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What “Wilderness” Means


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Home Forums Campfire On the Web What “Wilderness” Means

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  • #1264429
    Miguel Arboleda
    BPL Member

    @butuki

    Locale: Kanto Plain, Japan

    I saw this article on the meaning of the word "wilderness" to people in different parts of the world. Most people don't see the natural world in the same way that Americans do. Very interesting reflections.

    #1654857
    Eric Lundquist
    BPL Member

    @cobberman

    Locale: Northern Colorado

    I think that American ideas of wilderness stem from the western expansion and the vast frontier that initially to them appeared untouched by even human hands. I personally feel a more wilderness experience the further and longer I am away from the 'civilized' world. When you can go several days (or weeks for some people) without seeing another person, you understand how wild and untamed the natural world is.

    Wilderness?
    Personal caption: "Wilderness? If you have to tell them, it probably isn't."

    #1654864
    Diplomatic Mike
    Member

    @mikefaedundee

    Locale: Under a bush in Scotland

    No straight lines, and the sound of silence. :)

    #1654878
    Jolly Green Giant
    BPL Member

    @regultr

    Locale: www.jolly-green-giant.blogspot.com

    Not sure if anyone wanted the technical definition of Wilderness Area (vs. just "wilderness"), but what the heck.

    Check out the Wilderness Act of 1964. Basically, a wilderness area is an area "untrampled by man", "natural", "affected primarily by the forces of nature", "of at least 5000 acres", and "may also contain ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value".

    http://www.wilderness.net/NWPS/documents//publiclaws/PDF/16_USC_1131-1136.pdf

    #1654882
    Bob Gross
    BPL Member

    @b-g-2-2

    Locale: Silicon Valley

    In California, a bunch of areas were defined as being wilderness based on whether they had roads or not.

    –B.G.–

    #1654883
    Art …
    BPL Member

    @asandh

    Wilderness is merely a Relative State of Mind.
    If you feel comfortable and familiar, it is not wilderness.
    If you feel out of your element, foreign, and unfamiliar … it is wilderness, even if its in the middle of a big city.

    #1654959
    Sara C
    BPL Member

    @saracr

    Locale: SE Missouri and NW Arkansas

    "untrampled by man", "affected primarily by the forces of nature", "of at least 5000 acres"

    They don't actually apply those standards for official federal wilderness areas. Missouri would have none if that were the case.

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