Wilderness

“Wilderness” is a word with widely different meanings to different people.  For the U.S. Forest Service, Wilderness refers to a designated area of national forest land established as Wilderness through law by an Act of Congress, as a part of the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS).  The Wilderness Act of 1964 legally 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 George Washington & Jefferson National Forest are home to twenty-three Wildernesses designated between 1975 and 2009, totaling 139,461 acres.  Wilderness stewardship on the George Washington & Jefferson National Forest is designed to:

• Preserve the natural character of the area
• Allow natural forces to dominate the character of the land
• Provide opportunities for solitude and primitive recreation activities
• Allow of undisturbed development of plant and animal species and the protection of their habitat

Motorized equipment and mechanical transport are not allowed in Wilderness.  Group size is limited to ten people in all Wildernesses on the George Washington & Jefferson National Forest.