Wilderness

The Great Western Divide is visible in the distance in this view looking west at Lower Crabtree Lakes, Sequoia National Park.

NPS / Kevin Hendricks

 
“If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them something more than the miracles of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it.” – President Lyndon B. Johnson upon signing the Wilderness Act (1964)
 
A backpacker hikes along a stream overlooking large mountain vistas.

NPS Photo

What Is Wilderness?

When you think of the wild, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Your backyard? A local park? A trail by the river? The rugged mountains of the Sierra?

In September of 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Wilderness Act, setting in motion a worldwide concept that has helped protect some of the earth's last remnants of lands where the wonder and beauty of nature is paramount.

Through the Wilderness Act, designated wilderness areas have extra protections set up to keep them free from roads, buildings, mechanized equipment, and permanent human occupation. As a result, these places are truly wild, where nature thrives, and visitors can unplug from civilization and escape from modern development to connect with the natural world.

Today, there are over 800 federally designated wilderness areas with more than a hundred million acres of terrain including: lava beds, deserts, tundra, coasts, alpine meadows, and old-growth forests.

 
A map of park wilderness areas. Over 90% of the map is highlighted in green, labeled Sequoia Kings Canyon Wilderness. Southern sections of the map are listed as John Krebs Wilderness and Proposed Wilderness.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon Wilderness

Sequoia and Kings Canyon is a beautiful place. Here, the towering granite peaks of the High Sierra call to those brave enough to venture into the wild. Here, lush meadows and broad lake basins lie nestled in magnificent glacial canyons. Here, there are no roads, only inspiration.

In order to become an established wilderness area through the Wilderness Act, National Park lands need to go through a multi-step process that starts with the Department of the Interior and ends with Congress. There are five of these steps, or “categories”: potential, eligible, proposed, recommended, and designated wilderness.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks have three categories of wilderness areas:

1. Designated Wilderness
Wilderness officially established by Congress. A component of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Managed according to the Wilderness Act as federal law.

  • The Sequoia-Kings Canyon Wilderness(1984)
  • The John Krebs Wilderness (2009)

2. Recommended Wilderness
Eligible wilderness area recommended by the Department of the Interior to the President. Managed according to NPS policy rather than the Wilderness Act.

  • The Hockett Area Recommended Wilderness (2008)

3. Potential Wilderness
Areas that meet the criteria for designated wilderness but contain non-conforming conditions (ex: structures, roads, mining claims, inholdings, etc.) Managed according to NPS policy rather than the Wilderness Act.

  • Various locations throughout the parks

Together, these lands form over 850,000 acres of protected scenic landscapes. But what is it that makes these areas so special? And why protect them from modern human impact? The answer is character.

 

Character Counts: The Qualities of Wilderness Character

In order to steward a diverse ecosystem of the Sierra Nevada, the parks seek to preserve something called “wilderness character.” Wilderness character combines physical and conceptual qualities that can be used as a guideline for what the National Park Service is responsible for protecting. This includes a wealth of values: ecological, scientific, recreational, historical, and cultural.

 

Federal Wilderness is the Homeland of Indigenous Peoples

National Parks like Sequoia and Kings Canyon, as well as the wilderness areas within, are the homelands of Indigenous peoples, and they have been for thousands of years. Lands now managed as federal wilderness were forcibly taken from Indigenous peoples and later, from other marginalized groups. It is imperative to recognize that what we see today is the culmination of thousands of years of intentional land stewardship by the many people connected to these places.

In particular, the wilderness managed by Sequoia and Kings Canyon includes land dispossessed from more than 4 local tribes, including Yokuts, Monache or Western Mono, Tubatulabal, and Paiute (tribal identities are often more specific than these 4 broader groups). Most of our trails are built over indigenous trails, including the Nüümü Poyo (aka John Muir Trail), with its southern point at Mount Tumangaya (aka Mount Whitney).

The idea of wilderness is controversial. To continue appreciating wilderness, we must acknowledge its contradictions and historical context. The 1964 Wilderness Act was a product of its time. The idea of wilderness was enshrined into law as a place, “where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” We now understand this idea to be a myth. Federally designated wilderness was never unpopulated, untouched, empty land. Rather, indigenous people have called this land home for millennia, they have modified the land, and they continue to call this land home to the present. This is not just historically indigenous land; rather, the people of these tribes are still here. Local indigenous people do not need a wilderness permit to hike here and they do not need to pay entrance fees. Park employees and visitors must leave indigenous artifacts where found.

Today, the National Park Service is working to bring indigenous people back into conversations of land management. The National Park Service is also striving to make wilderness a more inclusive, welcoming place for all people, including historically excluded people of color, women and non-binary people, and average working people.
 
A family of bighorn sheep staring into the camera from atop rocky crags.

NPS Photo

How We Manage the Wild

Wilderness is a balancing act. The National Park Service constantly grapples with the tensions inherent in “managing” wilderness areas so as to make "the imprint of man's work substantially unnoticeable," in the words of the 1964 Wilderness Act. The parks manage wilderness with two priorities in mind:

  • The use and enjoyment of the American people,
  • The preservation of the natural environment.

Preserving wilderness character is a tough task. Park stewards must consider all aspects of wilderness character when making decisions about park operations in these areas. Sometimes, in an effort to enhance one quality, another could be impacted. To help manage this, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks published their Wilderness Stewardship Plan in May of 2015. This plan describes the management policies and priorities for the parks and gives excellent examples of the complexities of wilderness stewardship.

The parks do conduct some projects in the wilderness, but this is mainly to restore the natural environment in areas that have already been negatively impacted by human activities. This includes removing invasive plant species, restoring the endangered yellow-legged frog, and preserving the population of the Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep.

 
A camper sitting by a tent looking out at a lake and snowy mountains.

NPS Photo

Maintaining a Legacy

Wilderness stewardship of Sequoia and Kings Canyon is part of a national legacy that dates back generations. The parks work hard to protect these special places, but we need your help too! As you plan your trip to the wilderness, please keep the tenants of Leave No Trace in mind, as well as park-specific restrictions for where you plan your trip. When visiting, please be sure to leave only footprints and take only memories.

These lands belong to each of us and are preserved and protected to ensure they will still be here for future generations. They are where we go to get away from everyday life, a constant source of inspiration and fun. This land is forever wild. Now go forth—your wilderness awaits!

Have Questions About Your Trip? Contact the Wilderness Office

 

Explore the Wilderness

  • A moonrise over reddish peaks
    Backpacking

    Learn more about backpacking in these parks. Wilderness awaits!

  • A stormy sky above a wilderness trail
    Trail Descriptions

    Learn more about the wilderness trails of these parks.

  • A woman on a horse in a high Sierra canyon
    Horseback Riding

    Whether you bring your own stock or use one of the pack stations in these parks, a trip on horseback is a great way to see the parks.

 

Learn More About Wilderness

Last updated: September 12, 2024

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