National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Visitor and Resource Protection

Wilderness Stewardship Program

2011 Business Plan
Produced by 

Wilderness Stewardship Program 

In collaboration with

Business Management Group

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Washington, D.C.

Fall 2011

National Business Plan Process

The purpose of business planning in the National Park Service 

is to improve the ability of parks or national programs to clearly 

communicate their financial status and strategic priorities with 

principal stakeholders. A business plan answers such questions as: 

What is the business of this program? What are its priorities over the 

next five years? How will the program allocate its resources to achieve 

these goals? What can external stakeholders and partners do to 

support the program and its operations?

The National Park Service business planning process is undertaken 

to accomplish three main tasks. First, it provides the program with 

a synopsis of its funding history. Second, it presents a clear, detailed 

picture of the state of current program operations and funding. 

Finally, it outlines program priorities and strategies moving forward.

The framework of the business plan allows each program to highlight 

certain aspects of its operations deemed particularly important by 

the program’s management team. Program activities are organized 

into major initiatives that describe key areas of emphasis. This allows 

the program to report funding in terms of activities rather than 

fund source. As a result, the program can communicate its financial 

situation more clearly to external audiences.

Completing the business plan process not only enables a program to 

produce a powerful communication tool, but also provides program 

management with financial and operational baseline knowledge for 

future decision making.

National Park Service Mission

The National Park Service preserves unimpaired the natural and 

cultural resources and intrinsic values of the National Park System 

for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future 

generations. The National Park Service cooperates with partners to 

extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and 

outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.

2 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN
Wilderness Stewardship Program

2011 Business Plan

4 Division Chief’s Foreword

5 Executive Summary 

6 Introduction to Wilderness 

8 Structure of Wilderness Management 

11 Financial Statement

15 Program Priorities

27 Organizational Chart

28 Acknowledgments 

 

Evening light on McClures Beach, Phillip Burton 

Wilderness, Point Reyes National Seashore (opposite).

3 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN
Division Chief’s Foreword

4 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN

with a renewed sense of commitment to future 

generations. 

As we implement key aspects of the NPS 

Wilderness Stewardship Program, please stay 

involved. Clean water, wildlife habitat and 

inspiring landscapes are best protected in 

designated wilderness. It will take dedicated 

professionals, inspired partners and future 

stewards to keep wilderness alive.

I want to thank the Wilderness Leadership 

Council, the regional wilderness coordinators, 

the Business Management Group, and our 

Washington Office staff for the many hours of 

hard work in the preparation of this business 

plan.

We welcome your recommendations, feedback 

and assistance as we continue to provide for an 

enduring resource of wilderness.

Best Regards,

Garry Oye

Division Chief

Wilderness Stewardship

Fall 2011

In 1964, Congress formally recognized 

America’s desire to have wild landscapes 

preserved and protected for future 

generations. Today, over half of all National 

Park lands are designated as wilderness. 

The rugged, undeveloped American 

landscape played an integral role in shaping 

our nation’s emerging identity. Today, as 

our wild lands diminish and become rare, 

the value of these remaining wild places 

only increases. Wilderness provides a 

respite from modern civilization, where 

ecosystems and natural processes continue 

unhindered. These places provide 

opportunities to experience solitude, 

primitive recreation, and the majesty of our 

natural world. National Park wildernesses 

range from Zion to Yosemite to Shenandoah 

to Cumberland Island, and encompass a 

diversity of ecosystem types throughout 

the country. Over the years, park staff have 

done an excellent job of keeping the wild in 

wilderness; we are grateful for their efforts. 

Thank you for taking the time to review 

this business plan. The plan provides a 

quick overview of law and policy specific 

to wilderness, evaluates the current 

organizational structure and finances of 

the Wilderness Stewardship Program, and 

highlights our stewardship priorities for the 

next 3-5 years, including key indicators and 

milestones to measure our achievement. 

We recognize that the challenges and 

opportunities that we face today must be met 

Sunset highlights a saguaro cactus, Organ Pipe Cactus 

Wilderness.
Executive Summary

This business plan describes the current 

organizational and financial structure of 

the Wilderness Stewardship Program and 

provides insight into the program’s direction 

over the next five years, leading up to the 50th

Anniversary of the Wilderness Act in 2014. 

Data was drawn from accounting systems, 

interviews were conducted with employees 

at national parks and regional offices, and the 

Wilderness Leadership Council was consulted 

about specific steps to accomplish the goals.

Current Organizational and Financial 

Structure

The National Park Service (NPS) is responsible 

for 60 Congressionally designated wilderness 

areas, with an additional 45 national parks 

containing lands eligible for wilderness 

designation. The Wilderness Stewardship 

Program, a division of the Visitor and Resource 

Protection Directorate, provides park 

managers with the tools – training, planning, 

policy guidance – to help them manage these 

wilderness resources effectively. 

In fiscal year (FY) 2010, the program managed 

a budget of $728,000, with $474,000 coming 

from its operating allocation and the remainder 

coming from non-recurring project funds 

and special initiatives. Beyond its own staff, 

the program works closely with wilderness 

managers in parks, wilderness coordinators 

in each NPS regional office, the Wilderness 

Leadership Council, as well as the interagency 

Arthur Carhart Wilderness Training Center, 

and Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research 

Institute.

Priorities for the Future

The program identified five overarching 

priorities to guide its work leading up to 2014. 

Each priority has a list of the specific actions 

and ways to measure the program’s progress.

Increase the Role of Science in Wilderness 

Management

Sound management decisions rely on sound 

science. Wilderness stewardship requires 

objective, scientific knowledge as a baseline to 

direct management actions. 

Guide Parks through Formal Wilderness 

Stewardship Planning and Designation 

Processes

Formal wilderness stewardship planning 

provides park units with a decision framework 

and plan for consistent wilderness resource 

conservation. Congressional designation 

strengthens conservation of wilderness 

resources by changing protection from 

administrative protection to legal protection.

Strengthen Workforce Development

Knowledge of wilderness resource value, 

and the legal and ethical responsibilities 

associated with wilderness, gives managers the 

ability to implement appropriate wilderness 

stewardship objectives and raises awareness 

about the role of wilderness.

Reinforce Support for Park Wilderness 

Managers through Improved 

Communication

Wilderness managers at parks apply a set of 

national regulations and laws to their parks’ 

distinct situations. For consistent policy, 

communication between all levels of wilderness 

management is crucial.

Improve Connections with Partners

Internal and external communications build 

program capacity and increase the relevancy of 

wilderness.

