Noted naturalist publishes articles and books celebrating U.S. wildlands.
On May 28, 1892, California conservationists, led by Muir, create the Sierra Club.
Aldo Leopold, Arthur Carhart, Robert Sterling Yard, and others raise the idea of a national wilderness preservation policy in their writings.
At Leopold’s urging, the Forest Service establishes the first wilderness area, the Gila Wilderness in New Mexico on June 3, 1924.
Bob Marshall leads the campaign for a national system of wilderness areas. More than 14 million acres of “primitive areas” are established on national forests.
Yard, Marshall, and Leopold are among the new organization's leaders.
He becomes executive director of the Wilderness Society and goes on to draft the Wilderness Act and lead the eight year campaign for its enactment.
Zahniser, David Brower of the Sierra Club, and other conservation leaders work to build public support for wilderness protection.
The first, bipartisan wilderness legislation is introduced by Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey (D-MN) and Rep. John P. Saylor (R-PA).
The Senate passes the measure, endorsed by President John F. Kennedy, by a bipartisan vote of 78-8, leading to House action in 1964.
President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Wilderness Act into law on September 3, 1964, establishing the National Wilderness Preservation System.
California's San Rafael Wilderness, near Santa Barbara, becomes the first new U.S. Forest Service wilderness area.
Great Swamp Wilderness in New Jersey becomes the first wilderness area managed by Fish and Wildlife.
NEPA becomes law requiring public involvement in land management planning and systematic evaluation of the environmental impacts of proposed projects.
Portions of the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona and Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho become the first park wilderness areas.
The 250,000-acre Scapegoat Wilderness (MT) and a 72,000-acre addition to the Eagle Cap Wilderness (OR) become wilderness.
The law demonstrates that land in eastern national forests qualify as wilderness.
The measure makes tracts administrated by the Bureau of Land Management eligible for designation as wilderness areas.
President Jimmy Carter signs the Endangered American Wilderness Act, establishing 1.3 million acres of new wilderness areas.
Carter signs the landmark Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act on Dec. 2, designating 56 million acres of new wilderness across the state.
The Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness in Idaho becomes the largest wilderness area in the Lower 48.
The area within the Lee Metcalf Wilderness in Montana is designated as the first wilderness managed by the BLM.
More than 20 statewide wilderness laws are enacted, designating over 8 million acres.
The law designates 300,000 acres of new wilderness areas on the Tongass National Forest in southeastern Alaska.
California Desert Protection Act greatly expands national parks in the California desert and designates 7.7 million acres of new wilderness areas.
President Bill Clinton establishes the 1.7-million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah on September 18, 1996.
Clinton's Roadless Area Conservation Rule protects 58.5 million acres in 39 states.
The Pew Charitable Trusts establishes the organization with a goal of achieving lasting protection for threatened wildlands.
The Ventana Wilderness is expanded by 37,000 acres, and the Silver Peak Wilderness by 8,000 acres to protect a highly diverse coastal ecosystem.
James Peak was designated as wilderness, protecting 14,000 acres of national forest on the east side of the Continental Divide.
440,000 acres of public lands designated as wilderness in the southern part of the state.
The Lincoln County Conservation, Recreation, and Development Act of 2004 protects 14 new wilderness areas, totaling more than 768,000 acres.
Google Earth makes satellite imagery available to the public, providing a bird’s-eye view of America’s wildlands for the first time.
35,000 acres of wild islands on the waters of Lake Superior within the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore are designated wilderness.
The 10,000-acre El Toro Wilderness becomes the first wilderness area in a U.S. territory.
The Ojito Wilderness Act protects 11,000 acres of blush-colored desert canyon lands in the northwestern part of the state.
The Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act protects 273,000 acres and 21 miles of rivers in the northwest part of the state.
558,000 acres of the wildest, most rugged and beautiful landscapes in eastern Nevada are designated wilderness.
New England Wilderness Act protects 34,500 acres of the White Mountain National Forest and 41,652 acres on the Green Mountain National Forest.
The 100,000 acres are west of Salt Lake City.
Some 106,577 acres of National Forest roadless lands are designated wilderness a little more than an hour from downtown Seattle.
President Barack Obama signs the Omnibus Public Land Management Act on March 30, 2009 which adds more than 2 million acres of wilderness.
The campaign becomes part of the Pew Environment Group.
Although nearly 110 million acres of U.S. wilderness is now protected (about 5 percent of the nation’s landmass), there is more to do. The Pew Charitable Trusts is currently advocating for 20 bills that taken together would designate 2 million additional acres of wilderness across the country.
The president issues a proclamation saying, “I invite all Americans to visit and enjoy our wilderness areas, to learn about their vast history, and to aid in the protection of our precious national treasures.”
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