Wilderness: Overview, Management, and
Statistics
Updated July 29, 2022
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
RL31447

Wilderness: Overview, Management, 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’ potential
wilderness designation. The act also designated 54 wilderness areas with 9 million acres of
federal land. Congress began expanding the Wilderness System in 1968. As of July 6, 2022, there
are 803 wilderness areas, totaling approximately 112 million acres, in 44 states and Puerto Rico.
Numerous bills to designate additional wilderness areas and to expand existing ones have been
introduced and considered in every Congress since the act’s passage.
The Wilderness Act defined wilderness as an area of undeveloped federal land, among other
criteria, but due to differing perceptions of wilderness and its purpose, it did not establish criteria
or standards to determine whether an area should be so designated. In general, wilderness areas
are undeveloped; commercial activities, motorized access, and roads, structures, and facilities are
prohibited in wilderness areas. In response to conflicting demands, however, Congress has
granted both general exemptions and specific exceptions to the general standards and
prohibitions. Questions persist over the frequency and extent to which federal agencies must
review the wilderness potential of their lands, and how those lands should be managed.
The federal government owns about 28% 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 approximately 112 million acres
of designated wilderness, as well as many other lands. They also protect certain other lands as
possible additions to the Wilderness System, and review the wilderness potential of lands.
In total, approximately 18% of federal land administered by the four major federal land
management agencies is wilderness. A few states dominate wilderness statistics, however:
approximately 52% of the total designated wilderness is in Alaska (57.8 million acres), and the
state with the next-highest portion, California, has 14% (15.3 million acres). Connecticut,
Delaware, the District of Columbia, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, and Rhode Island do not contain
any designated wilderness.

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n 1964, the Wilderness Act established a national system of congressionally designated areas
to be preserved in a wilderness condition: “where the earth and its community of life are
Iuntrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.”1 The National
Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) was originally created with approximately 9.1
million acres designated in national forest system lands managed by the Forest Service. Congress
has since added more than 100 million acres to the NWPS (see Table 1). Wilderness areas have
been designated on land managed by each of the four 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.2 Federal agencies, Members of Congress, and interest groups have recommended
additional lands for inclusion in the NWPS. Furthermore, at the direction of Congress, agencies
have studied, or are studying, the potential of their lands for wilderness designation. This report
provides a brief history of wilderness, describes what wilderness is, identifies permitted and
prohibited uses in wilderness areas, and provides data on the 111.7 million acres of designated
wilderness areas as of July 6, 2022. For information on wilderness legislation, see CRS Report
R41610, Wilderness: Issues and Legislation.
History of Wilderness
As the United States was formed, the federal government acquired 1.8 billion acres of land
through purchases, treaties, and other agreements. Initial federal policy was generally to transfer
land to states and private ownership, but Congress also provided for reserving certain lands for
federal purposes. Over time, Congress has reserved or withdrawn increasing acreage for national
parks, national forests, wildlife refuges, etc. The general policy of land disposal was formally
changed to a policy of retaining the remaining lands in the Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976 (FLPMA).3
The early national forests were envisioned as working forests managed for multiple purposes.4 In
time, some FS leaders recognized the need to preserve some areas in a natural state. Acting at its
own discretion, and at the behest of conservationist and then-employee Aldo Leopold, the FS
administratively designated the first wilderness area in the Gila National Forest in New Mexico in
1924. In the succeeding decades, the agency’s system of administratively designated wilderness,
wild, and primitive areas grew to 14.6 million acres. However, in the 1950s, increasing timber
harvests and recreational use of the national forests led to public concerns about the permanence
of this system, as there was no law to prevent a future change to those administrative
designations.
In response, the 88th Congress enacted the Wilderness Act in 1964. The act described the
attributes and characteristics of wilderness, and it prohibited or restricted certain activities in
wilderness areas to preserve and protect the designated areas, while permitting other activities to
occur. The act reserves to Congress the authority to designate areas as part of the NWPS.
The NWPS began with the approximately 9.1 million acres of national forest lands that had been
identified administratively as wilderness or wild areas. The Wilderness Act directed the Secretary

1 P.L. 88-577, 16 U.S.C. §§1131-1136.
2 For data on the acreage managed by the Forest Service (FS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Park
Service (NPS), and Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), see CRS Report R42346, Federal Land Ownership: Overview
and Data.
3 P.L. 94-579. 43 U.S.C. §§1701, et seq.
4 Forest Service, “A Historical Perspective,” https://www.fs.fed.us/forestmanagement/aboutus/histperspective.shtml.
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of Agriculture to review the agency’s nearly 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 studied area, and many areas recommended for wilderness were later designated,
although some of the recommendations are still pending. In 1976, FLPMA directed the Secretary
of the Interior to conduct a similar review of the public lands administered by BLM within 15
years (i.e., by 1991). BLM submitted its recommendations to the President, and presidential
recommendations were submitted to Congress (see “
BLM Wilderness Review and Wilderness Study Areas”).
The 90th Congress began expanding the Wilderness System in 1968, as shown in Table 1. Five
laws were enacted, creating five new wilderness areas encompassing 792,750 acres in total.
Wilderness designations generally increased in each succeeding Congress, rising to a peak of
about 60.8 million acres designated during the 96th Congress (1979-1980), the largest amount
designated by any Congress. This figure included the largest single designation of 56.4 million
acres of wilderness through the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.5 The 98th
Congress enacted more wilderness laws (21) and designated more acres (8.5 million acres in 21
states) outside of Alaska than any Congress since the NWPS was created.
Including the Wilderness Act, Congress has enacted more than 120 laws designating new
wilderness areas or adding to existing ones, as shown in Table 1. The NWPS now contains 803
wilderness areas managed by the four federal land management agencies, with approximately
111.7 million acres in 44 states and Puerto Rico, as shown in Table 2.6 The agencies have
recommended that additional lands be added to the Wilderness System; these lands are generally
managed to protect their wilderness character while Congress considers adding them to the
Wilderness System (see “Wilderness Review, Study, and Release”). The agencies are studying
additional lands to determine if these lands should be added to the NWPS. However,
comprehensive data on the lands recommended and under review for wilderness potential are not
publicly available.
Table 1. Additions to the National Wilderness Preservation System
Number of
Number of
Number of New Areas
Congress
Lawsa
States
(Additions)b
Acres Designatedc
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)
60,753,605d
97th
6
6
7 (0)
83,309