5 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN

Spring brings out vibrant color, Organ Pipe Cactus 

Wilderness.
Introduction to Wilderness

Legal Mandate 

The Wilderness Act, signed in 1964, created 

the National Wilderness Preservation System 

(NWPS). Land designated by Congress 

as Wilderness must satisfy the qualities of 

wilderness character outlined by the Wilderness 

Act:

	The earth and its community of life are 

untrammeled by man, where humans are 

visitors and do not remain,

	The area is undeveloped and retains its 

primeval character and influence without 

permanent improvements or human habitation,

	The area generally appears to have 

been affected primarily by the forces of 

nature, with the imprint of humans’ work 

substantially unnoticeable,

	The area is protected and managed so as to 

preserve its natural conditions, and

	The area offers outstanding opportunities 

for solitude or a primitive and unconfined 

type of recreation.

Wilderness resources require special 

management attention to ensure that wilderness 

character is maintained to the degree and 

in the manner specified by Congress. In the 

National Park Service, the 2006 Management 

Policies and Director’s Order #41 clarify that 

wilderness lands – whether eligible, proposed, 

recommended, or designated – require 

wilderness management prescription beyond 

the mandates of the 1916 Organic Act and 1970 

General Authorities Act. These wilderness 

TERMINOLOGY

Designated wilderness: Land designated by 

Congress as wilderness. 

Recommended wilderness: A proposed wilderness area becomes “recommended wilderness” 

when the President submits his or her recommendation to Congress. The Presidential review 

follows a recommendation from the Secretary of 

the Interior.

Proposed wilderness: Eligible land that has 

been evaluated through a wilderness study – a 

formal public process – and proposed by the 

NPS for wilderness designation. Proposed 

wilderness is forwarded from the NPS Regional 

Director to the NPS Director, and then to the 

Secretary of the Interior.

Eligible wilderness: Land assessed and an 

initial determination made by the NPS that the 

lands fulfill the minimum criteria for inclusion 

in the National Wilderness Preservation System. 

These lands are eligible for further wilderness 

study. 

Potential wilderness: Land surrounded by or 

adjacent to lands proposed, recommended, or 

designated by Congress as wilderness that do 

not themselves qualify for immediate designation due to temporary nonconforming conditions, but would qualify if the condition was 

removed. Potential wilderness therefore can be 

a subset of proposed, recommended, or designated wilderness. 

6 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN

I believe we have a profound fundamental need 

for areas of the earth where we stand without 

our mechanisms that make us immediate masters 

over our environment.

- Howard Zahniser, principal author of 

the 1964 Wilderness Act

lands are held to the highest standard of natural, 

untrammeled, and undeveloped conditions and 

uphold the opportunity for solitude or primitive 

recreation. 
Wilderness Value

Although wilderness areas provide visitors 

the rare opportunity to enjoy solitude and 

primitive recreation, wilderness resources also 

have significant ecological value. Unmodified 

landscapes, managed to reduce the influence 

and impact of modern man, decrease stress on 

an ecosystem, significantly increasing ecosystem 

resilience. A more resilient ecosystem can 

absorb greater impacts, such as from climate 

change, yet continue to maintain function for a 

longer period of time. 

This in turn protects biodiversity, helps stabilize 

hydrologic response, allows more species to 

exist at the edge of their range, improves native 

species’ resistance to invasive species, and 

creates more areas that can act as refugia for 

displaced native species. 

Further, wilderness areas improve landscape 

connectivity due to their lack of development 

and high degree of protection, and can serve 

as a bridge and migration corridor between 

adjacent protected areas. 

83% of the National Park Service

The National Park Service is responsible for 

60 Congressionally designated wilderness 

areas covering 44 million acres, more acreage 

than any other agency. Forty-five national 

parks contain an additional 26 million acres 

found eligible, at minimum, for wilderness 

designation. Combined, this represents 

approximately 83% of the total acreage of the 

National Park Service.

7 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN

Marjory Stoneman Douglas Wilderness, Everglades 

National Park.

There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit 

of the wilderness that can reveal its mystery, 

its melancholy and its charm.

- Theodore Roosevelt

National Wilderness Preservation System

Designated Acreage by Agency 2011

Percent of All

Agency Wilderness Acres Wilderness Acres

National Park Service 43,890,590 40%

U.S. Forest Service 36,167,532 33%

Fish and Wildlife Service 20,702,488 19%

Bureau of Land Management 8,752,349 8%

Total 109,512,959 100%
Park Level 

Meeting the legal mandates for maintaining 

wilderness character starts at the park level. For 

example, rangers, often working in park Visitor 

and Resource Protection Divisions, patrol the 

wilderness to educate visitors, monitor for 

human impacts, conduct campsite restoration, 

and enforce regulations when necessary. Trail 

maintenance workers provide for visitor access 

to the wilderness areas by opening trails each 

season through removal of downed limbs and 

trees from trails, repairing water drainages, and 

installing trail signs that are compatible with 

surroundings.

Parks with wilderness units may have a 

wilderness manager. This employee helps train 

field personnel on how operations in wilderness 

can differ from operations in other parts of 

the national park. They also guide the park 

through management decisions to determine 

if a proposed park action is appropriate or 

necessary in wilderness and does not cause a 

significant impact to wilderness character, and 

if the selected techniques and equipment used 

minimize impacts on wilderness. Ultimately, 

the superintendent is the person accountable 

for wilderness stewardship in the park. 

Today, wilderness managers at national parks 

face complex issues: visitor uses ranging from 

commercial stock tours to tribal access; evolving 

natural resource threats from invasive species 

to climate change; preserving prehistoric and 

historic assets; monitoring conditions from 

air and water quality to soundscapes; and, 

balancing the untrammeled and undeveloped 

qualities that underlie wilderness character with 

the need for appropriate ecological stewardship, 

scientific research, and safety.

Regional Wilderness Coordinators

Regional wilderness coordinators serve as an 

information link between the national office 

and wilderness units. They also serve as the 

first source of guidance for parks and provide 

technical assistance when necessary. Staffing 

levels, though, vary from region to region. 

While the Intermountain and Alaska regions 

allocate funds for a dedicated position (at .8 and 

.5 full-time equivalent employees, respectively), 

the other regional offices have made the 

position a collateral duty, with less than .05 in 

full-time equivalent (FTE) staffing. 

National Wilderness Stewardship Program

The Wilderness Stewardship Program provides 

park managers with the tools to help them 

tackle those complex issues.

	Policy and Guidance. With park managers 

facing a complex and evolving set of 

issues, the national office strives to create 

consistency in park response by developing 

and updating policy guidance, and serving 

as an information resource for park units 

and staff.

	Planning. The national office assists 

parks in writing wilderness stewardship 

plans. These unit-level plans, which 

incorporate public involvement, articulate 

the wilderness values for an area, determine 

desired conditions, identify key indicators, 

Structure of Wilderness Management

A wilderness manager must balance visitor safety 

and access, impact from visitor use, and preservation 

of wilderness character in management decisions. 

A backcountry suspension bridge allows a visitor 

to safely cross Red Eagle Creek in Glacier National 

Park’s recommended wilderness. To reduce wildlife 

conflict, signage directs visitors to a proper food 

storage location in Wrangell-Saint Elias Wilderness.

