1. What is Wilderness? The Wilderness Act of 1964 defines wilderness as “an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” The Act goes on to describe wilderness as “an area of undeveloped federal land” which “generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man’s work substantially unnoticeable….” Wilderness areas are designated by Congress.

The Wilderness Act lays out the following criteria: (1) generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man's work substantially unnoticeable; (2) has outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation; (3) has at least five thousand acres of land or is of sufficient size as to make practicable its preservation and use in an unimpaired condition; and (4) may also contain ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value.

2. What activities are allowed in Wilderness areas? Hiking, camping, hunting, fishing, picnicking, kayaking and canoeing, swimming, backpacking, horseback riding, rafting, skiing, snow-shoeing, bird-watching, and many other forms of recreation are allowed in wilderness areas. Any form of non-mechanized use is generally permitted, and motorized travel is allowed in cases of emergencies.

3. What activities aren’t allowed? The Wilderness Act protects our wilderness areas from logging, road-building, and vehicle use, including both motor vehicles (such as snowmobiles, off-road vehicles and dirt bikes) and other mechanical vehicles.

4. Why are wilderness areas designated? The Wilderness Act states that Wilderness areas are established, “to ensure that an increasing population, accompanied by expanding settlement and growing mechanization, does not occupy and modify all areas within the United States and its possessions, leaving no lands designated for preservation and protection in their natural condition.” Today, Wilderness is designated for a variety of benefits including clear water and air, refuge for rare plants and animals as well as primitive recreation.

5. How much of our nation’s land is federally protected as Wilderness? Approximately 109 million acres of public lands are protected as wilderness by law today – just under 5 percent of our nation’s cherished landmass. Seven of every eight acres of qualifying public land administered on behalf of Americans by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management currently lacks legal protection as wilderness.

6. How much of New Mexico is protected as Wilderness? Approximately 1,651,056 acres of federal public lands in New Mexico are designated wilderness, that’s just a little over 2% of the total area of the state that has the permanent protection of wilderness. There is no designated Wilderness in Doña Ana County.

7. What are the current threats to the proposed wilderness areas in Southern New Mexico? Increasing population numbers, paired with the increasing popularity of off-highway vehicles (OHVs) as a hobby is a growing threat to the preservation of Southern New Mexico’s wild places. Erosion and noise are two major problems associated with OHV use. It makes sense to protect special areas now, before more damage occurs, rather than after the fact.

8. What is a Wilderness Study Area (WSA)? A Wilderness Study Area (WSA) is an area of study that the BLM has inventoried and found to have wilderness character as described in FLPMA and the 1964 Wilderness Act.

9. What is considered a road? The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 defined a road as a route that is improved and maintained to ensure continuous use.

10. Why are roads not allowed in wilderness? The Wilderness Act prohibits use of motorized/mechanized equipment and general access by motor vehicles and mechanical transport. However, the law makes exceptions for situations such as search and rescue operations, fire fighting to protect adjacent private lands, and insect and disease control. Grazing permittees are allowed to use motorized vehicles to rescue livestock, and the occasional use of motorized equipment is allowed to fix fences and maintain springs and livestock dams. Additionally, private inholders are guaranteed reasonable access to their land

11. What kind of damage can Off-Road Vehicle use cause? ORV use has risen dramatically in recent years, increasing the conflicts between recreational demand and environmental protection. The effects of ORVs on wildlife range from direct mortality to increased stress on wildlife (including game species) to displacement from favored habitat and habitat fragmentation. ORVs also damage native vegetation and are a key cause of the spread of invasive plants in many areas. Soils, especially in arid regions like southwestern New Mexico, are often severely damaged by ORVs. Increased erosion, water pollution and air pollution are among the negative impacts of ORVs.

12. Public lands are supposed to be managed for “multiple use” and is wilderness a multiple use? Yes. Wilderness is a "multiple-use" both in fact and in law. The "multiple-uses" of wilderness, according to law, include: protection of watersheds; maintenance of soil and water quality, ecological stability and plant and animal gene pools; habitat for wildlife, including rare and endangered species; unsurpassed opportunities for outdoor recreation including hunting, horseback riding, fishing, hiking, and camping.

13. How is grazing impacted by wilderness designation? Domestic livestock grazing, where established prior to wilderness designation, is permitted in wilderness. Maintenance of fences, livestock dams and springs is allowed, along with the occasional use of motorized equipment in accordance with the 1990 Congressional Grazing Guidelines. The Wilderness Act says that livestock grazing is permitted and the Act has been further clarified by specific legislation that states that livestock grazing should not be curtailed or eliminated because an area has been designated as Wilderness (see page 18 and 19 in The Wilderness Act Handbook, Section 4(d)4(2) of the Wilderness Act).