5 P.L. 96-487.
6 Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, and Rhode Island do not contain any
designated wilderness.
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Number of
Number of
Number of New Areas
Congress
Lawsa
States
(Additions)b
Acres Designatedc
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
110th
1
1
1 (0)
106,000
111th
1
9
50 (27)
2,096,150
112th
0
0
0
0
113th
2
6
5 (4)
279,709
114th
1
1
3 (0)
275,665
115th
2
2
1(7)
20,196
116th
1
5
37 (7)
1,340,275
Total
123
44
803
111,695,310
Source: Created by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) from multiple sources, including Wilderness.net
Acres by Year, Public Laws Enacted by Year, Areas Enacted by Year reports, and direct review of legislation.
a. Excludes laws consisting of only minor boundary and acreage adjustments (less than 10 acres of net change).
b. The first number indicates the number of new wilderness areas; the number in parentheses indicates the
number of additions to existing wilderness areas.
c. The total reported for a given Congress reflects the acreage as designated at the time of enactment, which
may differ from the acreage used to calculate the total for the column because of subsequent acreage
revisions.
d. This figure includes 56.4 mil ion acres that were designated wilderness through the Alaska National Interest
Lands Conservation Act (P.L. 96-487).
e. Data are current as of the publication date of this report.
What Is Wilderness?
The Wilderness Act described wilderness as an area of generally undisturbed federal land.
Specifically, Section 2(c) defined wilderness as
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
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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.7
This definition provides some general guidelines for determining which areas should or should
not be designated wilderness, but the law contains no specific criteria. Even the numerical
standard (5,000 acres) is not absolute; smaller areas can be designated.
These imprecise criteria stem in part from differing perceptions of what constitutes wilderness. To
some, 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 busy
campground with electricity, running water, and play areas is a wilderness experience.
Complicating these differing perceptions is the wide range of ability to “get away from it all” in
various settings. In open terrain, human developments may be visible for miles, whereas a dense
forest may obscure developments that are just yards away.
In an attempt to accommodate contrasting views of wilderness, the Wilderness Act provided
certain exemptions and delayed implementation of restrictions for wilderness areas, as discussed
below. At times, Congress has also responded to the conflicting demands of various interest
groups by allowing additional exemptions for certain uses (especially for existing activities) in
particular wilderness designations. The subsequent wilderness statutes have not designated
wilderness areas by amending the Wilderness Act. Instead, they are independent statutes.
Although nearly all of these statutes direct management in accordance with the Wilderness Act,
many also provide unique management guidance for their designated areas. Ultimately,
wilderness areas are whatever Congress designates as wilderness, regardless of developments or
activities that some might argue conflict with the act’s definition of wilderness.
Management Provisions in the Wilderness Act
Several separate sections of the Wilderness Act specify general principles for managing
wilderness. Congress specified that wilderness lands were to be “administered for the use and
enjoyment of the American people in such manner as will leave them unimpaired for future use
and enjoyment as wilderness, and so as to provide for the protection of these areas, the
preservation of their wilderness character, and for the gathering and dissemination of information
regarding their use and enjoyment as wilderness.”8 Congress reiterated in a separate section that
administering agencies were responsible for preserving “wilderness character.”9 Congress also
specified that wilderness was to be managed to preserve its natural conditions.10
Because it is mentioned twice in the Wilderness Act, “wilderness character” is often viewed as
central to wilderness management; all four federal land management agencies’ policies specify an
objective of managing wilderness to preserve its wilderness character.11 However, the term is not
defined in the act. Some of the agencies have interpreted “wilderness character” to be related to
the characteristics described in Section 2(c) of the act (see “What Is Wilderness?”), and have

7 16 U.S.C. §1131(c).
8 16 U.S.C. §1131(a) and §1133(c) (identical language is repeated in these two sections).
9 16 U.S.C. §1133(b).
10 16 U.S.C. §1131(c).
11 BLM Manual 6340, “Management of BLM Wilderness,” FWS Manual Part 610, “Wilderness Stewardship,” FS
Manual 2320, “Wilderness Management,” NPS Management Policy 6, “Wilderness Preservation and Management.”
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elaborated on words from this section, such as untrammeled, natural, undeveloped, and/or
primitive and unconfined recreation, in defining their wilderness management policies.12 Others
have defined wilderness character in other ways.13 The agencies also specify other management
objectives, such as promoting certain conditions of the natural environment or managing
wilderness for certain public purposes.14
In addition to these general management principles, the Wilderness Act specifically addressed a
number of prohibited and permitted uses of wilderness, discussed below.
Prohibited Uses
The Wilderness Act generally prohibits various activities in designated wilderness areas. In some
cases, Congress specified exceptions to some of these prohibitions, which are listed under each
heading. Congress also specified general exceptions, which are described under “Exceptions to
Prohibited Uses.”
Commercial Enterprise
The Wilderness Act prohibits “commercial enterprise,” generally interpreted to mean most
business activities conducted for profit, including commercial resource development such as
timber harvesting. This provision excludes “activities which are proper for realizing the
recreational or other wilderness purposes of the areas.”15 Congress also made exceptions for some
specific commercial activities, such as grazing (see “Permitted Uses”).
Motorized and Mechanized Equipment or Vehicles
The Wilderness Act prohibits use of “motor vehicles,” “motorized equipment or motorboats,”
“landing of aircraft,” and “mechanical transport.” In total, these prohibitions are generally
construed to prohibit the use of equipment or transportation that is not human-powered (e.g., cars,
trucks, off-highway vehicles, chain saws, and bulldozers) and human-powered, mechanized
vehicles (e.g., bicycles, strollers). Aircraft or motorboats (but not other motorized or mechanized
use) may continue to be used in wildernesses where their use was established prior to designation,
subject to any restrictions the Secretary of Agriculture imposes.

