297,077
12
83,530
224
380,843
201,467
10,516
14,045
0
226,028
0
2,708
68,349
378
71,435
108,175
461
29,509
0
138,145
814,045
94,382
10,359
0
918,786
604,373
14,536
550,407
321,734
1,491,050
53,042
66,768
61,166
0
180,976
0
39,508
45,658
0
85,166
0
32,946
21,829
0
54,775
2,872,833
631,716
113,998
74,807
3,693,354
2,840,746
139,509
470,331
146,658
3,597,244
1,174,079
103,698
207,865
56,212
1,541,854
1,491,811
54,338
59,797
2,094
1,608,040
16,962,737
1,214,184
629,725
7,959,097
26,765,743
352,289
5,650
173,104
6,354
537,397
5,853,963
774,509
2,333,819
47,847,657
56,809,948
734,798
8,362
21,309
0
764,469
0
35,216
70,207
0
105,423
9,413,211
376,528
326,664
13,371,737
23,488,140
16,211
33,475
27,241
0
76,927
1,255,167
362,741
418,309
0
2,036,217
1,111,177
71,252
482,676
58,837
1,723,942
238,984
19,403
8,483
0
266,870
400,768
10,008
105,612
2,136
518,524
15,667,657
192,015
562,923
16,135,459
32,558,054
513,428
48,427
10,026
0
571,881
0
5
2,299
0
2,304
629,565
30,131
124,279
0
783,975
2,016,889
141,317
204,450
274,450
2,637,106
707,387
352,962
51,214
0
1,111,563
755,365
1,191,216
513,462
11,833
2,471,876
8,200,161
2,097,106
107,263
22,869,246
33,273,776
398,529
8,830
33,233
0
440,592
1,664,306
306,884
130,254
805
2,102,249
9,282,376
1,832,279
148,360
403,316
11,666,331
1,043,028
63,802
19,399
0
1,126,229
1,530,686
61,742
198,257
159,982
1,950,667
9,241,187
2,343,697
70,674
18,362,513
30,018,071
28,149
21,995
1,720,584
0
1,770,728
192,794,673
78,127,018
90,474,521
261,848,120
623,244,332
CRS-11
Table 3. Federal Designated Wilderness Acreage, by State and by Agency
(in acres and percentage of agency/federal land)
USDA Forest Service
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
41,367
5,753,448789,288
1,345,008
116,578
4,430,849
3,146,150707,195
3,147,420
0
0
74,495
114,537
0
3,961,667709
28,732
12,945
0
0
18,097132
8,679
12,000
0
0
91,891
809,77292,650
810,088
6,046
63,383
3,372,503
National
Park
Service
U.S. Fish
and Wildlife
Service
6.2%
0 0.0%
0 0.0%
26.2% 33,079,611 64.8% 18,689,349 24.4%
11.9%
444,055 17.1% 1,343,444 80.1%
4.5%
34,933 35.5%
2,144 0.6%
21.3% 5,997,045 79.4%
9,172 3.3%
21.7%
60,466 10.0%
2,560 3.7%
0.0%
0 0.0%
0 0.0%
n.r
0 n.r
0 0.0%
6.4% 1,296,500 53.2%
51,252 17.7%
13.2%
8,840 22.3%
362,107 76.5%
0.0%
155,509 44.0%
0 0.0%
19.1%
43,243 44.9%
0 0.0%
9.8%
0 0.0%
4,050 4.9%
6.4%
0 0.0%
0 0.0%
n.r
0 0.0%
0 0.0%
0.0%
0 0.0%
0 0.0%
2.2%
0 0.0%
0 0.0%
1.4%
0 0.0%
8,346 1.6%
22.6%
0 0.0%
7,392 12.1%
n.r
0 0.0%
0 0.0%
n.r
0 0.0%
2,420 14.3%
3.2%
132,018 20.9%
25,310 22.3%
28.5%
0 0.0%
6,180 1.3%
0.5%
4,080 4.0%
0 0.0%
4.3%
0 0.0%
7,730 13.1%
19.9%
0 0.0%
64,535 10.3%
n.r = not relevant; the agency owns no land within the state.
