50 YEARS OF WILDERNESS | Outdoor Idaho

With the passage of the Wilderness Act in 1964, Americans began a grand experiment in land management—to set aside certain areas "where man himself is a visitor who does not remain." Idaho now has 4.5 million acres of official wilderness. Only two states—Alaska and California—have more.

For the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, we visit each of Idaho's designated wilderness areas—the Selway Bitterroot, Craters of the Moon, Sawtooth, Hells Canyon, Gospel Hump, Frank Church River of No Return and Owyhee Canyonlands—to explore what we've learned since the passage of this landmark legislation.

And we also visit two proposed wilderness areas: the Boulder-White Clouds of central Idaho and north Idaho's Scotchman Peaks. Is there still a constituency for wilderness? And what, if anything, needs to change? We explore some of the issues surrounding Wilderness. And we also experience some absolutely stunning country!