12 BLM and NPS both use these four terms, in addition to a fifth term that describes the other wilderness characteristics
of “ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value” in Section 2(c) of the
Wilderness Act. BLM Manual 6340, “Management of BLM Wilderness.” NPS Management Policy 6, “Wilderness
Preservation and Management.”
13 FWS policy specifies “wilderness character” as having tangible and intangible qualities, some of which directly
relate to language in Section 2(c) of the Wilderness Act (e.g., being untrammeled, providing opportunities for primitive
and unconfined recreation) and others which do not (e.g., providing environments for native plants and animals). FWS
Policy 610, “Wilderness Stewardship.” CRS was not able to locate a definition of “wilderness character” in FS policy
or regulation, although some FS publications use the characteristics in Section 2(c) of the Wilderness Act to define
wilderness character. For example, see Peter Landres, Steve Boutcher, and Elizabeth Mejicano, et al., Wilderness
Character Monitoring Technical Guide, Forest Service, RMRS-GTR-2629, 2020.
14 For example, among other objectives, the FS specifies it will manage National Forest Service (NFS) wilderness with
the objective of maintaining wilderness “in such a manner that ecosystems are unaffected by human manipulation and
influences so that plants and animals develop and respond to natural forces.” Among other objectives, BLM specifies it
will manage wilderness for recreational, scenic, scientific, education, conservation, and historic use and for the
purposes authorized in Sections 4(c) and 4(d) of the Wilderness Act, while preserving wilderness character. BLM 6340,
FS manual.
15 16 U.S.C. §1133(d)(5).
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Structures, Installations, and Roads
The Wilderness Act specifies that there shall be “no structure or installation” within designated
wilderness areas. “Structures or installations” are generally interpreted to mean human
constructions, such as buildings, pipelines, communications towers, scientific instruments, fences,
and others. The Wilderness Act also generally prohibits permanent or temporary roads in
wilderness areas. The Wilderness Act is silent on the treatment of any infrastructure in place at the
time of the designation. Within certain national forest wilderness areas, the President may
authorize the establishment and maintenance of certain water resources installations (such as
reservoirs, power projects, and transmission lines) and may authorize associated road
construction and maintenance essential to those developments.16
Exceptions to Prohibited Uses
The Wilderness Act provides several general exceptions to some prohibited uses. Commercial
enterprise and permanent roads are not subject to these exceptions (i.e., are never allowed, except
as described above). For the other prohibited uses, these exceptions are
 When uses are subject to existing private rights
 Measures required in emergencies involving health and safety risks to people
 Measures necessary to control fire, insects, and diseases17
 To meet “minimum requirements for the administration of the area”18
The agencies have established procedures for evaluating uses of these exceptions (see
text box on “Minimum Requirements Analysis”).
Minimum Requirements Analysis
The concept of minimum requirements, introduced in Section 4(c) of the Wilderness Act, has become a central
tenet of wilderness management. The Wilderness Act specifies that certain activities in wilderness, such as
motorized transport and establishment of structures and installations, are prohibited “except as necessary to meet
minimum requirements for the administration of the area.” This phrase has given rise to the process of so-called
minimum requirements analysis (MRA), a procedure by which wilderness managers determine whether otherwise-
prohibited uses of wilderness can occur.
Although there are various potential approaches to MRAs, the procedure often involves two successive stages. In
these stages, managers assess whether the action is

Necessary. Actions are necessary if they involve legal mandates (e.g. existing private rights, provisions in law).
Agencies also may evaluate if an action is needed to protect wilderness character or if it must occur within
the relevant wilderness.

Minimum. If an action is necessary, agencies may evaluate what method for achieving the action causes the
least impact to wilderness character, resources, or uses.
Agencies may determine that MRAs are not required in some situations or can be accomplished through
programmatic MRAs covering a class of situations (e.g., emergencies, where individual MRAs may impede a timely
response).

16 16 U.S.C. §1133(d)(4). The Wilderness Act specifies that such water resources projects may be authorized in
“wilderness areas in the national forests designated by this chapter.” As described above, the Wilderness Act
designated certain administratively designated areas of the NFS as wilderness upon its passage. Other wildernesses in
the national forests were designated by individual laws. Thus, it is somewhat unclear if this provision applies only to
those NFS wildernesses which were designated on passage of the Wilderness Act, or all wildernesses in the NFS.
17 16 U.S.C. §1133(d)(1).
18 16 U.S.C. §1133(c).
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Permitted Uses
The Wilderness Act, and subsequent statutes, authorized some uses to continue, particularly if the
uses were authorized at the time of designation. For example, the Wilderness Act specifically
directs that “the grazing of livestock, where established prior to the effective date of this Act,
shall be permitted to continue subject to such reasonable regulations as are deemed necessary by
the Secretary of Agriculture.”19 Congress provided additional guidance on continuing livestock
grazing at historic levels in designated wilderness areas through committee reports.20
The Wilderness Act extended the mining and mineral leasing laws for wilderness areas in national
forests for 20 years, through 1983. Until midnight on December 31, 1983, new mining claims and
mineral leases were permitted for those wilderness areas and exploration and development were
authorized subject to any access regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Agriculture.21 On
January 1, 1984, the Wilderness Act withdrew the specified national forest wilderness areas from
all forms of appropriation under the mining laws.
Although not specifically permitted or prohibited in the Wilderness Act, “primitive and
unconfined” recreation is described as a characteristic of wilderness (see “What Is Wilderness?”
“What is Wilderness?”). Therefore, recreation is generally considered a permitted use of
wilderness, although specific activities may be prohibited. For example, hiking, camping,
canoeing, and horseback riding are generally considered to be allowed, whereas off-highway
vehicle use and mountain biking are generally prohibited in accordance with the act’s
prohibitions on motorized and mechanized transport. Other recreational uses may require case-
by-case analysis: for example, agencies may need to determine whether commercial guiding or
outfitting is “necessary” for realizing the recreational purposes of wilderness.22 Provisions of law
may address recreational use of individual wildernesses (see “Management Provisions in
Individual Wilderness Laws”). Whether individual wildernesses are used for recreational
purposes (and which purposes) may depend on a number of factors, such as terrain and climate,
ease of access, distance from population centers, and others.
Other Management Provisions
Other management issues addressed in the Wilderness Act relate to jurisdictional concerns or
private rights:
 State Fish and Wildlife Jurisdiction and Responsibilities. The Wilderness Act
explicitly directs that wilderness designations have no effect on state jurisdiction
or responsibility over fish and wildlife.23
 Water Rights. The Wilderness Act does not claim or deny a reserved water right.24

