Wednesday marked 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Wilderness Act to preserve land.

At the time, there were 9 million acres. Today there are about 100 million acres of preserved land in 757 designated areas.

“The U.S. was one of the first, was the first in the world to set aside areas to try and preserve that natural ecological condition without man’s influence,” says Jay Pence, Teton Basin District Ranger with the U.S. Forest Service

In the Caribu-Targhee National Forest, there is the Jedediah Smith Wilderness area as well as the Winegar Hole Wilderness. There is also one Wilderness Study Area. A decision on the Palisades area has not yet been made.