8 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN
and stipulate management actions and 

strategies to achieve those conditions.

	Monitoring. While the National Park 

Service moves forward in quantitative 

evaluation of its programs - through 

Scorecard, Park Asset Management 

Plans, Archeological Sites Management 

Information Systems, etc., - NPS does not 

currently monitor wilderness conditions. 

The national office is working with parks 

to implement a monitoring program to 

establish baseline conditions at wilderness 

units and measure changes over time.

	Training. The program cultivates a more 

skilled workforce through training for 

park superintendents, park wilderness 

managers, and field staff, delivered by the 

Arthur Carhart Wilderness Training Center. 

Training opportunities include classroom 

training courses, wilderness unit training 

courses for field staff held on location at the 

park, and online courses.

	Information. The program connects and 

improves knowledge transfer among the 

workforce, scientists, educators, students 

and the public through ready access to a 

broad base of current and timely wilderness 

information on www.wilderness.net, 

a partnership with the Arthur Carhart 

Wilderness Training Center, Aldo Leopold 

Wilderness Research Institute, and the 

University of Montana.

	Education. The program communicates 

the relevancy of wilderness and engages 

the next generation of wilderness stewards 

Rangers perform a high-angle rescue in Yosemite Wilderness. 

Rangers require in-depth training and multiple skill sets to 

respond to emergencies in a manner that will continue to 

protect the integrity of wilderness resources yet provide for 

safety of staff and visitors.

9 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN

by outreach efforts to traditional and 

nontraditional audiences through the 

Arthur Carhart Wilderness Training Center.

The other major role of the Wilderness 

Stewardship Program is to work with outside 

partners. The national office provides 

leadership for wilderness ethics, coordinating 

with Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics. 

The program tracks wilderness legislation 

and responds to Congressional requests for 

information. They also coordinate with other 

federal agencies.

Wilderness Leadership Council

The Wilderness Leadership Council (WLC) 

of the National Park Service is comprised of 

superintendents and multidisciplinary staff 

from across the National Park System whose 

purpose is to 1) serve as an advisory body to 

the NPS Director on all matters pertaining to 

wilderness in the National Park System, and

2) enhance the ability of the agency to address 

critical wilderness stewardship issues. An 

objective of the WLC is to facilitate the 

understanding of wilderness stewardship as a 

core mission in which virtually all disciplines 

have important roles in wilderness stewardship 

efforts within the framework of the National 

Wilderness Preservation System. The council 

is a voluntary assignment that functions in 

concert with but independent to the Wilderness 

Stewardship Program.
10 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN

Current Wilderness Leadership Council 

initiatives include close communication with 

parks and regions on wilderness status issues. 

The council has promoted a communication 

strategy to increase wilderness designations 

and improve the completion of wilderness 

stewardship plans. The WLC is assisting with 

development and review of needed updates 

or modifications to Management Policies, and 

has provided specific advice for the revised 

Director’s Order #41 and Reference Manual 41. 

The WLC is also advancing a review to 

increase base funding for the Arthur Carhart 

Training Center and Aldo Leopold Wilderness 

Research Institute. Training has been identified 

by the Council as a key tool for developing 

knowledge about the Wilderness Act, and 

promoting excellence in wilderness managers. 

Further, a priority of the WLC is to advocate 

science-based decision making for all 

wilderness management decisions, especially 

in the areas of carrying capacity, minimum 

requirements determination, and climate 

change adaptability. The success of the WLC 

is the result of the strong dedication from the 

field-based members and advisors.

Right: Calm waters grace the Middle Islands, Isle Royale 

Wilderness.
Financial Statement

In FY* 2009, the National Park Service spent $468,000 at the national level and $188,000 at 

the regional level on wilderness management. These funds supported training, planning, and 

policy guidance for approximately $29 million of field work at national parks with designated, 

recommended, proposed, or eligible wilderness. 

Expenditures by the Wilderness Stewardship Program

In FY 2009, the Wilderness Stewardship Program spent $468,000, with 58% of its funding going 

towards personnel salary and benefits. All of its operations were financed out of operational 

base accounts. This total includes a portion of the NPS share of support for the Arthur Carhart 

Wilderness Training Center. 

11 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN

*Fiscal Year (FY): The year period over which the government keeps its financial records (FY 2009 spans October 1, 

2008, to September 30, 2009). Only charges incurred (not necessarily accrued) during the 12 months are included in 

accounting.

FY 2009 Expenditures

Wilderness Stewardship Program

Category Amount

Labor Costs $270,666

Travel $25,905

Supplies, Utilities, Equipment $16,739

Direct Funding for Carhart Operations 1

 $110,000

Contractual Services $44,691

Total Expenditures $468,000

Notes:

1. Salary for NPS employees at Carhart are included in Labor Costs.
Allocations to the national program office have remained constant over the last decade, ranging 

from a low in FY 2006 of $458,000 to a high in FY 2009 of $468,000. In FY 2010, the national 

program office received a base allocation of $473,000, but its activities were supplemented 

by funds from a variety of other sources including the NPS Planning Division, NPS Fire and 

Aviation Management Division, and the Youth Intern Program. Total expenditures by the 

national program office - from all of these fund sources – were $728,000 in FY 2010. 

Wilderness protects the source of many municipal 

watersheds. In Yosemite National Park, wilderness protects 

the high water quality of the Hetch Hetchy reservoir, the 

main water supply for 2.4 million people in the city of 

San Francisco and four surrounding Bay Area counties. 

Yosemite Wilderness also protects the source of the 

Merced River, a major water source for communities 

and agriculture in California’s Central Valley. Yosemite 

Wilderness, from top to bottom: Early spring run-off 

plummets over Bridal Veil Falls (photo courtesy of David 

Sibbet); moisture laden clouds roll up from the valley and 

over Taft Point; fall colors highlight a tranquil autumn 

stream in the backcountry. 12 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN

$0 

$50,000 

$100,000 

$150,000 

$200,000 

$250,000 

$300,000 

$350,000 

$400,000 

$450,000 

$500,000 

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Total

Labor

Travel

Supplies, Utilities, Equipment

Funding for Carhart Operations*

Contractual Services**

Wilderness Stewardship Program

Base Expenditure Trends by Category

Notes:

* Does not include salaries of NPS employees or other indirect support

** Includes transfers to other NPS accounts, including Wilderness Education and Intrepretation.
Expenditures by Regional Wilderness 

Coordinators 

Six out of the seven regions within the National Park 

Service contain parks with wilderness areas. The only 

region that does not have wilderness is the National 

Capitol Region, which encompasses park units within 

and immediately adjacent to Washington, DC. At each 

regional office, there is an employee assigned the role 

of regional wilderness coordinator. The coordinators 

are funded out of the regional office accounts. Labor 

expenditures were estimated by multiplying base salary 

and benefits by the amount of time spent on wilderness 

issues, based on a survey of regional wilderness 

coordinators.