14. Can existing range management developments be maintained? Yes. The maintenance of supporting facilities, existing in an area prior to its classification as wilderness, (including fences, line cabins, water wells and lines, stock tanks, etc.), is permissible in wilderness. (Congressional Grazing Guidelines, House Report 101-405).

15. And can ranchers use motor vehicles to rescue or remove sick or dead cattle? Yes. The Congressional Grazing Guidelines states: “The use of motorized equipment for emergency purposes such as rescuing sick animals or the placement of feed in emergency situations is also permissible.” (Congressional Grazing Guidelines, House Report 101-405)

16. What about private or state lands? Wilderness designation applies only to federal lands – and property owners are guaranteed access to their land. Studies have shown that property values go up in areas that are near federally protected lands.

17. Will Wilderness affect the state’s ability to handle wildlife management issues? Wilderness designation would not change management jurisdictions, so NM Game and Fish would continue to manage wildlife in designated wilderness. Management actions can take place but they have to “enhance” wilderness or protect natural processes.

18. What about protection of homes near wilderness areas from fire? Using whatever means necessary, the land managing agencies may fight forest fires in wilderness. The Wilderness Act provides that, “such measures may be taken as may be necessary in the control of fire, insects, and diseases, subject to such conditions as the Secretary [of Agriculture] deems desirable.”

19. If an area is already a Wilderness Study Area or Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), why does it need to be Wilderness? These are administrative designations that often change with a change in agency staff or management direction. Additionally, with interim designations it is often unclear what is and what is not allowed. Designated wilderness makes it very clear what is or what is not allowed within the area.

20. How is Wilderness different than a National Park or a National Monument? Wilderness designation is the highest level of protection that can be given to federal public land (land managed by the Park Service, Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service or Bureau of Land Management). Wilderness Areas may be designated within National Parks and National Monuments (any many are) although the Park or Monument itself is not a Wilderness in its entirety. Wilderness areas are designated by Congress to be preserved in a primitive condition. While parts of many National Parks or National Monuments are also preserved in a highly natural condition, they often also include developed, roaded areas within their boundaries - wilderness areas do NOT. With few exceptions, grazing and hunting are not allowed in National Parks, whereas they are allowed in wilderness areas.

21. What is a National Conservation Area? (and how is it different than Wilderness) National Conservation Areas are created individually by Congress and, unlike Wilderness Areas, do not have a uniform definition or set of management guidelines. Each Wilderness Area is part of the National Wilderness Preservation System which was created and defined by the Wilderness Act. There is no similar overarching “organic” legislation governing NCAs. The definition, purpose and management regime for each NCA is determined by the individual legislation that creates it and the subsequent management plan developed by the managing federal agency.

22. What other southwestern cities have adjacent wilderness areas? Examples are Albuquerque, Phoenix, Tucson, Las Vegas (has Wilderness and 2 NCAs), and Reno.

23. How might wilderness affect the Border Patrol and their ability to do their job? It won’t. Appropriate agency personnel may enter a designated wilderness area for reasons of public safety or national security (this includes motorized access by the Border Patrol). Aircraft overflights, which the Border Patrol uses to survey and monitor border traffic, would not be affected by wilderness designation.

24. What about using motorized equipment for emergencies? While the Wilderness Act prohibits the general use of motorized equipment or vehicles in wilderness, the law clearly allows land managers to use motorized equipment in the case of emergencies such as search and rescue and firefighting as well as for insect and disease control. For example, helicopters may be used to evacuate an injured person from a Wilderness area.

25. Will the BLM get more money to manage Wilderness? Wilderness designation invariably brings more agency resources to the area. A Wilderness designation also places an area within the prestigious National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS), and is given funding preference along with our nations other top natural treasures (www.blm.gov/nlcs/). Such funding might be used for appropriate signage, educational materials, ecological monitoring and/or additional law enforcement. The Wilderness Act and subsequent agency guidelines give very clear and consistent direction on how wilderness areas shall be managed.

26. Does wilderness designation discriminate against the disabled? No. Those with disabilities may use wheelchairs within wilderness. The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 reaffirmed that nothing in the Wilderness Act should be construed as prohibiting the use of a wheelchair a wilderness area by individuals whose disability requires it. A report by the National Council on Disability found that "[a] significant majority of persons with disabilities surveyed very much enjoy the [National Wilderness Preservation System] and 76 percent do not believe that the restrictions on mechanized use stated in the Wilderness Act diminish their ability to enjoy wilderness. People with disabilities appear to visit the NWPS in the same ways and for the same reasons that people without disabilities do."

For more information, contact: Nathan Small, New Mexico Wilderness Alliance, 575-527-9962

Sources cited: www.blm.gov/nlcs/wilderness/faq.htm