On September 3, 2023, we hail the 59th anniversary of President Lyndon Johnson’s signing the Wilderness Act that established America’s National Wilderness Preservation System. The sixtieth anniversary is just ahead! Wait a minute: Didn’t we just celebrate the fiftieth? BIG events in 2014 may seem like “just” passed, but it’s nine years later. Now we prepare for the big six-oh. 2024. How will we take advantage of public attention to a big round number-anniversary to get the word out broadly on how we need wilderness to preserve wild nature?

2024 Ways to Promote Wilderness

During 2014, for the 50th, many Sierra Club Chapters conducted outings in honor of wilderness, held joint events with one or more federal wilderness-managing agencies, or with in-state wilderness organizations, and wrote up descriptions of trips to wilderness areas in their state. They got speakers to talk of the history of wilderness. They held photo contests—or put up nature photo exhibits or art displays in public libraries, schools, and city halls. All these activities will work for the 60th! And there are plenty more:

• Sponsor a “Wilderness Day” similar to Earth Day or National Trails Day or National Public Lands Day
• Assure the 2024 Earth Day celebrations have a wilderness theme.
• How about a wilderness quiz? (We can provide one, which was prepared for the 50th and now updated…)
• Consider an outings project such as a challenge for young people or others. For example, who can visit 24 of California’s wilderness areas during 2024? Or link wilderness to our 30 by 30 campaign and invite visits to 30 wilderness areas in 2024! For any interested Chapter, we can send a “certificate” template for folks to fill out with names of wilderness areas they visit during the Wilderness Sixty year.
• Reach out to media outlets or sponsor local, or wilderness walks for reporters.
• Get celebrities and local elected officials to help celebrate; invite them on walks for wilderness in local parks.
• Urge senior centers to offer a wilderness-related program for seniors, for example asking them to write about their memories of going into nature.

Tell us YOUR ideas!

Why Wilderness by Law?

The 1964 Act brought into being 54 wilderness areas in 13 states — places that had already been administratively protected by the Forest Service. But administrative protection was temporary. It is easily undone and haphazard, and wildlands advocates saw that a national law was needed for enduring protection of wild land from development. It is that landmark concept of land conservation by law that we’ll honor in 2024.

We’ve had ten more years to review wilderness in new ways: New awareness that preserving nature can combat the climate crisis and fight the world’s species extinction crisis gives us even more reason to protect large swaths of natural land in our national 30 by 30 campaign. We work with Native American tribes to involve them directly in stewarding large protected areas using wilderness as a powerful tool to conserve their sacred lands. In the original Act, in 1964, California obtained 13 new wilderness areas — more than any other state. California still has more wilderness areas than any other state, now 152. In 1964, Nevada received only ONE wilderness area, the Jarbidge. But has been making up for earlier lacks. Nevada has secured more additional wilderness than all other states put together in this century. Nevada now has 70 wildernesses. Alaska has more total wilderness than any other state with 48 wilderness areas that are much larger than ours.

Let’s start by celebrating what we have achieved! Today, our country has 803 wilderness areas in 44 states plus Puerto Rico with stewardship by all four federal land agencies. Plenty of reason to celebrate and to work for even more. To join the Sierra Club’s effort in YOUR chapter, contact Vicky Hoover, CA/NV Wilderness Committee’s 60th lead.