All NPS lands will be evaluated for their eligibility for inclusion within the national wilderness preservation system. For those lands that possess wilderness characteristics, no action that would diminish their wilderness eligibility will be taken until after Congress and the President have taken final action. The superintendent of each park containing wilderness will develop and maintain a wilderness management plan or equivalent document. Wilderness considerations will be integrated into all planning documents to guide the preservation, management, and use of the park’s wilderness area and ensure that wilderness is unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as wilderness.
6.1 General Statement
The National Park Service will manage wilderness areas for the use and enjoyment of the American people in such a manner as will leave them unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as wilderness. Management will include the protection of these areas, the preservation of their wilderness character, and the gathering and dissemination of information regarding their use and enjoyment as wilderness. The purpose of wilderness in the national parks includes the preservation of wilderness character and wilderness resources in an unimpaired condition and, in accordance with the Wilderness Act, wilderness areas shall be devoted to the public purposes of recreational, scenic, scientific, educational, conservation, and historical use.The policies contained in this chapter are supplemented by Director’s Order #41: Wilderness Preservation and Management and Reference Manual 41, which accompanies the director’s order. Those documents should be referred to for more detailed information on the topics covered in this chapter.
NPS
6.2 Identification and Designation of the Wilderness Resource
The National Park Service will use the following wilderness study process to consider NPS areas for inclusion within the congressionally designated national wilderness preservation system.
6.2.1 Assessment of Wilderness Eligibility or Ineligibility
All lands administered by the National Park Service, including new units or additions to existing units since 1964, will be evaluated for their eligibility2 for inclusion in the national wilderness preservation system. Additionally, lands that were originally assessed as ineligible for wilderness because of nonconforming or incompatible uses must be reevaluated if the nonconforming uses have been terminated or removed. A wilderness eligibility assessment will consist of a brief memorandum from the regional director to the Director that makes a managerial determination as to the eligibility of the park lands for wilderness designation.
The assessment may include information important for other park planning purposes, and other park planning efforts may likewise produce information important to wilderness. The assessment should therefore be completed in a timely manner and thoughtfully coordinated with other planning activities. The assessment may be combined with the wilderness study described below if the combined document can be completed in a timely manner.
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2 Management Policies 2001 used the term “suitability” to refer to the Park Service’s initial screening assessment as to whether lands meet the minimum criteria for inclusion in the national wilderness preservation system. The Wilderness Act, however, uses “suitability” to refer to the Secretary’s determinations in forwarding recommendations to the President. For purposes of clarity, the NPS initial screening assessment has been renamed an “eligibility” assessment. The change from “suitability” to “eligibility” in no way lessens the protected status of these lands.
6.2.1.1 Primary Eligibility Criteria
NPS lands will be considered eligible for wilderness if they are at least 5,000 acres or of sufficient size to make practicable their preservation and use in an unimpaired condition, and if they possess the following characteristics (as identified in the Wilderness Act):
- The earth and its community of life are untrammeled by humans, where humans are visitors and do not remain.
- The area is undeveloped and retains its primeval character and influence without permanent improvements or human habitation.
- The area generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of humans’ work substantially unnoticeable.
- The area is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions.
- The area offers outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation.
6.2.1.2 Additional Considerations in Determining Eligibility
In addition to the primary eligibility criteria, the following considerations should be taken into account in determining eligibility:
- A wilderness area may contain significant ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value, although it does not need these things to be considered eligible for wilderness designation.
- Lands that have been logged, farmed, grazed, mined, or otherwise used in ways not involving extensive development or alteration of the landscape may also be considered eligible for wilderness designation if, at the time of assessment, the effects of these activities are substantially unnoticeable or their wilderness character could be maintained or restored through appropriate management actions.
- An area will not be excluded from a determination of wilderness eligibility solely because established or proposed management practices require the use of tools, equipment, or structures if those practices are necessary to meet minimum requirements for the administration of the area as wilderness.
- In the process of determining wilderness eligibility, lands will not be excluded solely because of existing rights or privileges (e.g., mineral exploration and development, commercial operations, agricultural development, grazing, or stock driveways). If the National Park Service determines that these lands possess wilderness character, they may be included in the eligibility determination so that they can be considered for designation as wilderness or potential wilderness.