Bureau of
Land
Management
0
0
1,396,466
0
3,621,312
139,524
0
0
0
0
0
802
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
6,000
0.0%
0.0%
11.4%
0.0%
23.8%
1.7%
n.r
n.r
0.0%
n.r
n.r
0.01%
0.0%
n.r
0.0%
n.r
n.r
0.0%
n.r
n.r
n.r
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.1%
Total
Designated
Area
41,367
57,522,408
4,528,973
153,655
14,058,378
3,348,700
0
0
1,422,247
485,484
155,509
4,005,712
32,782
12,945
0
0
18,097
17,025
19,392
0
2,420
249,219
815,952
10,126
71,113
3,443,038
3.4%
23.6%
12.4%
3.9%
29.9%
14.5%
0.0%
0.0%
30.9%
21.0%
23.2%
11.4%
5.0%
2.4%
0.0%
0.0%
1.1%
1.1%
11.8%
0.0%
2.3%
6.8%
23.1%
0.5%
3.2%
11.8%
Share
of
NWPS
0.04%
54.14%
4.26%
0.14%
13.23%
3.15%
0.00%
0.00%
1.34%
0.46%
0.15%
3.77%
0.03%
0.01%
0.00%
0.00%
0.02%
0.02%
0.02%
0.00%
0.00%
0.23%
0.77%
0.01%
0.07%
3.24%
CRS-12
Table 3. Federal Designated Wilderness Acreage, by State and by Agency (continued)
(in acres and percentage of agency/federal land)
USDA
Forest
Service
Nebraska
7,794
Nevada
870,567
New Hampshire 102,932
New Jersey
0
New Mexico 1,388,262
New York
0
North Carolina 102,634
North Dakota
0
Ohio
0
Oklahoma
14,543
Oregon
2,086,504
Pennsylvania
9,031
Rhode Island
0
South Carolina
16,671
South Dakota
13,426
Tennessee
66,349
Texas
38,483
Utah
772,894
Vermont
59,421
Virginia
97,635
Washington
2,569,391
West Virginia
80,852
Wisconsin
42,294
Wyoming
3,111,232
Territories
0
2.2%
14.9%
14.1%
n.r
14.7%
0.0%
8.2%
0.0%
0.0%
3.6%
13.3%
1.8%
n.r
2.7%
0.7%
9.5%
5.1%
9.4%
15.1%
5.9%
27.7%
7.8%
2.8%
33.7%
0.0%
National
Park
Service
0
125,000
0
0
56,392
1,363
0
29,920
0
0
0
0
0
15,010
64,144
0
46,850
0
0
79,579
1,739,763
0
0
0
0
0.0%
16.1%
0.0%
0.0%
15.0%
4.1%
0.0%
42.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
54.2%
45.4%
0.0%
4.0%
0.0%
0.0%
26.1%
95.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
U.S. Fish
and Wildlife
Service
4,635
0
0
10,341
39,908
0
8,785
9,732
77
8,570
940
0
0
29,000
0
0
0
0
0
0
839
0
29
0
0
2.7%
0 0.0%
0.0% 1,758,613 3.7%
0.0%
0 n.r
15.0%
0 n.r
12.2%
139,281 1.0%
0.0%
0 n.r
2.0%
0 n.r
2.0%
0 0.0%
0.9%
0 n.r
8.2%
0 0.0%
0.2%
186,723 1.2%
0.0%
0 n.r
0.0%
0 n.r
23.8%
0 n.r
0.0%
0 0.0%
0.0%
0 n.r
0.0%
0 n.r
0.0%
27,720 0.1%
0.0%
0 n.r
0.0%
0 n.r
0.6%
7,140 1.8%
0.0%
0 n.r
0.01%
0 0.0%
0.0%
0 0.0%
0.0%
0 n.r
U.S. Total
34,859,062 17.9% 43,414,321 55.9% 20,698,845 22.9%
Share of NWPS
32.8%
40.9%
19.5%
n.r = not relevant; the agency owns no land within the state.
