Wilderness

Wilderness is understood as a region that exists in its original, natural state with few or no human inhabitants. It may contain distinctive geographic features, rare ecosystems, or plant and animal species that require vast expanses of land for habitat. Since the 1970s, geographers and environmental historians have closely examined the definition of wilderness. They found that its meaning has changed significantly over time, especially in the North American context. As its definitions have changed, wilderness areas have become contested sites.

During the settlement era, Euro-Americans often feared the wilderness, as it was home to dangerous creatures and seemingly dangerous “others,” the indigenous peoples of the continent. In the 19th century, several influences reworked the meaning of wilderness. The aesthetic and spiritual ideas of Romanticism and Transcendentalism for some transformed the wilderness from a devilish place to a location where one might more easily commune with God. The perceived loss of the frontier, growth of cities, and polluting impacts of industrialization made others look to wilderness as symbolic of a rugged, independent American character that was threatened by urbanization. Wilderness became a therapeutic space.

As these definitions of wilderness took hold, arguments over the purpose of wilderness entered public discourse. In the 20th century, the preservationists, who sought to protect the ecological and aesthetic integrity of the wilderness by leaving areas untouched by development, fought against the conservationists, who strove to extract valuable natural resources using methods that would ensure their continued supply into the future. Around the world, international organizations; federal, state, and provincial governments; and nongovernmental organizations have officially protected lands as wilderness areas. In many instances, the act of drawing boundaries around wilderness areas and, furthermore, defining who and what belongs within such spaces has raised considerable controversy.

In recent years, human geographers have argued that the evolving definition of wilderness is evidence that it is a social construct. This does not mean that wild places do not exist or that their ecological, aesthetic, and spiritual qualities are insignificant but, instead, that notions of wilderness are products of human cultures. Some scholars assert that few designated wilderness areas extant today were ever uninhabited; in many cases, indigenous peoples were removed from their lands to create a wilderness that fits a narrow definition. Others point out that wilderness has class, gendered, and racial dimensions. These ideas are vigorously contested, especially by those who are concerned that resource extraction, pollution, [Page 3099]and land development are threatening to permanently damage or even end fragile, irreplaceable, and ecologically important natural areas. For these advocates, the scientific community cannot afford scholarly debates over definitions that might further a political agenda to tamper with wilderness.

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, pictured here, is home to some of the most diverse and spectacular wildlife in the Arctic. The refuge's rich pageant of wildlife includes 36 fish species, 36 land mammals, 9 marine mammals, and more than 160 migratory and resident bird species.

Source: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.