- Lands containing aboveground or buried utility lines will normally not be considered as eligible for wilderness designation, but they can be considered as eligible for “potential” wilderness designation if there is a long-term intent to remove the lines. No new utility lines may be installed in wilderness, and existing utility lines may not be extended or enlarged except as may be allowed pursuant to section 1106 of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 USC 1133(c)).
- Historic features that are primary attractions for park visitors will generally not be recommended as eligible for wilderness designation. However, an area that attracts visitors primarily for the enjoyment of solitude and unconfined recreation in a primitive setting may also contain cultural resource features and still be included in wilderness. Historic trails may serve and be maintained as part of the wilderness trail system, as identified and coordinated within an approved wilderness management plan and the park’s cultural resource plan. The presence of historic structures does not make an area ineligible for wilderness. A recommendation may be made to include a historic structure in wilderness if (1) the structure would be only a minor feature of the total wilderness proposal; and (2) the structure will remain in its historic state, without development.
- Dams within or affecting the area being studied do not make a waterway ineligible for wilderness designation. The nature and extent of impacts and the extent to which the impacts can be mitigated would need to be addressed in subsequent wilderness studies.
- The established use of motorboats, snowmobiles, or aircraft does not make an area ineligible for wilderness. The nature and extent of any impacts on the environment and on eligibility, and the extent to which the impacts can be mitigated would need to be addressed in subsequent wilderness studies, along with the possible need to discontinue the use.
- Overflights do not make an area ineligible for wilderness designation. The nature and extent of any overflight impacts and the extent to which the impacts can be mitigated would need to be addressed in subsequent wilderness studies.
6.2.1.3 The Assessment Process
The Service will involve the public in the wilderness eligibility assessment process through notification of its intentions to conduct the assessment and publication of the Director’s determination, either as “eligible” or as “ineligible” for further wilderness study. Notification will include the issuance of news releases to local and regional news media and the publication of a final eligibility determination in the Federal Register. The final determination of an area’s eligibility, or ineligibility, for further study must be approved by the Director before publication of the final eligibility determination in the Federal Register. For areas determined to be ineligible for wilderness designation, the wilderness preservation provisions in the NPS Management Policies are not applicable. However, ineligible lands will be managed in accordance with the NPS Organic Act and all other laws, executive orders, regulations, and policies applicable to units of the national park system.
6.2.2 Wilderness Studies
Lands and waters found to possess the characteristics and values of wilderness, as defined in the Wilderness Act and determined eligible pursuant to the wilderness eligibility assessment, will be formally studied to develop the recommendation to Congress for wilderness designation. The National Park Service will continue to undertake wilderness studies of all lands that have been determined to be eligible as a result of the wilderness eligibility assessment. Also, studies will be made of lands for which subsequent legislation directs that wilderness studies be completed.
Wilderness studies will be supported by appropriate documentation of compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act. The Council on Environmental Quality requires environmental impact statements for wilderness studies that will result in recommendations for designations (i.e., proposals for legislation to designate as wilderness).
6.2.2.1 Potential Wilderness
A wilderness study may identify lands that are surrounded by or adjacent to lands proposed for wilderness designation but that do not themselves qualify for immediate designation due to temporary nonconforming or incompatible conditions. The wilderness recommendation forwarded to the Congress by the President may identify these lands as “potential” wilderness for future designation as wilderness when the nonconforming use has been removed or eliminated. If so authorized by Congress, these potential wilderness areas will become designated wilderness upon the Secretary’s determination, published in the Federal Register, that they have finally met the qualifications for designation by the cessation or termination of the nonconforming use.
6.2.2.2 Proposed Wilderness
The findings and conclusions of a formal wilderness study will be reviewed by the Director, who will then determine which lands will be forwarded to the Department of the Interior (Assistant Secretary’s Office) as “proposed” wilderness. The Director’s proposed wilderness will identify park lands that the Director believes the Secretary should recommend for immediate wilderness designation, as well as any other lands identified as “not proposed” or as “potential” wilderness.