Bureau of
Land
Management
7,283,581
Total
Designated
Area
12,429
2,754,180
102,932
10,341
1,623,843
1,363
111,419
39,652
77
23,113
2,274,167
9,031
0
60,681
77,570
66,349
85,333
800,614
59,421
177,214
4,317,133
80,852
42,323
3,111,232
0
0.9%
4.3%
12.4%
5.7%
6.1%
0.6%
3.1%
3.0%
0.02%
1.7%
7.4%
1.2%
0.0%
4.9%
3.4%
3.3%
2.7%
2.3%
13.2%
6.8%
32.6%
6.4%
2.1%
9.9%
0.0%
Share
of
NWPS
0.01%
2.59%
0.10%
0.01%
1.53%
0.00%
0.10%
0.04%
0.00%
0.02%
2.14%
0.01%
0.00%
0.06%
0.07%
0.06%
0.08%
0.75%
0.06%
0.17%
4.06%
0.08%
0.04%
2.93%
0.00%
2.8% 106,255,809 15.8% 100.0%
6.9%
100.0%
CRS-13
Table 4. Additional Acreage Protected as Potential Wilderness, by State and by Agency
(in acres and percentage of agency/federal land)
USDA
Forest
Service a
National
Park
Service
Alabama
1,000 0.1%
0 0.0%
Alaska
1,412,000 6.4% 16,143,800 31.6%
Arizona
61,000 0.5% 1,973,716 75.8%
Arkansas
0 0.0%
0 0.0%
California
164,000 0.8%
0 0.0%
Colorado
93,000 0.6%
414,545 68.6%
Connecticut
0 0.0%
0 0.0%
Delaware
0 n.r
0 n.r
Florida
6,000 0.5%
0 0.0%
Georgia
8,000 0.9%
0 0.0%
Hawaii
0 0.0%
0 0.0%
b
Idaho
1,406,000 6.8%
9,400 9.8%
Illinois
0 0.0%
0 0.0%
Indiana
0 0.0%
0 0.0%
Iowa
0 n.r
0 0.0%
Kansas
0 0.0%
0 0.0%
Kentucky
0 0.0%
7,398 7.9%
Louisiana
0 0.0%
0 0.0%
Maine
0 0.0%
0 0.0%
Maryland
0 n.r
440 1.1%
Massachusetts
0 n.r
0 0.0%
Michigan
0 0.0%
7,128 1.1%
Minnesota
0 0.0%
127,436 91.3%
Mississippi
0 0.0%
0 0.0%
Missouri
0 0.0%
0 0.0%
a
U.S. Fish
and Wildlife
Service
0
0
0
975
0
0
0
2,000
0
0
1,742
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
418
3,110
0
1,406
1,200
0
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.3%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
8.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.6%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.9%
21.9%
0.0%
0.3%
0.6%
0.0%
Bureau of
Land
Management
0
784,238
63,930
0
974,769
621,737
0
0
0
0
0
1,341,709
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Total
Recommended
Area
Share
of
Recom.
0.0%
1,000 0.1%
0.00%
0.9% 18,430,038 7.8% 39.66%
0.5% 2,098,646 7.6%
4.52%
0.0%
975 0.03% 0.00%
6.4% 1,138,769 2.6%
2.45%
7.4% 1,129,282 4.8%
2.43%
n.r
0 0.0%
0.0%
n.r
2,000 8.0%
0.00%
0.0%
6,000 0.2%
0.01%
n.r
8,000 0.6%
0.02%
n.r
1,742 0.3%
0.00%
11.2% 2,757,109 8.4%
5.93%
0.0%
0 0.0%
0.0%
n.r
0 0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0 0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0 0.0%
0.0%
n.r
7,398 0.8%
0.02%
0.0%
0 0.0%
0.0%
n.r
0 0.0%
0.0%
n.r
858 1.0%
0.00%
n.r
3,110 6.2%
0.01%
0.0%
7,128 0.2%
0.02%
0.0%
128,842 3.6%
0.28%
0.0%
1,200 0.1%
0.00%
0.0%
0 0.0%
0.0%
FS data are rounded to the nearest 1,000 acres.
b
This excludes 396,696 acres of recommended wilderness within Craters of the Moon National Monument, that are administered
by the BLM, and are included in the BLM’s recommended wilderness in Idaho.
n.r = not relevant; the agency owns no land within the state.
