by Jerry Sutherland
September 3, 2004 marks the 40th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, arguably America’s greatest piece of conservation legislation. The Sierra Club’s Wild Planet Strategy Team invites all Wilderness activists to attend a Wilderness Conference October 10-13 on Lake George in the Adirondacks. This region of upstate New York was beloved hiking ground of Wilderness visionary Bob Marshall and inspired the writing of Wilderness Act author Howard Zahniser.
The three days of the conference will focus in sequence on the history, present-day realities, and future of our National Wilderness Preservation System. Through an in-depth series of presentations, panel discussions, and breakout learning sessions, attendees will have the opportunity to learn from a diversity of Wilderness professionals, as well as a chance to network and build supportive coalitions with other Wilderness advocates.
There will also be field trips into the wilds of the Adirondacks the weekend before the conference. To register and find out more information go to http://www.wilderness40th.org. Please contact Jerry Sutherland, Chair of the Wild Planet Strategy Team, at jerry.sutherland@comcast.net as well. Most of their members will be at the conference and would like to know of other Sierra Club members attending in the hopes of having some sort of social event together.