Contact: Ted Stout, NPS, 208-527-1330 Contact: Julie Thomas, USFS, 208-737-3262 From now until September 3, 2013, the "Wilderness Forever" public photography competition will accept entries of images illustrating the sheer majesty, diversity, and value of our nation's wilderness areas. This professionally-juried contest is being conducted by the 50th Anniversary National Wilderness Planning Team (Wilderness50), Nature's Best Photography, and the Smithsonian Institution. Approximately 50 winning contest entries will be chosen for display as large format prints in the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History as part of a 2014 exhibition celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. "This is a great opportunity to show off the beauty and diversity of Idaho," says Dan Buckley, Superintendent of Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, "We're excited to share the public's visions of Idaho's beautiful wilderness lands and we encourage visitors to submit photos of these special places." Professional, amateur and student photographers may submit their photographs accompanied by personal stories and memories about the scenes depicted. Contest guidelines and entry instructions are found online at http://www.naturesbestphotography.com/wilderness. Please join Wilderness50, Nature's Best Photography, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service in celebrating "50 Years of American Wilderness" by participating in the "Wilderness Forever" photography contest. Wilderness50 is a coalition of more than 25 non-profit organizations, academic institutions, and government agencies that is planning and implementing local, regional, and national events and projects. Our nation's wilderness system, now encompassing over 109 million acres, was established in 1964 for the use and enjoyment of the American people. The 757 wilderness areas that exist today are managed by all four federal land managing agencies, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service (USFS), and National Park Service (NPS). There are 12 wilderness areas in Idaho that are managed by the BLM, USFS, and the NPS. Staff from the 3 wilderness areas in central Idaho (Craters of the Moon National Wilderness Area (NPS), Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness (USFS), and the Sawtooth Wilderness (USFS)) and several affiliated non-profit groups are working together to raise public awareness and engage youth during 2014, the 50th anniversary year. You can learn more about the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act and Wilderness50 by visiting our website at http://www.wilderness50th.org or you can follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/50thAnniversaryOfTheWildernessAct and Twitter at https://twitter.com/wild50th. For more information about wilderness areas in Idaho please visit: http://www.wilderness.net/NWPS/stateView?state=ID
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Last updated: February 28, 2015