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Wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own worksdominate the landscape, isan area where the earth and its community of lifeare untrammeled by man, where man is a visitor who does not remain.(Wilderness Act of 1964, paragraph 2c). On September 3, 1964, President

Lyndon Johnson signed the Wilderness Act into law. Fifty years later, this Actcontinues to protect large ecosystems like the Craters of the Moon Wildernessnow and forever.

The process of initiating and passing the Wilderness Act took 8 years. In 1956Howard Zahniser, the executive secretary of the Wilderness Society, wrote thefirst draft. Hubert Humphrey, the Senator from Minnesota, introduced the draft tothe US Senate in 1956. In 1961 Frank Church, the Senator from Idaho, becamethe floor manager for the Wilderness Act. He argued that the great purpose is toset aside a reasonable part of the vanishing wilderness, to make certain thatgenerations of Americans yet unborn will know what it is to experience life onundeveloped, unoccupied land Through their collective vision, 757 wildernessareas are now protected throughout the United States and adjoining territories.They provide peace and solitude to visitors and a scientific laboratory for outdoorresearch.

In 1969, Senator Frank Church introduced legislation for the Craters of the MoonWilderness Area by describing the Monuments astonishing moon-like beauty, abeauty with relevance to the nation. He feared that the Apollo moon landingwould lure thousands more tourists to the Monument and jeopardize itswilderness quality. (CRMO Administrative History Ch. 4: WildernessEstablishment). The Craters of the Moon National Wilderness Area bill waspassed by congress in 1970 and subsequently signed into law by PresidentNixon making it the first area in the National Park System to receive thisdesignation. 43,243 acres of the original 53,420-acre Monument, or 81% of theoriginal Monument, received this special designation. This established aprecedent for other National Park areas. Today the National Park Serviceprotects 60 Wilderness Areas in 49 sites totaling 43,890,368 acres.

The Craters of the Moon Wilderness Area protects outstanding basaltic volcanicfeatures of the Great Rift including lava flows, kipukas, cinder cones, cindergardens, and tree molds. It is a wonderful place to view plants and animals in apeaceful solitary setting. When I first visited the Craters of the Moon Wilderness

Area, on the wilderness trail, the silence and stark unearthly beauty of thelandscape amazed me. As I hiked, I saw others who were also enjoying thesame tranquil peace as they ventured out for the day or for an overnighter inEcho Crater.

Take a second to think about what the Wilderness Act means to you. Put onyour hiking boots and experience the Wilderness. Thanks to the far-sightedvision of Frank Church, and others who helped create and pass the Wilderness

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Act, my fellow hikers and I will always have the opportunity to experience peaceand solitude in the Craters of the Moon Wilderness.