Expenditures by the National Parks

Maintaining wilderness condition requires field level 

work, from visitor orientation to trail repair to campsite 

rehabilitation. The NPS accounting system tracks this 

work by issuing a code for each account that describes 

the general type of work that was performed with 

those funds. A list of the most common account codes 

associated with work in the wilderness was compiled, 

based on conversations with several wilderness 

managers at parks.1

 The FY 2009 expenditures for those 

account codes are grouped below for national parks 

with designated wilderness areas and national parks 

with eligible, proposed, or recommended wilderness 

areas.2

1

Protection: P2B, P3B, P7B, P8B, PXB, PYB, PZB, and V8P

Resources: N2B, N3B, N7B, N8B, NPB, NXB, NYB, and NZB

Trails: M2T, M7T, M8T, MAT, MCT, MTT, MWT, and MZT

2 While the accounting system does not perfectly align with the field work, it does approximate 

an alternate calculation of the servicewide total. The NPS Strategic Planning Office reports 

that the total FY 2009 expenditures that went towards GPRA goal 1a10 (Wilderness Condition) 

were approximately $22,291,000.

13 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN

FY 2009 Expenditures

by Regional Offices

Category Amount

Labor Costs $159,000

Non-Labor Costs $28,500

Total Expenditures $187,500

FY 2009 Expenditures

by Parks

Designated Eligible

Category Wilderness Parks Wilderness Parks 1 Total

Backcountry Protection 2 $4,712,000 $2,164,000 $6,876,000

Backcountry Resources 3 $959,000 $883,000 $1,842,000

Trails Maintenance 4 $12,203,000 $8,088,000 $20,291,000

Total $17,874,000 $11,135,000 $29,009,000

Notes:

1. Includes parks with eligible, proposed, and recommended wilderness.

2. Includes visitor orientation and permitting.

3. Some Resources work that benefitted wilderness conditions might have been billed to a nonbackcountry account, so this could be an under-estimate.

4. Accounts do not differentiate between frontcountry and backcountry trail maintenance, so this is an 

over-estimate. 
Expenditures by Federal Agencies

The National Park Service is one of four federal land management agencies who manage 

designated wilderness. The table below compares the expenditures by each agency. Both the 

U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management spend more on wilderness as measured 

by the acre, or as a percent of the total agency budget. Figures for both agencies come from their 

annual budget requests to Congress, which itemize their expenditures on maintaining or returning 

wilderness condition.

Wilderness areas may transcend agency boundaries, 

requiring joint stewardship and interagency 

collaboration. Devils Postpile National Monument 

(top) shares the Ansel Adams Wilderness with the 

Sierra and Inyo national forests; Great Sand Dunes 

National Park and Preserve shares the Sangre de 

Cristo Wilderness (bottom) with the San Isabel and 

Rio Grande national forests.

14 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN

FY 2009 Expenditures

by Agency

 Total FY 2009

Wilderness Acres of Dollars Per Agency Budget Authority 2 % of Agency

Agency Expenditures 1 Wilderness Acre (in Billions) Budget

NPS $17,874,000 43,536,647 $0.41 $3.7 0.49%

USFS $45,456,000 35,479,099 $1.28 $7.0 0.65%

FWS Not Available 3 20,702,350 Not Available $2.7 Not available

BLM $13,528,000 7,796,842 $1.74 $1.6 0.86%

Notes:

1. All figures are for Designated Wilderness only.

2. Includes funds received from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 as well as Congressionally 

appropriated and recreation fee fund sources.

3. FWS expenditures were not broken out into wilderness management.

4. Sources: NPS - AFS3 expenditures; FY 2011 Greenbook

USFS - FY 2011 Budget Justification

BLM - FY 2011 Budget Justification
Program Priorities

This section of the business plan describes in detail the five overarching priorities the Wilderness 

Stewardship Program identified to guide its work leading up to 2014, the 50th Anniversary of the 

Wilderness Act. The five priorities are:

Within each section, the supporting goals of each priority are presented, including the specific 

actions to be undertaken in the next three to five years, and ways to measure the program’s success. 

Further, each action item is notated with the level of funding currently available to expend on the 

action, if no functional increase in operational funds occurs. 

Together, these priorities seek to advance the presence of national wilderness leadership in the 

National Park Service, improve stewardship of wilderness resources, and better support field 

operations and workforce development. 

Increase the

role of science

in wilderness

management

Guide parks

through

the formal

wilderness

stewardship

planning and

designation

process

Strengthen

workforce

development

Reinforce

support for

park wilderness

managers

through

improved

communication

Improve

connections

with partners

Left to right: A ranger collects scientific data on the 

rim of Crater Lake, Crater Lake National Park 

recommended wilderness. Planning staff discuss 

Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers planning 

documents in Gates of the Arctic Wilderness. Two 

backcountry rangers review a campsite evaluation 

form during field training in Glacier National Park’s 

recommended wilderness. A park hydrologist explains 

the removal of an earthen dam and area restoration to 

the Wilderness Leadership Council and the Associate 

Director of Visitor and Resource Protection in the 

Phillip Burton Wilderness, Point Reyes National 

Seashore. Garry Oye, the Division Chief of Wilderness 

Stewardship, and Rick Obernesser, Deputy Chief of Law 

Enforcement, Security, and Emergency Services, with a 

member of the Chilean National Park Service during an 

international knowledge exchange at Torres del Paine 

National Park, Chile. 

15 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN
Priority: Increase the Role of Science in 

Wilderness Management

Sound management decisions rely on sound science. 

Appropriate wilderness stewardship requires 

objective, scientific knowledge as a baseline to direct 

management actions. The Wilderness Stewardship 

Program outlines the following actions to improve 

the scientific foundation of wilderness management. 

Establish Wilderness Character as a 

Cornerstone of Wilderness Stewardship

Planned Action: 

The 1964 Wilderness Act requires the preservation 

of wilderness character. As defined by Landres et 

al [2008] in Keeping it Wild, Wilderness Character is 

composed of four universal qualities: untrammeled, 

undeveloped, natural, and with opportunities for 

solitude or a primitive form of recreation. Although 

wilderness stewardship entails the preservation of 

wilderness character, most wilderness park units 

do not track the trend or condition of wilderness 

character, and management actions are not weighed 

against the overall impact to wilderness character.

The Wilderness Stewardship Program created 

the Wilderness Character Integration Team 

(WCIT) to develop and implement a framework to 

establish wilderness character as the cornerstone 

of wilderness stewardship, in order to improve the 

quality, consistency, understanding of, and scientific 

underpinning of wilderness stewardship. (Partially 

Funded, starting FY 2010)

Success Metric:

The program will assemble the field-based, 

interdisciplinary Wilderness Character Integration 

Team (WCIT) by FY 2010. In conjunction with 

WCIT, develop a 2 year work plan to implement 

wilderness character integration, with defined goals, 

action items, and timeline by early FY 2011.

