A unique northern California event has been scheduled to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. The event, organized by federal agencies who oversee these treasured landscapes, in partnership with a vast array of organizations who love these areas, is scheduled for October 10-12, 2014 at the Tehama County Fairgrounds in Red Bluff, California. This world-class event promises to comme
morate the Wilderness Act’s golden anniversary and celebrate the importance of its continued preservation for future generations. This weekend event will include displays, re-enactments, speakers, workshops, demonstrations, music, camping, and so much more. The central location will facilitate interest and participation from Sacramento/Bay Area in the south, to the Oregon border in the north, providing an opportunity, especially for youth and those who have never experienced Wilderness, a “one-stop shop” for opportunities across northern California. Signed into law in September 1964, the Wilderness Act set aside an initial 9.1 million acres of wildlands for the use and benefit of the American people. As a result of America's support for wilderness, Congress has since added over 100 million acres to this unique land preservation system. The Act defines "Wilderness" as areas where the earth and its communities of life are left unchanged by people, where the primary forces of nature are in control and where people themselves are visitors who do not remain. It’s important for us to convey the intrinsic value of Wilderness as an integral part of natural resource and land management. Resource managers and partners can connect with the public to share their passion for their resource – forestry, recreation, botany, fisheries, geology, and heritage and how these resources benefit from decades of Wilderness management. Agencies and partners can showcase the distinctive breadth of landscape and ecological diversity in their individual Wilderness Areas while collectively linking them to the value of the larger whole. Event participants can provide a shared and unified message of a responsible Wilderness ethic in addition to increasing awareness of programs like “Leave No Trace” and “Share the Trail” with a broad spectrum of recreating public. This is an excellent opportunity to strengthen and expand our network between partners and organizations, improving our working relationships and discovering new opportunities to share resources. For more information on the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act, please visit www.wilderness50.org or www.wilderness.net. For more information on the Northern California event, please contact us [email protected].