CRS-14
Table 4. Additional Acreage Protected as Potential Wilderness, by State and by Agency
(continued)
(in acres and percentage of agency/federal land)
USDA
Forest
Service
Montana
812,000 4.8%
Nebraska
39,000 11.1%
Nevada
0 0.0%
New Hampshire
0 0.0%
New Jersey
0 n.r
New Mexico
66,000 0.7%
New York
0 0.0%
North Carolina
15,000 1.2%
North Dakota
0 0.0%
Ohio
0 0.0%
Oklahoma
0 0.0%
Oregon
0 0.0%
Pennsylvania
0 0.0%
Rhode Island
0 n.r
South Carolina
2,000 0.3%
South Dakota
0 0.0%
Tennessee
20,000 2.9%
Texas
0 0.0%
Utah
83,000 1.0%
Vermont
0 0.0%
Virginia
37,000 2.2%
Washington
15,000 0.2%
West Virginia
0 0.0%
Wisconsin
16,000 1.0%
Wyoming
45,000 0.5%
Territories
10,000 35.5%
National
Park
Service
1,090,208
0
659,950
0
0
97,428
0
219,100
0
0
0
127,058
0
0
0
0
199,800
538,250
1,852,852
0
0
0
0
0
2,080,088
0
U.S. Fish
and Wildlife
Service
89.8%
0.0%
85.2%
0.0%
0.0%
25.9%
0.0%
60.4%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
66.5%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
56.9%
45.5%
88.5%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
88.8%
0.0%
161,580
40,819
1,675,148
0
0
0
0
950
0
0
0
50,390
0
0
163
0
0
0
0
620
3,047
0
0
0
0
0
U.S. Total
4,312,000 2.2% 25,593,588 33.0%
Share of Recommended
9.3%
55.1%
1,944,008
n.r = not relevant; the agency owns no land within the state.
Bureau of
Land
Management
25.98%
450,823 5.7%
23.8%
0 0.0%
72.7% 2,877,917 6.0%
0.0%
0 n.r
0.0%
0 n.r
0.0%
970,532 7.3%
0.0%
0 n.r
0.2%
0 n.r
0.0%
0 0.0%
0.0%
0 n.r
0.0%
0 0.0%
9.1% 2,701,190 16.7%
0.0%
0 n.r
0.0%
0 n.r
0.2%
0 n.r
0.0%
0 0.0%
0.0%
0 n.r
0.0%
0 n.r
0.0% 3,255,490 14.2%
1.9%
0 n.r
2.4%
0 n.r
0.0%
5,518 1.4%
0.0%
0 n.r
0.0%
0 0.0%
0.0%
575,841 3.1%
0.0%
0 n.r
Total
Recommended
Area
2,514,611
79,819
5,213,015
0
0
1,133,960
0
235,050
0
0
0
2,878,638
0
0
2,163
0
219,800
538,250
5,191,342
620
40,047
20,518
0
16,000
2,700,929
10,000
9.4%
14.9%
9.2%
0.0%
0.0%
4.8%
0.0%
11.4%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
8.8%
0.0%
0.0%
0.3%
0.0%
20.0%
22.0%
15.6%
0.1%
1.9%
0.2%
0.0%
0.8%
0.9%
0.6%
Share
of
Recom.
5.41%
0.17%
11.22%
0.0%
0.0%
2.44%
0.0%
0.51%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
6.19%
0.0%
0.0%
0.00%
0.0%
0.47%
1.16%
11.17%
0.00%
0.09%
0.04%
0.0%
0.03%
5.81%
0.02%
2.2% 14,623,694 5.6% 46,473,290 7.5 % 100.0%
4.2%
31.5423
3,372,503
7,794
1,105,124
National Park Service
6.2%
0
26.3% 33,079,611
11.9%
444,055
4.5%
34,933
22.6% 5,997,045
21.7%
60,466
0.0%
0
n.r.
0
6.4% 1,296,500
13.2%
8,840
0.0%
155,509
19.4%
43,243
9.7%
0
6.4%
0
n.r.
0
0.0%
0
2.2%
0
1.4%
0
22.6%
0
n.r.
0
n.r.
0
3.2%
132,018
28.5%
0
0.5%
4,080
4.3%
0
19.9%
0
2.2%
0
18.9%
309,539
0.0%
64.8%
17.0%
35.5%
79.3%
9.9%
0.0%
n.r.
53.2%
22.3%
44.0%
8.5%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
20.9%
0.0%
4.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
40.0%
U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service
0
0.0%
18,691,495
24.4%
1,343,444
80.0%
2,144
0.6%
9,172
3.2%
2,560
1.9%
0
0.0%
0
0.0%
51,252
18.5%
362,107
75.3%
0
0.0%
0
0.0%
4,050
4.8%
0
0.0%
0
0.0%
0
0.0%
0
0.0%
8,346
1.5%
7,392
12.1%
0
0.0%
3,244
14.9%
25,310
22.2%
6,180
1.3%
0
0.0%
7,730
12.9%
64,535
10.2%
4,635
2.7%
0
0.0%
Bureau of Land
Share of
Total Designated Area
Management
NWPS
0
0.0%
41,367
5.0%
0.04%
0
0.0% 57,560,394
24.5%
53.57%
1,396,466
11.4% 4,528,973
16.3%
4.22%
0
0.0%
153,655
4.6%
0.14%
3,595,250
23.6% 14,308,662
32.6%
13.32%
139,524
1.7% 3,349,970
14.2%
3.12%
0
n.r.
