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On March 30, 2009 the United States gained more than two million acres of new wilderness. No, it wasn't through the quiet annexation of Canadian territory - it was through legislation that set aside the federally-owned land as "designated wilderness." Of all those acres, the first 37,000 were in my home state of West Virginia, and I decided to celebrate the occasion by visiting each of the new wilderness tracts in the state. The second trip of my endeavor was a forty-mile, two-and-a-half-day circuit through the Dolly Sods and Roaring Plains West wilderness areas in the Monongahela National Forest. The experience left me with very wet feet, but also with cautious optimism about the future of my wild home.

ARTICLE OUTLINE

  • New Wilderness
  • The Act
  • Wilderness Designation
  • Wild, Wonderful
  • Dolly Sods
  • Roaring Plains
  • Wilderness Circuit
  • Day 1
  • Day 2
  • Day 3
  • Reflections
  • More Information
  • Wilderness
  • West Virginia
  • About the Author

# WORDS: 4010
# PHOTOS: 20

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