Celebrating 50 years of the National Wilderness Act

This was the precursor: 40 years before the wilderness act, 755,000 acres in New Mexico's Gila National Forest, including the middle fork of the Gila river, became the world's first designated wilderness.

For more, see the September issue of National Geographic.

Sleeping Bear Dunes Wilderness

Last March, Congress invoked the Wilderness Act for the first time in five years, designating 32,500 acres of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on the east side of Lake Michigan. Some of the dunes tower more than 400 feet above the lake.

White Clouds - proposed

In the 1960s, opposition to a planned open-pit mine on Idaho’s Castle Peak helped create the Sawtooth Wilderness, seen here. Castle Peak and the mountains nearby still await such permanent protection.

Columbine-Hondo - proposed

 Snow clings to aspens near Taos, New Mexico, in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. A proposal to protect 45,000 acres in the Carson National Forest is one of some 30 wilderness bills before Congress.

Rocky Mountain Front - proposed

Day breaks on the Front Range in Montana. The mountains and plains in this region shelter a rich collection of plants and wildlife, including grizzly bears.

For more, see the September issue of National Geographic.