Establish Wilderness Character Baseline 

Assessments

Planned Action:

To conserve wilderness character, parks must first 

understand the type and condition of wilderness 

character found within its wilderness areas. The 

Wilderness Stewardship Program, in coordination 

with the Wilderness Character Integration Team, 

will work with park units to assess character and 

establish an initial wilderness character baseline. 

(Partially Funded, starting FY 2011)

Success Metric:

100% of parks with designated wilderness will 

complete a wilderness character baseline assessment 

by the end of FY 2014.

Planned Action:

To understand the effects of management decisions 

on wilderness character and adapt management 

actions accordingly, wilderness character must be 

monitored to evaluate condition status and trend. 

Together, the program and WCIT will work with 

parks to implement monitoring plans at the park unit 

level. (Partially Funded, starting FY 2011)

Success Metric: 

100% of parks with designated wilderness will 

initiate wilderness character monitoring by the end 

of FY 2015.

Planned Action:

The program and WCIT will develop baseline 

assessment and monitoring tools, such as a 

wilderness character database template, and provide 

assistance to parks in their use. (Partially Funded, 

starting FY 2010)

Success Metric:

A database template for wilderness character 

monitoring will be created by FY 2011, a data steward 

How often we speak of the great silences of the wilderness 

and of the importance of preserving them and the wonder 

and peace to be found there. When I think of them, I see 

lakes and rivers of the North, the muskegs and expanses 

of tundra, the barren lands beyond all roads. I see the 

mountain ranges of the West and the high, rolling ridges 

of the Appalachians. I picture the deserts of the Southwest 

and their brilliant panoramas of color, the impenetrable 

swamplands of the South. They will always be there and 

their beauty may not change, but should their silences be 

broken, they will never be the same.

- Sigurd F. Olson, American author, 

environmentalist, and advocate for 

the protection of wilderness

16 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN

Gates of the Artic Wilderness (photo courtesy of Clint Talley).
assigned by FY 2012, and a yearly Servicewide 

database roll-up will be started by end of FY 2014.

Develop Climate Change Adaptation Strategy 

for Wilderness 

Planned Action: 

Wilderness areas, as large tracts of unmodified 

land, will play a major role in ecosystem response 

to climate change. The Wilderness Stewardship 

Program will coordinate efforts with the National 

Park Service Climate Change Program to engage 

in the development of Servicewide climate change 

science, policy, adaptation, and communication 

response. (Partially Funded, starting FY 2010)

Success Metric:

At least one wilderness representative will serve on 

climate change working groups, coordinated by the 

Climate Change Program, by the end of FY 2011.

Planned Action: 

Work with the Wilderness Character 

Implementation Team to develop a framework 

to preliminarily address climate change from 

the wilderness character perspective, such as 

conducting scenario planning through the lens of 

wilderness character impacts and wilderness policy 

requirements. (Partially Funded, starting FY 2011)

Success Metric:

Complete framework by end of FY 2012.

Planned Action:

The program will integrate climate change 

considerations into park level Wilderness 

Stewardship plans. (Funded, starting FY 2011)

Success Metric: 

Any new planning document incorporating 

wilderness stewardship will address climate change 

response. 

Planned Action:

Conduct geospatial analysis to identify which eligible 

and proposed wilderness areas are the best anchors 

for climate change adaptation (e.g., the greatest value 

to landscape connectivity, biodiversity protection, 

and wildlife corridors), and prioritize these areas 

in the wilderness designation process for future 

Congressional action. (Partially Funded, FY 2010)

Success Metric:

Produce geospatial maps with analysis results for at 

least one region, and compile a list of the top two 

wilderness designation priorities per region, based 

on results. Based on these prioritization measures 

and in coordination with the Wilderness Leadership 

Council, the program will get one wilderness 

area per region fully up to date in the designation 

process requirements and ready to be designated by 

Congress by 2013. 

Distribute Scientific Information to Managers

Planned Action:

To address the application of science to wilderness 

stewardship and demonstrate the breadth of 

scientific disciplines that guide effective wilderness 

management, the Wilderness Stewardship Program 

will author a wilderness-specific edition of Park 

Science. (Funded, starting FY 2010)

Success Metric:

Publish a wilderness-specific edition of Park Science 

by FY 2012.

Planned Action: 

To improve accessibility of scientific information, 

the program will coordinate with the Aldo Leopold 

Wilderness Research Institute to develop annotated 

bibliographies to synthesize research on particular 

issues relevant to wilderness and distribute them to 

park managers. (Unfunded)

A ranger talks about resources in Everglades 

National Park, framed by a satellite photo of the 

area (top). Sea level rise from climate change may 

have significant impacts on the Everglades ecosystem, 

including the Everglades’ Marjory Stoneman 

Douglas Wilderness, the largest wilderness area 

east of the Rocky Mountains. 60% of the park is at 

less than 3 feet above mean sea level. Great Egrets 

(bottom) are one of the many bird species that make 

their home in the Everglades, where wading bird 

colonies have already shrunk by 90%.

17 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN
Success Metric:

Post, at minimum, two annotated bibliographies on 

the NPS intranet (InsideNPS) wilderness webpage 

per year until the list is complete. 

Planned Action:

The program will actively pursue dialog with the 

Science Advisor to the Director, and the Associate 

Director for Natural Resources, on how to improve 

science-based decision making within wilderness 

management. (Unfunded)

Success Metric:

Meet at least once per year with the Science Advisor 

to the Director. Bring the Science Advisor to a 

Wilderness Leadership Council (WLC) meeting 

at least once every 2 years, and maintain a seat on 

the WLC for the Associate Director of Natural 

Resources. 

Priority: Guide Parks through Formal 

Wilderness Stewardship Planning and 

Designation Processes

Formal wilderness stewardship planning provides 

park units with a strategic plan and decision 

framework for consistent, well-considered 

wilderness resource conservation. Congressional 

designation of wilderness strengthens conservation 

of wilderness resources by changing wilderness 

protection from administrative protection to legal 

protection, a much stronger guarantee of protection. 

Stewardship planning and Congressional designation 

are both necessary to ensure adequate, longterm conservation of wilderness resources. The 

Wilderness Stewardship Program outlines below the 

actions it will take to conserve wilderness resource 

for future generations.

Implement Wilderness Fellows Program

Planned Action:

Only 25 out of 60 NPS wilderness areas have formal 

planning documents that address stewardship of 

wilderness resources. The Wilderness Fellows 

Program provides graduate student interns to 

parks to help incorporate wilderness stewardship 

considerations into park planning documents, such 

as wilderness stewardship plans or backcountry 

management plans. Fellows are also involved in 

wilderness character assessment. The Wilderness 

Stewardship Program will develop and maintain a 

4-7 student Wilderness Fellows Program each year. 