19 16 U.S.C. §1133(d)(3).
20 H. Rept. 96-617, which accompanied P.L. 96-560, and Appendix A—Grazing Guidelines, in H.Rept. 101-405, which
accompanied P.L. 101-628.
21 The Wilderness Act withdrew designated wilderness areas from access under the mining and mineral leasing laws
after December 31, 1983.
22 For example, see Forest Service Manual 2320, “Wilderness Management.”
23 16 U.S.C. §1133(d)(7).
24 16 U.S.C. §1133(d)(6).
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 Land and Rights Acquisition and Future Designations. The Wilderness Act
authorizes the acquisition of inholdings, including through donation or exchange
for other federal land, subject to appropriations. 25
Relation to Management of Underlying Federal Land
Units of the NWPS are designated as part of and within existing units of federal land—for
example, a wilderness within a national forest remains part of the National Forest Service (NFS)
and is managed by the FS. Furthermore, the Wilderness Act specifies that its purposes are “within
and supplemental to” the purposes for which units of the NFS, NWRS, and National Park System
are established and administered.26 In general, this means the management provisions applicable
to those units of federal land apply, particularly those governing management direction and
restricting activities. For example, hunting is not generally allowed in the National Park System
but is generally allowed on most NFS and BLM lands. Thus, hunting may be prohibited in
National Park System wilderness but may be authorized in NFS or BLM wilderness.
Management Provisions in Individual Wilderness
Laws
Congress designates wilderness through individual wilderness laws, which generally specify
management of the designated area in accordance with the Wilderness Act. However, many
wilderness laws have allowed various nonconforming uses and conditions in the designated
wilderness, especially if such uses were in place at the time of designation. Wilderness laws also
consider situations that were not directly contemplated in the act. Some provisions that have been
included in wilderness laws are described below.
 Structures and Installations. Although they are prohibited under the Wilderness
Act, some subsequent wilderness statutes have addressed structures and
installations in varying ways. Some have authorized continued maintenance of
existing structures or installations. Others have authorized certain kinds of
structures or installations, such as research instruments.27
 Motorized Access. Some statutes have explicitly allowed motorized access for
state agencies for fish and wildlife management activities. Several statutes have
expressly permitted low-level military overflights of wilderness areas, although
the Wilderness Act does not prohibit overflights.28
 Energy and Minerals. Some wilderness laws have directed continued energy or
mineral development and extraction or otherwise allowed use of an existing mine
or well to continue within designated areas. Other wilderness laws have
specifically withdrawn the designated areas from availability under energy,

25 16 U.S.C. §1135(a)-(c).
26 16 U.S.C. §1133(a).
27 For example, Section 1411(e) of P.L. 116-9 authorized operation and maintenance of certain existing utility facilities
and rights-of-way in multiple wildernesses in California. Section 1972(b)(8) of P.L. 111-11 authorized climatological
data collection installations in multiple wildernesses in Utah.
28 For example, Section 1201(6) of P.L. 116-9 authorized low-level military overflights over multiple wildernesses in
New Mexico. Section 103(f) of P.L. 103-433 authorized use of motorized vehicles by state agencies managing fish and
wildlife in specified wildernesses in California.
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mineral, or geothermal laws, though valid existing rights are not terminated and
can be developed under reasonable regulations.29
 Public Access. Many wilderness statutes have authorized closing certain
wilderness areas (or parts thereof) to public access. Wilderness statutes also have
allowed access for other specific activities, such as access to cemeteries within
designated areas or for tribal activities.30
 Buffer Zones. The Wilderness Act is silent on the issue of buffer zones around
wilderness areas as a means to protect the designated areas. However, in response
to concern that designating wilderness areas would restrict management of
adjoining federal lands, language in many subsequent wilderness statutes has
prohibited buffer zones that would limit uses and activities on federal lands
around the wilderness areas.31
 Jurisdiction and Authorities of Other Federal Agencies. Several wilderness
statutes have directed that other agencies’ specific authorities, jurisdiction, and
related activities be allowed to continue. For example, some wilderness statutes
specify that the wilderness designation has no effect on law enforcement,
generally, or on U.S.-Mexico border relations, drug interdiction, or military
training.32
 Water Rights. Wilderness statutes have provided different directions concerning
federal reserved water rights associated with the designated wilderness areas.
Some wilderness statutes have expressly reserved, or denied, claims to federal
water rights.33
Individual wilderness laws sometimes reiterate provisions from the Wilderness Act. For example,
many wilderness statutes expressly direct continued livestock grazing in conformance with the
Wilderness Act and the committee reports. Others reiterate state involvement with fish and
wildlife, sometimes referring only to state jurisdiction (not responsibilities). Wilderness statutes
frequently provide that state law dictates regulation of water allocation and use.
Wilderness Review, Study, and Release
Congress directed the four land-management agencies to review the wilderness potential of their
lands and make recommendations regarding the lands’ suitability for wilderness designation.

