WILDERNESS - RESOURCES
Keep Wilderness Wild
As more people flock to metropolitan areas, many are slipping out of balance, disconnected, unaware of our basic human right to explore nature, to be wild.
A hundred years ago, farms took up 15% of our planet’s land. Now, 77% of Earth’s land surface is used for agriculture. Wild places are shrinking and they will only survive if there is international cooperation to preserve these priceless ecosystems.
Wilderness is intrinsic to everything living on this planet. Once it’s gone, we can’t get it back.
Help us protect, cherish, and celebrate wilderness.
“Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread.”—Edward Abbey
“If I had my way about national parks, I would create one without a road in it. I would have it impenetrable forever to automobiles, a place where man would not try to improve upon God.”—Harold L. Ickes
“The idea of wilderness needs no defense, it only needs defenders.”
Here are some excellent organizations working to reduce the use of single-use plastic and encourage better recycling programs.
Wilderness Foundation Global (WFG) is an international alliance of action-oriented, like-minded organizations which know that wilderness areas have local meaning and global significance, with direct importance to human health, well-being and inspiration. They work to protect wild nature while meeting the needs of human communities - for the good of all life on Earth.
Wilderness Watch is America’s leading organization dedicated to defending and keeping wild the nation’s 111 million-acre National Wilderness Preservation System. their work is guided by the visionary 1964 Wilderness Act.
Wild expands and empowers global coalitions that defend Earth’s life-saving wilderness.
Natural Resources Defense Council was founded in 1970 by a group of law students and attorneys at the forefront of the environmental movement. Today's leadership team and board of trustees makes sure the organization continues to work to ensure the rights of all people to clean air, clean water, and healthy communities.
The Old-Growth Forest Network was founded by our friend Joan Maloof to preserve, protect and promote the country's few remaining stands of old-growth forest. Old-growth forests are also known as virgin forests. Today, less than 5% of Western and only a fraction of 1% of Eastern original forests, on average, remain standing. It is our turn to do what we can to save the remnant old-growth (or future old-growth) forests across the country.
Friends of the Earth fights for a healthier and just world, speaking truth to power and exposing those who endanger the health of people and the planet for corporate profit. They organize to build long-term political power and campaign to change the rules of the economic and political systems that create injustice and destroy nature.
The Sierra Club is the most enduring and influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States. It was co-founded by American hero John Muir in 1892 to preserve and protect the wilderness.
Earthday works to make every day an Earth Day. This is the moment to change it all — the business climate, the political climate, and how we take action on climate. Now is the time for the unstoppable courage to preserve and protect our health, our families, and our livelihoods. We must act (boldly), innovate (broadly), and implement (equitably). It’s going to take all of us. All in. Businesses, governments, and citizens — everyone accounted for, and everyone accountable. A partnership for the planet.
The American Chestnut Foundation is working to rescue the iconic American chestnut tree and return it to its native range in the eastern U.S. forests. If you’ve read Richard Powers’ The Overstory, you’re probably a big fan of this amazing tree. We are chestnut fans!
Here’s the blog page of the Tuolumne Group of the Sierra Club (Part of the Mother Lode Chapter in California). They’ve posted our multi-award winning Wilderness video. This is a great page that supports actions to combat climate change.
“Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than what we could learn from books.”
Environmental Defense Fund: one of the world’s leading environmental organizations taking on climate change and other grave threats by identifying what’s most urgent and where they can make the most difference.
National Parks Conservation Association: protecting and enhancing America’s National Park System for present and future generations.
The Nature Conservancy is a global environmental nonprofit working to create a world where people and nature can thrive. Founded at its grassroots in the United States in 1951, The Nature Conservancy has grown to become one of the most effective and wide-reaching environmental organizations in the world. Thanks to more than a million members and the dedicated efforts of diverse staff and more than 400 scientists, they impact conservation in 72 countries and territories: 38 by direct conservation impact and 34 through partners.
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.”
Greenpeace believes optimism is a form of courage. They invite people out of their comfort zones to take courageous action, individually in their daily lives, and in community with others who share their commitment to a better world. A green and peaceful future is the quest. The heroes are those of us who believe a better world is not only within reach, but being built today.
Wildlife Conservation Society stands for Wildlife.
The Wilderness Society works to protect America's wilderness and to develop a nation-wide network of wildlands through public education, scientific analysis, and advocacy.
“The farther one gets into the wilderness, the greater is the attraction of its lonely freedom.”
Wilderness first aid is the knowledge and ability to effectively address injuries, illnesses, or emergencies outside of modern facilities, out in the wild. Skills could include knowing how to dress a wound, treat a burn or bite, or set an injured limb. These are important skills that can save your life or the lives of other outdoor enthusiasts. Learn more and be better prepared for your next hiking or backpacking adventure.
World Wildlife Fund Canada’s work has evolved from protecting particular wildlife species and habitats to protecting life on Earth – including our own. Today, their work is about life, because everything we do is about securing the future of healthy, thriving ecosystems.
Here’s a link to the Greenpeace efforts to protect the oceans.
Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance has a mission to preserve the outstanding wilderness at the heart of the Colorado Plateau, and manage these lands in their natural state for the benefit of all Americans.