6.2.3 Recommended Wilderness
The Secretary of the Interior is responsible for recommending to the President those lands under his/her jurisdiction that are suitable or nonsuitable for inclusion within the national wilderness preservation system. The Secretary performs this function through the Assistant Secretary’s Office by reviewing NPS proposed wilderness and either approving or revising the proposal. The final result is forwarded by the Secretary for the President’s consideration. The President is then responsible for transmitting his recommendations with respect to wilderness designation to both houses of Congress. These recommendations must be accompanied by maps and boundary descriptions. The National Park Service will track the status of the wilderness designation process in Congress.
6.2.4 Designated Wilderness
After the President’s wilderness recommendation is formally sent to and considered by Congress, Congress may subsequently enact the legislation needed to include the area within the national wilderness preservation system as “designated” and/or “potential” wilderness. The National Park Service will assist the department and Congress in this process as requested. Lands released by Congress from further wilderness consideration will be managed in accordance with the NPS Organic Act and all other laws, executive orders, regulations, and policies applicable to nonwilderness areas of the national park system.
6.4 Wilderness Use Management
The National Park Service will encourage and facilitate those uses of wilderness that are in keeping with the definitions and purposes of wilderness and do not degrade wilderness resources and character. Appropriate restrictions may be imposed on any authorized activity in the interest of preserving wilderness character and resources or to ensure public safety.
When resource impacts or demands for use exceed established thresholds or capacities, superintendents may limit or redirect use. If these actions are determined to be the minimally required level of management, physical alterations, public education, general regulations, special regulations, permit systems, and the local restrictions, public use limits, closures, and designations implemented under the discretionary authority of the superintendent (36 CFR 1.5 and Part 13; 43 CFR Part 36 for Alaska units) may all be used in managing use and protecting wilderness.
6.4.1 General Policy
Park visitors need to accept wilderness on its own unique terms. Accordingly, the National Park Service will promote education programs that encourage wilderness users to understand and be aware of certain risks, including possible dangers arising from wildlife, weather conditions, physical features, and other natural phenomena that are inherent in the various conditions that comprise a wilderness experience and primitive methods of travel. The National Park Service will not modify the wilderness area to eliminate risks that are normally associated with wilderness, but it will strive to provide users with general information concerning possible risks, any recommended precautions, related user responsibilities, and applicable restrictions and regulations, including those associated with ethnographic and cultural resources.
6.4.2 Wilderness Interpretation and Education
In the context of interpretive and educational planning, national park system units with wilderness resources will (1) operate public education programs designed to promote and perpetuate public awareness of and appreciation for wilderness character, resources, and ethics while providing for acceptable use limits; (2) focus on fostering an understanding of the concept of wilderness that includes respect for the resource, willingness to exercise self-restraint in demanding access to it, and an ability to adhere to appropriate, minimum-impact techniques; and (3) encourage the public to use and accept wilderness on its own terms—that is, the acceptance of an undeveloped, primitive environment and the assumption of the potential risks and responsibilities involved in using and enjoying wilderness areas. NPS interpretive plans and programs for wilderness parks will address the primary interpretive themes for wilderness. Education is among the most effective tools for dealing with wilderness use and management problems and should generally be applied before more restrictive management tools.
(See Visitor Safety 8.2.5.1)
6.4.3 Recreational Use Management in Wilderness
Recreational uses of NPS wilderness are generally those traditionally associated with wilderness and identified by Congress in the legislative record for the development of the Wilderness Act and in keeping with the language provided by sections 2(a) and 2(c) of the act itself (16 USC 1131(a) and (c)). These recreational uses of wilderness will be of a type and nature that ensures that its use and enjoyment (1) will leave it unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as wilderness, (2) provides for the protection of the area as wilderness, and (3) provides for the preservation of wilderness character. Recreational uses in NPS wilderness areas will be of a nature that
- enables the areas to retain their primeval character and influence;
- protects and preserves natural conditions;
- leaves the imprint of man’s work substantially unnoticeable;
- provides outstanding opportunities for solitude or primitive and unconfined types of recreation; and
- preserves wilderness in an unimpaired condition.
(See Management of Recreational Use 8.2.2.1)
6.4.3.1 Recreation Use Evaluation
Recreational uses—particularly new and emerging activities that compromise the stated purposes and definitions of wilderness or unduly impact the wilderness resource or the visitor experience within wilderness—will be evaluated to determine if these uses are appropriate or should be limited or disallowed through use of the superintendent’s compendium in 36 CFR 1.5. Evaluation or reevaluation should be accomplished within wilderness management plans or similar implementation plans. Recreational uses that do not meet the purposes and definitions of wilderness should be prohibited in NPS wilderness.