29 For example, Section 1201(11)(a) of P.L. 116-9 withdrew multiple wilderness areas in New Mexico from location,
entry, and patent under the mining laws and operation of the mineral leasing, mineral materials, and geothermal leasing
laws. Section 1022 of P.L. 104-333 allowed operations on oil and gas leases issued prior to the designation of Bisti/De-
Na-Zin Wilderness in New Mexico to continue, subject to specified regulations.
30 For example, Section 1851(d)(6) of P.L. 11-111 ensured access to the Cahuilla Mountain Wilderness in California to
federally recognized Indian tribes (“Tribes”) for cultural purposes, and also allowed for temporary closure of all or part
of the wilderness to public access for cultural purposes at a Tribes’ request.
31 For example, Section 7 of P.L. 115-430 specified that the designation of the Flatside Wilderness in Arkansas did not
imply creation of a buffer zone.
32 For example, Section 301(g) of P.L. 101-628 specified that the designation of the Cabeza Prieta Wilderness in
Arizona should not affect continued U.S.-Mexico border operations by specified agencies. Section 5(b) of P.L. 107-370
authorizes continued nonmotorized access and use of several wildernesses in California for military training purposes,
as established prior to the wildernesses’ designation.
33 For example, Section 103(a) of P.L. 114-46 denies reservation by the United States of any water rights with respect
to several wildernesses in Idaho. Section 502 of P.L. 100-668 expressly reserves water rights with respect to several
wildernesses in Washington.
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Congress acted on many of those recommendations by either designating lands as wilderness or
by releasing lands from further wilderness consideration. However, some recommendations
remain pending. Questions and discussions persist over the protection and management of these
areas, which some believe should be designated as wilderness and others believe should be
available for development. This debate has been particularly controversial for FS inventoried
roadless areas and BLM wilderness study areas.34
Forest Service Wilderness Reviews and Inventoried
Roadless Areas35
The Wilderness Act directed the Secretary of Agriculture to review the FS primitive areas—
certain administratively designated NFS lands where development was limited—for wilderness
potential. The act directed the FS to make recommendations to the President regarding the
suitability of those lands for wilderness designation. The FS attempted to inventory and study so-
called roadless areas—primitive areas and other undeveloped areas identified by the FS—for
wilderness potential in two separate reviews, known as Roadless Area Review and Evaluation
(RARE) I and II. However, legal action blocked the results of both reviews and limited FS
management of lands studied in the reviews, including those not recommended for wilderness
designation. Congress intervened to legislatively address the reviewed areas, such as by
designating them as wilderness or expressing that the FS obligation to review the lands was
fulfilled (known as release language).
In 2001, the Clinton Administration addressed the management and protection of NFS
inventoried roadless areas (IRAs, primarily RARE II areas not designated as wilderness). The
Administration developed regulations that would prohibit most road construction, reconstruction,
and timber harvesting in IRAs (the 2001 Rule).36 More than a decade of litigation followed,
shaped by the issuance of a contrasting rule by the George W. Bush Administration in 2005 and
ongoing legal challenges to those rules. At certain points, federal courts were in conflict, leading
to uncertainty over which rule (if any) was in effect. However, after resolution of the legal
challenges to the nationwide rules, the 2001 Rule returned to effect in most areas of the United
States. Due to related rulemaking efforts, additional roadless rules are in effect for the remaining
areas, including individual rules for the states of Colorado and Idaho. In 2020, the FS exempted
the Tongass National Forest in Alaska from the 2001 Rule, eliminating approximately 9.3 million
acres of IRAs.37
BLM Wilderness Review and Wilderness Study Areas
Congress directed BLM to consider wilderness as a use of its public lands in the 1976 enactment
of FLPMA. Section 603 of FLPMA required BLM to make an inventory of roadless areas greater

34 The NPS and the FWS also manage land designated as wilderness study areas.
35 For more information on FS wilderness reviews, see CRS Report R46504, Forest Service Inventoried Roadless Areas
(IRAs), by Anne A. Riddle and Adam Vann.
36 FS, “Roadless Area Conservation Rule,” 66 Federal Register 3244-3273, January 12, 2001. The initial explanatory
text accompanying the 2001 Rule specified that it applied to 58.5 million acres of IRAs. Subsequent estimates of IRA
acreage have differed, perhaps due to improvements in mapping technology, subsequent designation by Congress of
some lands, or for other reasons. For more information on IRAs, see CRS Report R46504, Forest Service Inventoried
Roadless Areas (IRAs), by Anne A. Riddle and Adam Vann.
37 See CRS Report R46505, The Alaska Roadless Rule: Eliminating Inventoried Roadless Areas (IRAs) in the Tongass
National Forest, by Anne A. Riddle.
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Wilderness: Overview, Management, and Statistics