(Funded for FY 2010, Unfunded in future years) 

Success Metric:

The number of NPS wilderness areas that initiate a 

process to include specific wilderness stewardship 

plans in a relevant park planning document or 

a stand-alone Wilderness Stewardship Plan will 

increase by 20% each year.

Support Parks through the Wilderness 

Designation Process

Planned Action:

Although the 1964 Wilderness Act mandated the 

National Park Service to evaluate the possible 

wilderness suitability of its lands, NPS still has 

areas that have not yet been formally assessed 

for wilderness resources. To address this gap 

in compliance, the program will finish formal 

assessment of NPS lands in order to complete 

identification of eligible wilderness areas. (Partially 

Funded, starting FY 2010)

Success Metric:

100% of eligibility assessments completed by 

FY 2014. 

Recommended wilderness, Capitol Reef National Park.

18 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN

The great purpose is to set aside a reaonable part of the 

vanishing wilderness, to make certain that generations of 

Americans yet unborn will know what it is to experience 

life on undeveloped, unoccupied land in the same form 

and character as the Creator who fashioned it... It is a 

great spiritual experience. I never knew a man who took a 

bedroll onto an Idaho mountainside and slept there under 

a star-studded summer sky who felt self-important the next 

morning. Unless we preserve some opportunity for future 

generations to have the same experience, we shall have 

dishonored our trust.

- Senator Frank Church, floor sponsor of the 

1964 Wilderness Act
Planned Action:

The Wilderness Stewardship Program will work to:

1. Complete formal wilderness studies on eligible 

wilderness to create proposed wilderness area 

determinations.

2. Complete agency and federal review steps to 

move proposed wilderness to recommended 

wilderness status. 

3. Facilitate, where possible, the transformation 

of recommended wilderness to designated 

Wilderness. (Partially Funded)

Success Metric:

Initiate two to three formal wilderness studies on 

eligible wilderness per year. Complete a workload 

analysis, then develop and implement a strategic 

plan to move proposed wilderness areas to 

recommended wilderness status in order to clear 

the backlog of unfinished proposals. 

Planned Action:

Congressional designation of wilderness entails 

fulfillment of specific legal requirements, such as 

official delineation and mapping of designated 

wilderness boundaries. The program will work 

with park units to facilitate timely submittal of 

these legal requirements. (Unfunded) 

Success Metric:

100% of newly designated Wilderness areas will 

complete legal boundary requirements within 18 

months of designation. The program will work 

with park units to fully identify the backlog of 

incomplete legal boundary requirements for 

National Park Service wilderness areas designated 

before 2009, and then decrease this backlog by 

50% by 2014. 

Priority: Strengthen Workforce 

Development

Knowledge of wilderness resource value, and the 

legal and ethical responsibilities associated with 

wilderness, gives managers the ability to implement 

appropriate wilderness stewardship objectives and 

raises awareness about the role of wilderness in 

the National Park System. A significant number 

of National Park Service employees have received 

either minimal or no formal wilderness education or 

stewardship training.

Expand Reach of Training Opportunities

Planned Action:

The Program will increase national, regional, and 

park level upper management awareness of and 

participation in national and regional Wilderness 

Stewardship Training courses. (Partially Funded)

Success Metric:

By 2014, increase by 50% the number of managers 

who have attended a Wilderness Stewardship 

Training course. 

Planned Action:

Park staff need basic wilderness understanding 

to effectively steward wilderness resources. The 

program, in collaboration with the Arthur Carhart 

Wilderness Training Center, will conduct unit 

wilderness workshops at individual wilderness 

parks, tailored to their specific needs. (Partially 

Funded)

Success Metric:

By FY 2014, increase by 25% the number of parks 

that have received unit workshops within the last 5 

years. Decrease by 50% the number of wilderness 

parks that have never received a unit wilderness 

workshop. 

Top to bottom: Eligible wilderness, Big Cypress 

National Preserve. Recommended wilderness, Crater 

Lake National Park. Recommended wilderness, 

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

19 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN
By FY 2013, train and deploy four to six individuals 

to serve as unit workshop lead instructors, as a 

collateral duty responsibility. 

Planned Action:

Work with the Arthur Carhart Wilderness Training 

Center to increase the number of Carhart online 

courses. (Unfunded)

Success Metric:

Increase the number of online courses and online 

participants by 50% over the next 5 years.

Coordinate Internal and External Training

Planned Action:

Interact and coordinate with other NPS training staff 

and programs, such as Fundamentals and the New 

Superintendent Academy, to educate employees 

system-wide about the relationship of wilderness to 

the overall NPS mission. (Partially Funded)

Success Metric:

By 2014, work with the Learning and Development 

Office and NPS training centers to incorporate 

wilderness messages into two Servicewide training 

programs.

Planned Action:

Tie wilderness training sessions in with field 

implementation of other program priorities, such as 

Wilderness Character Monitoring. (Partially Funded, 

starting FY 2011)

Success Metric:

Conduct at least three trainings per year that 

combine unit wilderness workshops with parkspecific training for program initiatives.

Establish a Young Professional Recruitment 

Program

Planned Action:

To foster wilderness understanding, relevancy, 

diversity, and workforce continuity, the program 

will implement a recruitment program targeted to 

students and young professionals, consisting of 1) 

an undergraduate level youth intern program in the 

national Washington, DC office, 2) a graduate level 

Wilderness Fellows program dispersed across park 

units; and 3) a career, entry level young professional 

intake program. (Partially Funded, starting FY 2010)

Success Metric:

Draft a program charter, identify and fill staff 

capacity needs, and delineate staff responsibilities 

by FY 2011. Identify potential sources and secure 

sustainable funding by FY 2013. Hire at least two 

national office summer interns each year. Place at 

least four Fellows at park units each year. Facilitate 

career-conditional NPS employment for at least one 

new wilderness professional a year. 

Create Professional Standards for Employees 

Working in Wilderness

Planned Action:

Position descriptions formalize responsibility and 

accountability for an incumbent. For positions that 

encompass wilderness stewardship responsibilities, 

the program will work with the Arthur Carhart 

Wilderness Training Center to establish wilderness 

core competencies as the professional standard 

on which to base position descriptions. (Funded, 

starting FY 2010)

Success Metric:

The Arthur Carhart Wilderness Training Center will 

work with the Office of Personnel Management to 

establish required core competencies at each level of 

Top to bottom: Glacier National Park backcountry 

rangers receive wilderness training in the field. 2010 

Wilderness Stewardship Division Program interns 

and Steve Shackelton, Associate Director of Visitor 

and Resource Protection, in front of the Albert 

Einstein sculpture in Washington, DC.

20 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN
wilderness management responsibility, by the close 

of FY 2012. 

