I don’t understand what this “wilderness designation” really means. Can someone explain it please? I did a google search but couldn’t really find a good description of exactly what it is.
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a designated “Wilderness Area”.
The same rules apply. No roads or humans allowed.
“Wilderness” means the land is officially off-limits to logging, mining, road-building and just about any other development activities. The theory is that it preserves conditions found before the evil white man turned up.
In reality, as recent research shows, to duplicate those conditions we’d have to set a great many fires every year, as that is what the Indians did.
Hiking, horseback riding, hunting, fishing, grazing, etc. are generally allowed, but with more restrictions and with no use of mechanical vehicles permitted.
One of the odder anomalies of wilderness designation is that horseback riding is allowed but mountain biking is usually not, despite the fact that by any definition horses have much greater impact on the environment than bicycles.
In a couple of words - No Motorized Vehicles.
Why does this matter?
A Boy Scout in Utah was badly injured on a campout in a wildreness area. FedGov oficials would not allow a LifeFlight chopper to land an medivac the child to life saving medical care.
Only upon the threat of a massive lawsuit did the FedGov (fill in you r favorite explitive) allow the chopper to land and the boys life was saved.
Wildreness area = keep out sign for
Disabled
Old
Infirm
Hunters
Loggers
Minerial exploration
Pertty much everyone not young, fit and mobile. It is hard to enjoy something you are not allowed to get to....
/rant.
BTW, I live in a huge National Park, its called Alaska.
Do a search on returning America to a state of wilderness. I understand these people have changed their name so as to be less threatening to Mr.and Mrs. Sheeple.
Michael Frazier
Wildreness area = keep out sign for
Disabled
Old
Infirm
Hunters
Loggers
Minerial exploration
No hiking
No fishing
no horse back riding
no skiing
no camping