0
0.0%
0.00%
0
n.r.
0
0.0%
0.00%
0
0.0% 1,422,247
36.5%
1.32%
0
n.r.
485,484
35.0%
0.45%
0
n.r.
155,509
23.8%
0.14%
802
0.01% 4,005,754
12.1%
3.73%
0
0.0%
32,782
8.6%
0.03%
0
n.r.
12,945
5.7%
0.01%
0
0.0%
0
0.0%
0.00%
0
n.r.
0
0.0%
0.00%
0
n.r.
18,132
2.0%
0.02%
0
0.0%
17,025
1.1%
0.02%
0
n.r.
19,392
10.7%
0.02%
0
n.r.
0
0.0%
0.00%
0
n.r.
3,244
5.9%
0.003%
0
0.0%
249,978
6.8%
0.23%
0
0.0%
816,268
22.7%
0.76%
0
0.0%
10,126
0.7%
0.01%
0
0.0%
71,153
4.4%
0.07%
6,000
0.1% 3,443,038
12.9%
3.20%
0
0.0%
12,429
2.3%
0.01%
2,036,779
4.3% 3,451,442
6.1%
3.21%
CRS-12
USDA Forest Service
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Territories
137,432
0
1,388,262
0
102,634
0
0
14,543
2,086,504
9,031
0
16,671
13,426
66,349
38,483
772,894
101,073
97,635
2,569,391
80,852
44,108
3,111,232
10,000
U.S. Total
Share of NWPS
35,460,766
18.7%
n.r.
14.7%
0.0%
8.2%
0.0%
0.0%
3.6%
13.3%
1.8%
n.r.
2.6%
0.7%
9.4%
5.1%
9.4%
25.4%
5.9%
27.7%
7.8%
2.9%
33.7%
35.5%
National Park Service
0
0
56,392
1,363
0
29,920
0
0
0
0
0
15,010
64,144
0
46,850
0
0
79,579
1,739,763
0
33,500
0
0
18.4% 43,632,360
33.0%
n.r. = not relevant; the agency owns no land within the state.
0.0%
0.0%
15.0%
4.1%
0.0%
42.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
0.0%
49.5%
45.4%
0.0%
3.9%
0.0%
0.0%
25.9%
95.0%
0.0%
54.3%
0.0%
0.0%
U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service
0
0.0%
10,341
14.7%
39,908
12.2%
0
0.0%
8,785
2.1%
9,732
2.0%
77
0.9%
8,570
8.1%
940
0.2%
0
0.0%
0
0.0%
29,000
23.3%
0
0.0%
0
0.0%
0
0.0%
0
0.0%
0
0.0%
0
0.0%
839
0.6%
0
0.0%
29
0.01%
0
0.0%
0
0.0%
55.8% 20,701,816
40.6%
22.9%
19.3%
Bureau of Land
Share of
Total Designated Area
Management
NWPS
0
n.r.
137,432
18.0%
0.13%
0
n.r.
10,341
9.8%
0.01%
150,579
1.1% 1,635,141
7.0%
1.52%
0
n.r.
1,363
1.8%
0.001%
0
n.r.
111,419
5.5%
0.10%
0
0.0%
39,652
2.3%
0.04%
0
n.r.
77
0.03%
0.0001%
0
0.0%
23,113
4.5%
0.02%
186,723
1.2% 2,274,167
7.0%
2.12%
0
n.r.
9,031
1.6%
0.01%
0
n.r.
0
0.0%
0.00%
0
n.r.
60,681
7.7%
0.06%
0
0.0%
77,570
2.9%
0.07%
0
n.r.
66,349
6.0%
0.06%
0
n.r.
85,333
3.5%
0.08%
129,120
0.6%
902,014
2.7%
0.84%
0
n.r.
101,073
22.9%
0.09%
0
n.r.
177,214
8.4%
0.16%
7,140
1.8% 4,317,133
37.0%
4.02%
0
n.r.
80,852
7.2%
0.08%
0
0.0%
77,637
4.0%
0.07%
0
0.0% 3,111,232
10.4%
2.90%
0
n.r.
10,000
0.6%
0.01%
7,648,383
2.9% 107,443,325
7.1%
17.2%
100.0%
100.0%