National Wilderness Month established to honor 45-year-old Wilderness Act
On September 3, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Wilderness Act into law.
In the intervening years, more than 100 million acres of public land in the United States have been protected from development and natural resource exploitation. In honor of this history event, President Obama issued this statement on September 3, 2009, applauding the Wilderness Act and proclaiming September as National Wilderness Month – he then took off on a family vacation that included stops at some of the premiere National Parks in the western states.
Making the designation of September as National Wilderness Month, Obama said:
Forty-five years ago, the United States achieved a landmark success in protecting these magnificent wild spaces. The Congress passed and President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Wilderness Act, which sought to secure “for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness.” The Act has been widely recognized as one of our Nation’s most important conservation laws. This law and the National Wilderness Preservation System it established have served as a model for wilderness protection laws in many of our States and in countries around the world.
The vision and structure established in the Wilderness Act continue to receive broad support. This pioneering law created a framework for bringing Federal public lands under additional protection. Over the past 45 years, the Congress has enacted numerous laws extending wilderness protection to vast swaths of public lands. These laws have enjoyed bipartisan support. Ranchers and anglers, small-business owners and conservationists, and Americans of diverse backgrounds have come together to preserve many of our Nation’s most cherished public spaces.
My Administration has already demonstrated a commitment to protecting our wilderness heritage. On March 30, 2009, I signed the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, which established the most recent additions to our Wilderness System. As my Administration continues to prioritize wilderness protection, we will work closely with the Congress, organizations, and private citizens to ensure that all stakeholders can make their voices heard. United by a common purpose of preserving our precious natural spaces and our wilderness heritage, we will ensure that future generations inherit the unique gift of knowing nature’s peace.
