The Wilderness Society history

By 1919, his thinking had evolved from a narrow focus on forestry and wildlife management to an expanded awareness of the need to protect wilderness in America.

History Since 1935, The Wilderness Society has led the effort to permanently protect nearly 112 million acres of wilderness in 44 states.

In 1937, Murie joined the governing council of the young Wilderness Society.

In 1950, The Wilderness Society named Murie its president.

By 1955, Zahniser had grown disillusioned with piecemeal attempts at preservation. “Let us be done with a wilderness preservation program made up of a sequence of overlapping emergencies, threats, and defense campaigns,” he said.

Former Wilderness Society Executive Director Howard Zahniser drafted the bill in 1956 to protect some of the nation's last remaining wilderness.

In 1960, he wrote his famous Wilderness Letter on the importance of federal protection of wild places.

Several major laws championed by The Wilderness Society established the language and ideas that still inform public land protection in America, highlighted by the Wilderness Act of 1964, which was written by a Wilderness Society leader.

After nearly a decade, an ambitious campaign by The Wilderness Society to protect Joshua Tree, Death Valley and other wildlands in the California desert culminates with the California Desert Protection Act of 1994.

The Wilderness Society responded with bulked-up legal and legislative efforts and new initiatives like the Wilderness Support Center, established in 1999 to marshal grassroots support for important land-protection legislation.