Planned Action:

Consistent wilderness stewardship at a park 

unit relies on educated park leadership. The 

program will work to require wilderness training 

for superintendents and deputies at parks with 

designated wilderness. (Partially Funded, starting 

FY 2011). 

Success Metric:

95% of superintendents and deputies of parks 

with designated wilderness will have attended a 

Wilderness Training Course by FY 2014. 

Planned Action:

Conversely, effective implementation of management 

directive relies on educated park staff. The program 

will encourage all park units with wilderness 

resources to self-conduct wilderness workshops for 

all employees, volunteers, and partners on a cyclic 

basis. (Unfunded) 

Success Metric:

By 2014, 25% of parks with wilderness resources selfconduct in-park training about wilderness values 

and responsibilities on a cyclic basis.

Priority: Reinforce Support for Park 

Wilderness Managers through Improved 

Communication

Wilderness managers at national parks apply a set of 

national regulations and laws to their parks’ distinct 

situations. For consistent policy, communication 

between all levels of wilderness management is 

crucial. The Wilderness Stewardship Program has 

identified the following actions to improve the lines 

of communication.

Update Official Guidance

Planned Action:

One of the key documents on the bookshelves of 

park wilderness managers is Director’s Order #41 

and its accompanying Reference Manual 41. Now 

over 10 years old, the Director’s Order does not 

cover issues – such as climate change and wilderness 

character monitoring – that are relevant for current 

and future National Park Service management. The 

Director’s Order will be updated, and the Reference 

Manual will be transitioned to an online resource 

that will receive ongoing revision to reflect current 

information. (Funded, starting FY 2010)

Success Metric:

Updated Director’s Order #41 released and an 

adaptive, online Reference Manual, with relevant 

library of resource links, posted on InsideNPS and 

www.wilderness.net by the close of FY 2011. 

Planned Action:

In addition to the Director’s Order, emerging or 

complex topics are often covered by white papers 

that are issued by the Wilderness Leadership 

Council and/or the Wilderness Stewardship 

Program. Starting in FY 2011, the Wilderness 

Stewardship Program will survey park wilderness 

managers to find out which specific topics should be 

tackled next. (Funded, starting FY 2011)

Success Metric:

Guidance priority list developed and updated 

biennially; 1-2 new or revised papers completed each 

year. 

All in a day’s work: crossing a rushing stream in 

Grand Canyon National Park’s recommended 

wilderness (top); listening for grizzly bear radio collar 

signals using telemetry equipment to further scientific 

understanding, Glacier National Park recommended 

wilderness (bottom).

21 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN
Improve Communication Structure

Planned Action:

The Wilderness Stewardship Program will retool 

the internal NPS wilderness website to provide 

intuitively located, up-to-date information about 

training, policy, and education opportunities 

(Funded, starting FY 2010).

Success Metric:

New website structure released by FY 2011 with 

quarterly updates and all major website categories 

populated with relevant information by 

FY 2012. 100% wilderness manager knowledge of 

InsideNPS webpage, 100% use as a reference and 

resource of wilderness information. 

Planned Action:

Promote the use of connect.wilderness.net for 

peer-to-peer dialog and wilderness.net as a 

source of interagency wilderness information 

and wilderness management resources. (Funded, 

continuing FY 2011). Strategic communication, 

both in content and delivery, is essential for 

effective transfer and solid understanding 

of information. The program will develop a 

wilderness communication plan to improve its 

ability to effectively engage and educate internal 

and external partners. (Unfunded)

Success Metric:

100% wilderness manager and wilderness 

superintendent knowledge of the www.wilderness.

net. The program will work to secure funds to 

engage an outside contractor to help develop a 

Wilderness Stewardship Program communication 

plan, with completion by 2014. 

Increase the Role of Regional Wilderness 

Coordinators 

Planned Action:

Regional wilderness coordinators serve as an 

information link between the national office 

and park units. When park managers look for 

policy guidance or technical assistance, the first 

contact person should be the regional wilderness 

coordinator. Staffing levels, though, vary across 

regions: only two regional coordinators are able to 

spend more than 25% of their time on wilderness 

issues. As a result, parks are often left to informal 

and inefficient methods for answering their 

questions. Securing additional funding – either from 

an increase to the national office budget or from 

an increase from the regional offices – would allow 

these positions to convert from what are generally 

collateral duties to more substantive resources for 

parks. Additional communication with the National 

Leadership Council and upper management, in 

order to provide information about the Wilderness 

Stewardship Program and the strategic business 

plan, is necessary to garner support to increase 

participation at the regional office level. (Partially 

Funded by Regional Office)

Success Metric:

A minimum of a 0.5 FTE employee dedicated as a 

regional wilderness coordinator in each NPS region. 

Wilderness areas encompass a huge range of 

ecosystems. Pictured above, from top to bottom: 

Saguaro Wilderness; Cumberland Island Wilderness; 

Great Smoky Mountains recommended wilderness.

22 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN
Database Management

Planned Action:

Information about wilderness units in the National 

Park Service is located in a variety of isolated 

spots. A centralized database would contain basic 

information on wilderness units: acreage, current 

wilderness status, legislative history, and current 

contact information, for example. The database 

would also be used to track lawsuits, pending 

legislation, and the planning process. (Partially 

Funded)

Success Metric:

Database structure developed and 100% of basic 

wilderness information accuracy assessed and 

entered by close of FY 2012. 25% of training, policy, 

other additional information entered each year; 

database will be fully populated by FY 2014. 

Priority: Improve Connections with 

Partners

Internal and external connections build program 

capacity and increase understanding of relevancy. 

Identified below are actions the Wilderness 

Stewardship Program will take to increase 

connections with internal and external partners, and 

build relevancy with general public. 

Increase Collaboration with Other NPS 

Divisions and Directorates

Planned Action:

Collaborating with other divisions and directorates 

will help increase the relevancy of wilderness as an 

essential component of the overall stewardship of 

park units. Collaboration will include, but is not 

limited to: 

•	 Fire and Aviation Management Division – 

Increase coordination of fire management and 

wilderness stewardship.

•	 Planning Division – Pursue opportunities to 

integrate wilderness stewardship planning 

in park planning documents such as general 

management plans.

•	 Natural Resources Directorate – Improve 

scientific understanding of issues that affect 

wilderness, build communication between 

scientists and managers, and collaborate to 

develop and integrate a wilderness character 

monitoring system. 

•	 Cultural Resources Directorate – Update 

and clarify guidance on management of 

cultural resources in wilderness and increase 

understanding of the value of cultural resources 

in wilderness. 

•	 Interpretation and Education Directorate – 

Pursue opportunities to integrate wilderness 

messages in outreach and education materials. 

•	 Public Health Division – Actively engage in the 

multidisciplinary One Health and Healthy Parks 

Healthy People initiatives to increase National 

Park relevancy and improve public health. 

•	 Learning and Development – Coordinate and 

integrate training course content development 

with Learning and Development (Funded).

