Wilderness Law
In the United States, designation of federal land as "Wilderness" can only be done by the Congress. It is the highest degree of legal protection that exists for federal land, and is an "overlay" on top of its status as a national park or other federal property. Here are links to the law which established the Federal Wilderness Preservation System, and guides the management of all federal wilderness areas, and the specific legislation which designated the Gaylord Nelson Wilderness at the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Congress later corrected the title of the park's wilderness area to the "Gaylord A. Nelson Wilderness" to put the name more in line with other wilderness areas around the country.

• 1964 Wilderness Act (external link)
• 2004 Gaylord A. Nelson Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Wilderness Act (19kb pdf)
• 2005 Name Change to Gaylord A. Nelson Wilderness (5kb pdf)
  

NPS Wilderness Management Policy
The NPS has three levels of policy documents, which go from the general to the specific. The following links, in increasing order of detail, provide direction on how the Gaylord Nelson Wilderness is to be managed.

• NPS 2006 Management Policy Chapter on Wilderness Policy and Management (internal NPS link)
• NPS 1999 Director's Order on Wilderness Preservation and Management (114kb pdf)
• NPS 1999 Reference Manual on Wilderness Preservation and Management (348kb pdf)