Sixty years ago, Congress passed the Wilderness Act — an effort to protect and preserve the county's grandest natural areas to the highest degree.
Guided by the desire to keep natural spaces undeveloped, free from the impacts of modern civilization, and open for recreation and solitude, more than 800 "wildernesses" across the country exist today. Eight of those are in Missouri (although there are none in Kansas).
In the years since, programs at the state and local levels inspired by the Wilderness Act have been created to further preserve land in Missouri. The Missouri State Park Wild Areas, made up of 12 areas throughout the state, was established in 1978. In Kansas City, the KC Wildlands program is run by Bridging the Gap and protects 16 remnant ecosystems in the metro.
Maintaining the integrity of Missouri's natural landscapes is important for land managers and visitors alike.
"One of the values of wilderness to me is that it maintains the natural condition, in a wild and natural kind of way, and it's its own specifically for that so that it can be durable through time," said Ken McCarty, the Natural Resource Management Program Director for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. "And to me, to be able to walk in one of those kind of spaces is a unique kind of experience, and it's something that's fragile. It's something that can go away."
The Sierra Club will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Wilderness Act at 6 p.m. Nov. 19, at the Anita B. Gorman Discovery Center in Kansas City.
- Ed Sherman, Recreation Program Manager, Mark Twain National Forest
- Ken McCarty, Natural Resource Management Program Director, Missouri Department of Natural Resources
- Hunter Moore, program manager, KC Wildlands