than 5,000 acres and to recommend the suitability for designation of those areas to the President
within 15 years of October 21, 1976.The President then had two years to submit wilderness
recommendations to Congress. BLM presented its recommendations by October 21, 1991, and
Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton submitted wilderness recommendations to
Congress. Although BLM has reviewed these areas and Congress has enacted several statutes
designating BLM wilderness areas, many of the wilderness recommendations for BLM lands
remain pending. As of September 2020, there are approximately 11.6 million acres of BLM
wilderness study areas.38
There are two continuing issues for potential BLM wilderness: BLM’s management requirements
of the wilderness study areas under FLPMA, and whether BLM has a continuing obligation under
FLPMA to conduct wilderness reviews.
Protection of BLM Wilderness Study Areas
Section 603(c) of FLPMA directs the agency to manage Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs)
designated under its provisions “until Congress has determined otherwise … in a manner so as
not to impair the suitability of such areas for preservation as wilderness.”39 Thus, BLM must
protect the WSAs as if they were wilderness until Congress enacts legislation that releases BLM
from that responsibility. This responsibility is sometimes referred to as a non-impairment
obligation or standard.
WSAs have been subject to litigation challenging BLM’s protection. In the early 2000s, BLM
was sued for not adequately preventing impairment of WSAs from increased off-road vehicle use.
In Norton v. Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the non-
impairment obligation was not enforceable by court challenge.40 The Court held that although
WSA protection was mandatory, it was a broad programmatic duty of BLM and not a discrete
agency obligation. The Court also concluded that the relevant FLPMA land use plans (which
indicated that WSAs would be monitored) constituted only management goals that might be
modified by agency priorities and available funding, and were not a basis for enforcement under
the Administrative Procedure Act. Therefore, it appears that although BLM actions that would
impair the suitability of WSAs as wilderness could be enjoined, as with any agency enforcement
obligation,41 forcing BLM to take protective action would be difficult at best.
BLM Reviews for Wilderness Potential
Despite BLM’s continuing obligation under FLPMA Section 201 to identify the resources on its
lands, giving priority to areas of critical environmental concern,42 it is unclear whether BLM is
required to review its lands specifically for wilderness potential after expiration of the reviews

38 BLM, “National Landscape Conservation System: Wilderness Study Areas,” last updated September 2020, accessed
07/06/2022.
39 Most BLM Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs) have been designated under the authority of Section 603 of Federal
Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA). Some WSAs have been designated under Sections 201 and 202 of
FLPMA or by acts of Congress. These WSAs are not subject to the nonimpairment standards of Section 603 of
FLPMA.
40 542 U.S. 55 (2004).
41 See, for example, Heckler v. Chaney, 470 U.S. 821, 831 (1985); United States v. Batchelder, 442 U.S. 114, 123-124
(1979); United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683, 693 (1974); Vaca v. Sipes, 386 U.S. 171, 182 (1967) (“an agency’s
decision not to prosecute or enforce, whether through civil or criminal process, is a decision generally committed to an
agency’s absolute discretion”).
42 FLPMA §201; 43 U.S.C. §1711.
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required by Section 603 of FLPMA.43 In contrast to the FS, which must revise its land and
resource management plans at least every 15 years, BLM is not required to revise its plans on a
specified cycle; rather, it must revise its land and resource management plans “when appropriate.”
Furthermore, while NFMA includes wilderness in the planning process, both directly and by
reference to the Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act of 1960, FLPMA is silent on wilderness in the
definitions of multiple use and sustained yield and in the guidance for the BLM planning process.
Thus, if and when BLM conducts future wilderness reviews are less certain than if and when the
FS conducts future wilderness reviews.
DOI Wilderness Policy Changes
With each Administration, DOI has changed its policy regarding how it administers areas with
wilderness potential. In September 2003, then-DOI Secretary Gale Norton settled litigation
challenging a 1996 policy identifying large amounts of wilderness-suitable lands.44 Following the
settlement, the BLM assistant director issued guidance (known as Instruction Memorandum
2003-274) prohibiting further reviews and limiting the term wilderness study areas and the non-
impairment standard to areas already designated for the original FLPMA Section 603 reviews of
the 1970s and 1980s.45 The guidance advised, in part, that because the FLPMA Section 603
authority expired, “there is no general legal authority for the BLM to designate lands as WSAs
for management pursuant to the non-impairment standard prescribed by Congress for Section 603
WSAs.”46
On December 22, 2010, then-DOI Secretary Ken Salazar issued Order No. 3310, known as the
Wild Lands Policy, addressing how BLM would manage wilderness.47 This order indirectly
modified the 2003 wilderness guidance without actually overturning the direction (or even
acknowledging it). The order relied on the authority in FLPMA Section 201 to inventory lands
with wilderness characteristics that are “outside of the areas designated as Wilderness Study
Areas and that are pending before Congress” and designated these lands as “Wild Lands.” It also
directed BLM to consider the wilderness characteristics in land use plans and project decisions,
“avoiding impairment of such wilderness characteristics” unless alternative management is
deemed appropriate. Whereas Instruction Memorandum 2003-274 indicated that, except for
extant FLPMA Section 603 WSAs, the non-impairment standard did not apply, Order No. 3310
appeared to require an affirmative decision that impairment is appropriate in a FLPMA Section
201 wilderness resource area. Otherwise, under Order No. 3310, impairment must be avoided.

43 FLPMA §603; 43 U.S.C. §1782 (requiring a review within 15 years [by 1991] of roadless areas greater than 5,000
acres to determine suitability for wilderness).
44 In 1996, then-DOI Secretary Bruce Babbitt used the inventory authority in Section 201 of FLPMA to identify 2.6
million acres in Utah as having wilderness qualities. This land was in addition to the lands inventoried and reviewed in
the 1970s and 1980s. The state of Utah challenged the inventory as violating FLPMA Section 603. See Utah v. Norton,
No 96-CV-870 (D. Utah Order approving settlement April 14, 2003).
45 BLM Assistant Director, Instruction Memorandum 2003-275, Consideration of Wilderness Characteristics in Land
Use Plans (Excluding Alaska), September 29, 2003, p. 1, at http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/regulations/
Instruction_Memos_and_Bulletins/national_instruction.html (“It is, therefore, no longer BLM policy to continue to
make formal determinations regarding wilderness character, designate new WSAs through the land use planning
process, or manage any lands—except WSAs established under Section 603 of FLPMA and other existing WSAs—in
accordance with the non-impairment standard prescribed in the [Interim Management Policy].”) These memoranda
rescinded the Wilderness Inventory and Study Procedures Handbook.
46 Instruction Memorandum 2003-275.
47 Secretary of the Interior, Order No. 3310, Protecting Wilderness Characteristics on Lands Managed by the Bureau of
Land Management, (December 22, 2010), at http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/wo/
Communications_Directorate/public_affairs/news_release_attachments.Par.26564.File.dat/sec_order_3310.pdf.
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link to page 18 link to page 18 link to page 17 Wilderness: Overview, Management, and Statistics

