Tennesseans Celebrate "The Year of Wilderness"
Friday, August 22, 2014
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Residents across the state are preparing to celebrate a historic anniversary - the 50th year of the Wilderness Act.
The act was signed into law on Sept. 3, 1964, establishing the National Wilderness Preservation System "as a mechanism to have kind of a unified way of giving protections to wild places that we want to give our highest protection to," said Tennessee playwright and wilderness enthusiast Jim Pfitzer, "places where we don't want to have any road building or developments or mineral extractions, that kind of thing."
Initially, some 9 million acres of wildlands were set aside for the use and benefit of the American people. During the past half-century, Congress has added another 100 million acres.
In Tennessee, thousands of acres of the most beautiful natural areas have been protected. Still, Pfitzer said, it's important that while looking back at the success, people also look ahead to the future.
"There are assaults on wilderness from several fronts right now, people who would like to see the law changed," he said, "So I think it's real important that people don't just rest on what we've already done. We say we protect things in perpetuity, but laws can be changed."
A celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act will be held Sept. 3 at the East Tennessee History Center in downtown Knoxville.
More information is online at wildsouth.org and at jimpfitzer.com.
get more stories like this via email
Health and Wellness
The Missouri Legislature has approved a law to stop its Medicaid program, known as MO HealthNet, from paying Planned Parenthood for medical services …
Environment
A round of public testimony wrapped up this week as part of renewed efforts by a company seeking permit approval in North Dakota for an underground pi…
Social Issues
Air travelers could face fewer obstacles in securing a refund if their flight is canceled or changed under new federal rules announced Wednesday…
Environment
An environmental group is suing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the Arkansas mudalia snail under the Endangered Species Act. In …
A coalition of climate groups seeking cleaner air at the rail yards and ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will hold a "die-in" rally tomorrow at Los…
Health and Wellness
By Marianne Dhenin for Yes! Magazine.Broadcast version by Shanteya Hudson for Georgia News Connection reporting for the YES! Media/Public News …