Significant changes in patterns or increased levels of use will not be authorized by special permit, administrative discretion, or authorities under the superintendents’ compendia, except in cases where sufficient information exists to adequately determine there is no significant impact on wilderness resources and values, including visitor experiences. These increased levels of use and changes in patterns of existing use will normally not qualify for a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act. Decisions regarding significant changes in patterns and new levels of use will require environmental analysis and review, including opportunity for public comment, in accordance with the NEPA requirements.
(See Appropriate Use of the Parks 1.5; Visitor Carrying Capacity 8.2.1)
6.4.3.2 Outdoor Skills and Ethics
Leave-no-trace principles and practices will be applied to all forms of recreation management within wilderness, including commercial operations. Wilderness users will generally be required to carry out all refuse. Refuse is defined in 36 CFR 1.4.
6.4.3.3 Use of Motorized Equipment
Public use of motorized equipment or any form of mechanical transport will be prohibited in wilderness except as provided for in specific legislation. Operating a motor vehicle or possessing a bicycle in designated wilderness outside Alaska is prohibited (see NPS regulations in 36 CFR 4.30(d)(1)).
However, section 4(d)(1) of the Wilderness Act (16 USC 1133(d)(1)) authorizes the Secretary—where legislation designating the wilderness specifically makes this provision applicable—to allow the continuation of motorboat and aircraft use under certain circumstances in which those activities were established prior to wilderness designation.Section 4(d)(1) gives the Secretary the discretion to manage and regulate the activity in accordance with the Wilderness Act, the NPS Organic Act, and individual park enabling legislation. As authorized, the National Park Service will administer this use to be compatible with the purpose, character, and resource values of the particular wilderness area involved. The use of motorized equipment by the public in wilderness areas in Alaska is governed by applicable provisions of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, NPS regulations in 36 CFR Part 13, and Department of the Interior regulations in 43 CFR Part 36. The specific conditions under which motorized equipment may be used by the public will be outlined in each park’s wilderness management plan.
(See Soundscape Management 4.9; Use of Motorized Equipment 8.2.3)
6.4.4 Commercial Services
Wilderness-oriented commercial services that contribute to public education and visitor enjoyment of wilderness values or provide opportunities for primitive and unconfined types of recreation may be authorized if they meet the “necessary and appropriate” tests of the National Park Service Concessions Management Improvement Act of 1998 and section 4(d)(6) of the Wilderness Act (16 USC 1133(d)(5)), and if they are consistent with the wilderness management objectives contained in the park’s wilderness management plan, including the application of the minimum requirement concept. Activities such as guide services for outfitted horseback, hiking, mountain climbing, or river trips and similar activities may be appropriate and may be authorized if conducted under the terms and conditions outlined in the park’s wilderness management plan and/or in legislation authorizing these types of commercial uses.
The only structures or facilities used by commercial services that will be allowed in wilderness will be temporary shelters, such as tents, or other specifically approved facilities that may be required within the wilderness management plan for resource protection and the preservation of wilderness values. Temporary facilities will generally be removed from the wilderness after each trip, unless such removal will cause degradation of the wilderness resources. In Alaska, additional guidance for the management of temporary facilities for hunting and fishing guides is found in the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act section 1316 (16 USC 3204). The use of permanent equipment and supply caches by commercial operators is prohibited within wilderness.
Managers will ensure that commercial operators are in compliance with established leave-no-trace protocols.
(See Visitor Use 8.2; Commercial Use Authorizations 10.3)
6.4.5 Special Events
The National Park Service will not sponsor or issue permits for special events to be conducted in wilderness if those events are inconsistent with wilderness resources and character or if they do not require a wilderness setting to occur. Permits will not be issued in NPS wilderness areas for commercial enterprises or competitive events, including activities involving animal, foot, or watercraft races; the physical endurance of a person or animal; organized survival exercises; war games; or similar exercises.
(See Special Events 8.6.2. Also see 36 CFR 2.50)
6.4.6 Existing Private Rights
Wilderness designation does not extinguish valid existing private rights (for example, fee-simple interest, less-thanfee-simple interest, valid mineral operations, rights-ofway, grazing permits). The validity of private rights within wilderness must be determined on a case-by-case basis.Valid private rights in wilderness must be administered in keeping with the specific conditions and requirements of the valid right.