After Congress withheld funding, then-Secretary Salazar revoked the order in June 2011 and
stated that BLM would not designate any wild lands.48 Despite the order being formally revoked,
Congress has continued to withhold funding in annual appropriations acts.49
Potential Wilderness Designated by Congress
Congress has enacted a number of wilderness statutes designating potential wilderness areas.
Potential wilderness areas are to become wilderness when certain conditions are met, as specified
in the designating statute. For example, some statutes have specified that the potential wilderness
will be designated as wilderness on the date the relevant Secretary publishes notice in the Federal
Register specifying that nonconforming uses of the area (often, uses prohibited in the Wilderness
Act) have ceased. Such statutes may specify that the potential wilderness areas are to be managed
as wilderness, notwithstanding certain prohibited uses, until such time. Other statutes may specify
that the wilderness designation is dependent upon other factors (e.g., land acquisition) or at other
times (e.g., after a certain number of years have passed).
Data on Wilderness Designations
The wilderness data presented in Table 2 are acreage estimates for wilderness areas that have
been designated by Congress as compiled by the agencies as of July 6, 2022. Acreages are
estimates, since few (if any) of the areas have been precisely surveyed. In addition, the agencies
have recommended areas for addition to the NWPS, and continue to review the wilderness
potential of other lands under their jurisdiction, both of congressionally designated WSAs and
under congressionally directed land management planning efforts. However, statistics on acreage
in pending recommendations and on those being studied, particularly in the planning efforts, are
unavailable.
As of July 6, 2022, Congress has designated 111.7 million acres of federal land in units of the
NWPS, as shown in Table 2 and Figure 1. Wilderness areas have been designated in 44 states
plus Puerto Rico; Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, and
Rhode Island do not contain any designated wilderness areas. Just over half (52%) of this land—
57.8 million acres—is in Alaska, and includes most of the wilderness areas managed by NPS
(74%) and FWS (90%).50 California has the next-largest wilderness acreage, with 15.3 million
acres designated in the state. However, Washington has the largest percentage of federal land
designated wilderness, with the 4.5 million acres of wilderness accounting for 38% of the federal
land within the state. NPS manages the most wilderness acreage (44.3 million acres, 40% of the
Wilderness System), followed by the Forest Service, which manages 36.7 million acres (33%).
FWS manages 20.7 million acres (19%), and BLM manages the least wilderness acreage, 10.0
million acres (9%).

48 Memorandum from Secretary, Department of the Interior, to Director, Bureau of Land Management, Wilderness
Policy (June 1, 2011), at http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/upload/Salazar-Wilderness-Memo-Final.pdf.
49 FY2011: P.L. 112-10, §1769; FY2012: P.L. 112-74, §125; FY2014: P.L. 113-76, Division G, Title I, §124; FY2015:
P.L. 113-235, Division F, Title I, §115; and FY2016: P.L. 114-113 Division G, Title I, §112.
50 For data on the acreage managed by the FS, BLM, NPS, and FWS, see CRS Report R42346, Federal Land
Ownership: Overview and Data.
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Figure 1. Designated Wilderness Areas and Federal Lands in the United States

Source: Created by CRS using data from Wilderness.net and the U.S. National Atlas.
Notes: The federal lands depicted in this figure include all of the federally owned or administered land areas in
the United States, including lands managed by the Department of Defense and Department of the Interior lands
held in trust for Indian tribes.
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14

Table 2. Designated Wilderness Area, by State and Agency

Bureau of Land
Fish and Wildlife
Forest Service
National Park
Total Designated
Share of
Management
Service
Service
Area
Wilderness
System

Acres
% of
Acres
% of
Acres
% of FS
Acres
% of
Acres
% of

BLM
FWS
Land
NPS
Federal
Land
Land
Land
Land
Alabama
0
0%
0
0%
42,156
6%
0
0%
42,156
6%
<1%
18,692,61
Alaska
0
0%
5
24%
5,769,910
26%
33,301,876
64%
57,764,401
26%
52%
Arizona
1,396,966
12%
1,343,444
80%
1,327,594
12%
444,055
17%
4,512,059
16%
4%
Arkansas
0
0%
2,144
1%
115,597
5%
34,933
35%
152,674
5%
<1%
California
4,125,676
28%
9,172
3%
5,111,998
25%
6,099,823
80%
15,346,669
35%
14%
Colorado
205,814
3%
2,560
2%
3,177,345
22%
349,422
53%
3,735,141
16%
3%
Connecticut
0
0*
0
0%
0
0%
0
0%
0
0%
0%
Delaware
0
0*
0
0%
0
0*
0
0%
0
0%
0%
Florida
0
0%
51,252
17%
73,642
6%
1,296,500
53%
1,421,394
36%
1%
Georgia
0
0*
362,107
74%
116,664
13%
9,907
25%
488,678
35%
<1%
Hawaii
0
0*
0
0%
0
0*
147,810
41%
147,810
22%
<1%
Idaho
541,644
5%
0
0%
4,211,015
21%
43,243
8%
4,795,902
15%
4%
Il inois
0
0%
4,050
5%
28,121
9%
0
0%
32,171
8%
<1%
Indiana
0
0*
0
0%
12,472
6%
0
0%
12,472
5%
<1%
Iowa
0
0*
0
0%
0
0*
0
0%
0
0%
0%
Kansas
0
0%
0
0%
0
0%
0
0%
0
0%
0%
Kentucky
0
0*
0
0%
17,187
2%
0
0%
17,187
2%
<1%
Louisiana
0
0%
8,346
1%
8,701
1%
0
0%
17,047
1%
<1%
Maine
0
0*
7,392
10%
11,235
21%
0
0%
18,627
7%
<1%
Maryland
0
0%
0
0%
0
0*
0
0%
0
0%
0%
Massachusetts
0
0*
3,244
14%
0
0*
0
0%
3,244
6%
<1%
CRS-15

