Wilderness

Manzano Mountain Wilderness Area

Forest Service

The National Wilderness Preservation System, which encompasses 111,889,002 acres of federal land, is managed by four different agencies: the National Park Service, the United States Forest Service, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land Management.

Alaska makes up 52% of this wilderness area, with the NPS managing 43,890,500 acres across 61 locations, the USFS overseeing 36,160,078 acres in 447 regions, the FWS responsible for 20,702,350 acres in 71 areas, and the BLM handling 8,726,011 acres at 224 sites.

There are some areas that are designated as wilderness by state or tribal authorities but are not included in the Federal National Wilderness Preservation System. The Wilderness Act of 1964 was created to provide permanent protection for some of the most wild and untouched places in America. Additionally, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 introduced the first eight rivers into the National System. Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument has no wilderness areas.