Olympic National Park

The Wilderness Act of 1964

We've made a lot of bad decisions in the history of resource management. In the name of preservation we have wiped out most of the predators, introduced countless invasive species and poisoned lakes and streams. Although in hindsight these actions seem ridiculous, they represent the conservation values of their time. Looking back over the history of conservation you might wonder if we ever did anything right. I asked Ruth Scott, a Natural Resources Management Specialist at Olympic National Park, if there was any decision ever made that we can, with confidence, look back on and say was a good idea. After some thought she said, "well, I suppose the Wilderness Act."

The wilderness Act was passed in 1964 in order to ensure that some areas of this country remain untouched. Although the National Park system had been around for almost 100 years, historically the parks had been more concerned with recreation than with preservation. A designated wilderness would be a different kind of area, one without roads or commercial enterprise, without permanent improvements, one that would retain its primeval character. Thanks to the passionate effort of Howard Zahniser the act puts forward a rather poetic vision of what wilderness is. It should be primitive, have outstanding opportunities for solitude, appear to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man's work substantially unnoticeable.

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