Bureau of Land
Fish and Wildlife
Forest Service
National Park
Total Designated
Share of
Management
Service
Service
Area
Wilderness
System

Acres
% of
Acres
% of
Acres
% of FS
Acres
% of
Acres
% of

BLM
FWS
Land
NPS
Federal
Land
Land
Land
Land
Michigan
0
0%
25,309
22%
89,628
3%
176,315
28%
291,252
8%
<1%
Minnesota
0
0%
6,180
1%
816,244
29%
0
0%
822,424
23%
<1%
Mississippi
0
0%
0
0%
6,026
<1%
4,630
4%
10,656
<1%
<1%
Missouri
0
0%
7,730
13%
64,184
4%
0
0%
71,914
4%
<1%
Montana
6,347
<1%
64,535
10%
3,430,921
20%
0
0%
3,501,803
13%
3%
Nebraska
0
0%
4,635
3%
7,833
2%
0
0%
12,468
2%
<1%
Nevada
2,079,696
4%
0
0%
1,132,011
20%
236,789
30%
3,448,496
6%
3%
New Hampshire
0
0*
0
0%
138,406
18%
0
0%
138,406
17%
<1%
New Jersey
0
0*
10,341
13%
0
0*
0
0%
10,341
9%
<1%
New Mexico
446,177
3%
40,048
12%
1,429,711
16%
56,392
12%
1,972,328
8%
2%
New York
0
0*
0
0%
0
0%
1,381
4%
1,381
2%
<1%
North Carolina
0
0*
8,785
2%
102,715
8%
0
0%
111,500
5%
<1%
North Dakota
0
0%
9,732
2%
0
0%
29,920
42%
39,652
2%
<1%
Ohio
0
0*
77
<1%
0
0%
0
0%
77
0%
<1%
Oklahoma
0
0%
8,570
8%
15,470
4%
0
0%
24,040
5%
<1%
Oregon
254,060
2%
608
<1%
2,251,691
14%
0
0%
2,506,359
8%
<1%
Pennsylvania
0
0*
0
0%
9,005
2%
0
0%
9,005
2%
<1%
Puerto Rico
0
0*
0
0%
10,412
36%
0
0%
10,412
21%
<1%
Rhode Island
0
0*
0
0%
0
0*
0
0%
0
0%
0%
South Carolina
0
0*
29,000
22%
16,538
3%
21,700
67%
67,238
8%
<1%
South Dakota
0
0%
0
0%
13,534
<1%
64,144
43%
77,678
3%
<1%
Tennessee
0
0*
0
0%
86,110
12%
0
0%
86,110
8%
<1%
Texas
0
0%
0
0%
38,335
5%
46,850
4%
85,185
3%
<1%
CRS-16

Bureau of Land
Fish and Wildlife
Forest Service
National Park
Total Designated
Share of
Management
Service
Service
Area
Wilderness
System

Acres
% of
Acres
% of
Acres
% of FS
Acres
% of
Acres
% of

BLM
FWS
Land
NPS
Federal
Land
Land
Land
Land
Utah
914,079
4%
0
0%
780,432
10%
124,406
6%
1,818,917
6%
2%
Vermont
0
0*
0
0%
100,874
25%
0
0%
100,874
22%
<1%
Virginia
0
0%
0
0%
137,058
8%
79,579
26%
216,637
10%
<1%
Washington
7,140
2%
805
<1%
2,734,091
29%
1,743,100
95%
4,485,136
38%
4%
West Virginia
0
0*
0
0%
119,311
11%
0
0%
119,311
11%
<1%
Wisconsin
0
0%
29
0%
46,438
3%
33,500
54%
79,967
5%
<1%
Wyoming
0
0%
0
0%
3,068,112
33%
0
0%
3,068,112
10%
3%
U.S. Total
9,977,599
4%
20,702,70
23%
36,668,727
19%
44,346,275
55%
111,695,310
18%
100%
9
Sources: Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Public Land Statistics, 2020, https://www.blm.gov/about/data/public-land-statistics; Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Annual Lands
Report, 2021, https://www.fws.gov/refuges/land/LandReport.html; Forest Service (FS), Land Areas of the National Forest System (LAR), 2021, https://www.fs.fed.us/land/staff/lar-
index.shtml; National Park Service (NPS), Wilderness.net Acreage by Agency summary reports (wilderness acreage) and Park Acreage Reports, 2021, https://www.nps.gov/
subjects/lwcf/acreagereports.htm (state land acreage).
Notes: Acres are rounded to the nearest whole number. Percentages less than 0.5 and greater than 0 are given as <1%. 0* indicates that the agency owns no land within
the state, whereas 0% indicates the agency owns land in the state. The District of Columbia and U.S. territories other than Puerto Rico are not listed in the table. “Total
designated area” is the sum of acres of BLM, FWS, FS, and NPS designated wilderness areas. “Share of wilderness system” is the share of all wilderness acres located in the
state.

CRS-17

Wilderness: Overview, Management, and Statistics

Author Information

Anne A. Riddle
Katie Hoover
Analyst in Natural Resources Policy
Specialist in Natural Resources Policy

Acknowledgments
Kristina Alexander, former CRS legislative attorney, and Ross Gorte, retired CRS specialist in Natural
Resources Policy, made important contributions to earlier versions of this report.

Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan
shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and
under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other
than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in
connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not
subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in
its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or
material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you wish to
copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.

Congressional Research Service
RL31447 · VERSION 32 · UPDATED
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