“All we desire to save from invasion is that extremely minor fraction of outdoor America which yet remains free from mechanical sights and sounds and smells.” This claim summoned the foundation of the Wilderness Society on January 21, 1935 by Robert Marshall, Aldo Leopold, Robert Sterling Yard, Benton MacKaye, Ernest Oberholtzer, Harvey Broome, Bernard Frank, and Harold C. Anderson in Washington, DC. The society has dedicated its efforts to the protection of American public lands, including national parks, game reserves, and all areas mantained by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. It has played an influential role in the establishment of important environmental directives, such as the Wilderness Act (1964), the National Forest Management Act (1976), and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (1980). Altogether, over 100 million acres of land have been added to the National Wilderness Preservation System as a result of their efforts.
- Foreman, Dave, and Howie Wolke. The Big Outside: A Descriptive Inventory of the Big Wilderness Areas of the United States. New York: Harmony Books, 1992.
- Nash, Roderick. Wilderness and the American Mind. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1967.