6.4.7 Grazing and Livestock Driveways
Commercial grazing or driving of livestock in park wilderness will be allowed only as specifically authorized by Congress. Where these activities are authorized, they will be managed under conditions and requirements identified within the approved wilderness management plan and corresponding allotment management plans. The use of motorized vehicles, motorized equipment, or mechanical transport by grazing permittees will not be allowed except as provided for by a specific authority—that is, a valid existing right, the enabling legislation, or an NPS determination of minimum requirement. The construction of livestock management facilities other than those specifically authorized by legislation is prohibited.
Noncommercial grazing of trail stock used as part of an approved livestock management program within wilderness may be authorized in accordance with NPS regulations and conditions outlined in the wilderness management plan or stock use management plan. All approved livestock use must ensure the preservation of wilderness resources and character. Superintendents will be responsible for monitoring livestock use in wilderness to the same degree as human use, and may use the same management tools and techniques, including the application of the minimum requirement concept to manage livestock use that are available for managing other wilderness uses.
(See 8.6.8 Domestic and Feral Livestock)
6.4.8 Rights-of-Way
Existing rights-of-way that have been included in wilderness should be terminated or phased out where practicable. Rights-of-way subject to NPS administrative control should be administered under conditions outlined in the park’s wilderness management plan that protect wilderness character and resources and limit the use of motorized or mechanical equipment. The Service will not issue any new rights-of-way or widen or extend any existing rights-of way in wilderness. Rights-of-way and access procedures affecting wilderness areas in Alaska are governed by applicable provisions of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act and regulations in 43 CFR Part 36, and 36 CFR Part 13.
(See Existing Private Rights 6.4.6)
6.4.9 Mineral Development
The National Park Service will seek to remove or extinguish valid mining claims and nonfederal mineral interests in wilderness through authorized processes, including purchasing valid rights. In parks where Congress has authorized the leasing of federal minerals, the Park Service will take appropriate actions to preclude the leasing of lands or minerals within wilderness whenever and wherever it is authorized to do so. Lands included within wilderness will be listed as “excepted areas” under applicable regulations in 43 CFR Parts 3100 and 3500 (see section 3500.8).
Unless and until mineral interests and mining claims within NPS wilderness are eliminated, they must be managed pursuant to existing NPS regulations, policies, and procedures. (See 36 CFR Part 9, Subpart A, for mineral development on mining claims; 36 CFR Part 9, subpart B, for nonfederal oil and gas development; and 43 CFR Parts 3100 and 3500 for federal mineral leasing.). A validity examination of unpatented claims in wilderness affected by a proposed plan of operations must be conducted by a certified mineral examiner before plan approval. Motorized use in wilderness is allowed only with an approved plan of operations on valid mineral claims and where there is no reasonable alternative. Motorized use for access can occur only on existing or approved roads. There will be no new roads or improvement of existing roads unless documented as being necessary for resource protection. Any plan of operations that is approved will include stipulations on operations and reclamation that will ensure that long-term effects on the wilderness area are substantially unnoticeable. For access to mining claims in NPS wilderness in Alaska, see 43 CFR 36.10.
6.4.10 Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities
The National Park Service has legal obligations to make available equal opportunities for people with disabilities in all programs and activities. This requirement includes the opportunity to participate in wilderness experiences. Management decisions responding to requests for special consideration to provide wilderness use by persons with disabilities must be in accord with the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (as amended in 1978), and section 508(c) of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 USC 12207(c)). Such decisions should balance the intent of access and wilderness laws and find a way of providing the highest level of protection to the wilderness resource.
Section 17.550 of the Secretary of the Interior’s regulations regarding the enforcement of nondiscrimination on the basis of disability in Department of Interior programs (43 CFR Part 17, subpart E) states that agencies are not required to take any actions or provide access that would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of a program or activity. However, the agency has the burden of proving that compliance would result in a fundamental alteration. This concept is also found in section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
(See Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities 1.9.3, 8.2.4, and 9.1.2. Also see Director’s Order #42: Accessibility for Visitors with Disabilities in National Park Service Programs and Services)
Last updated: August 6, 2025