Success Metric:

In the next 3 years, increase by 50% the amount of 

wilderness staff time devoted to work with nonwilderness divisions and external partners. 

Improve Communication

Planned Action:

To increase understanding of the Wilderness 

Stewardship Program’s activities and demonstrate 

accountability, the program will produce an 

annual report to review the previous year’s 

accomplishments and update future actions, based 

on business plan goals. (Funded)

Wilderness areas provide sanctuary for wildlife 

by conserving large tracts of land, helping prevent 

habitat fragmentation, and decreasing stress caused 

by modern human pressures. Top to bottom: 

Northwestern salamander, Olympic Wilderness; 

Grizzly Bear and Sockeye Salmon, Katmai 

Wilderness; Ferruginous Pygmy Owl fledglings, 

Organ Pipe Cactus Wilderness. 23 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN
Success Metric:

An annual report will be produced each March.

Planned Action:

Awareness and appreciation of the National 

Park Service role in wilderness conservation is 

dependent on accessible public information. 

The program will provide relevant information 

about wilderness and the role of the National 

Park Service on the public NPS website, and 

will continue to leverage funds with the other 

wilderness managing agencies to support 

Wilderness.net. (Partially Funded)

Success Metric:

The external NPS website will be overhauled 

and updated by the 50th Anniversary of the 

Wilderness Stewardship Act in 2014, with a goal 

of a 20% increase in website hits within a year 

of completion. Wilderness.net will maintain or 

improve the average yearly number of website hits. 

Planned Action:

Assist parks in developing wilderness pages on 

park websites. (Unfunded)

Success Metric:

20% increase per year in wilderness specific pages 

on park websites for parks that contain wilderness.

Planned Action:

To increase relevancy and engage youth, the 

program will work to leverage funds through the 

Arthur Carhart Wilderness Training Center to 

modernize the interdisciplinary K-8 Wilderness 

and Land Ethic Curriculum. Specifically, Carhart 

will update curriculum interactivity, ensure 

lessons meet academic standards, enhance 

delivery through a blend of classroom and webbased experiences, and introduce students to a 

conservation career through virtual electronic 

field trips. This will also include conversion of the 

Wilderness Views interactive online education site 

from a classic format into a Flash-based interface 

to more effectively engage and communicate with 

today’s diverse English and Spanish-speaking youth. 

(Unfunded)

Success Metric:

Carhart’s goal will be to obtain at least a 25% 

increase in K-8 curriculum use within 2 years of the 

curriculum modernization. 

Planned Action:

The program will explore multi-media and 

social media outreach mediums to educate about 

wilderness value and the National Park Service role 

in wilderness preservation. (Funded, FY 2010)

Success Metric:

By the close of FY 2010, the program will develop 

a 3-minute high definition outreach video to 

emphasize wilderness value. In FY 2011, the video 

will be posted on the public National Park Service 

website and distributed to park units with wilderness 

resources in FY 2011. The program will incorporate 

at least one type of social outreach medium in the 

public National Park Service wilderness website by 

2014. 

Planned Action:

The 50th Anniversary of the 1964 Wilderness Act is 

an excellent opportunity to highlight National Park 

Service wilderness accomplishments and increase 

awareness of wilderness value. The program will 

coordinate with other agencies and external partners 

to celebrate the anniversary and use it as an outreach 

medium. (Partially Funded, starting FY 2011)

Success Metric:

The percentage of wilderness staff time devoted to 

the Wilderness Act 50th Anniversary activities will 

increase each year, peaking at 10% in FY 2014. 

Two children take a closer look at the natural world, Spirit 

Mountain Wilderness, Lake Mead National Recreation Area. 

24 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN
Stabilize Wilderness Leadership Council 

Funding

Planned Action:

The Wilderness Leadership Council (WLC) 

serves as an advisory body to the Director and the 

Wilderness Stewardship Program, and provides a 

forum for collaborative, multi-discipline, grass-roots 

service initiatives. To assist the continued viability of 

the WLC, the program will work to provide stable 

funding to cover travel and facilitation for WLC.

(Unfunded)

Success Metric:

A travel and facilitation account established with a 

stable funding source identified through 2020. 

Provide Guidance for International Agencies

Planned Action:

To further international leadership in wilderness and 

conservation management, the program will provide 

wilderness management expertise and improve 

collaboration with emerging and established 

international governmental conservation agencies. 

(Partially Funded)

Success Metric:

Engage in two international technical assistance 

trips per year, and collaborate with the International 

Affairs Program to assist with 5-7 international 

delegation presentations per year. National, 

regional, and park staff all contribute to this metric. 

Maintain Levels of Interagency Cooperation

Planned Action:

The program will continue to foster and improve 

interagency wilderness management relationships 

through committee participation and knowledge 

sharing, and will invite additional collaboration 

opportunities where feasible. (Funded)

Success Metric:

Continue participation in the Wilderness Policy 

Council and the Interagency Wilderness Steering 

Committee with a minimum of 90% attendance. 

Engage Non-government Organizations (NGOs) 

and Universities

Planned Action:

The program will continue to provide avenues 

for coordination with nonprofit organizations 

and universities in order to expand the breadth 

of influence and improve effective capacity for 

initiatives. (Partially Funded)

Success Metric:

Create volunteer opportunities through the 

National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance by FY 

2013. Collaborate with Duke University and Yale 

University to complete at least three Master’s Thesis 

Projects by 2014. 

Planned Action:

Stewardship of wilderness requires visitor 

stewardship as well as park stewardship. The 

program is a longstanding partner with the Leave No 

Trace (LNT) Center for Outdoor Ethics. A National 

Park Service representative from the Wilderness 

Stewardship Program serves as a non-voting board 

member and attends one LNT Board of Director’s 

Meeting annually. The program will continue to 

strengthen the LNT partnership, promote LNT 

education within the National Park Service, and 

provide national leadership in wilderness ethics. 

(Partially Funded)

Jon Jarvis, Director of the National Park Service, 

with other North American leaders at World 

Wilderness Congress, November 2009 in Merida, 

Mexico (top) (photo courtesy of Michael Olwyler).

University students conduct scientific research 

under the guidance of NPS staff, Great Sand Dunes 

Wilderness (bottom).

25 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN
Success Metric:

By FY 2012, each National Park Service region 

will have a designated outdoor ethics coordinator. 

Coordinators will participate in a monthly 

conference call and attend a yearly meeting.

Planned Action:

The program will continue to engage universities in 

wilderness stewardship related projects. (Funded)

Success Metric:

Over the next 5 years, expand by 10% the number 

of collaborative initiatives the program is engaged 

in with non-governmental organizations and/or 

universities. 

Right: Fall erupts in a blaze of color, Shenandoah Wilderness. 

26 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN
Organizational Chart

Many of the actions listed in the program’s priorities are listed as partially funded. The 

extent to which the program can meet the success metrics depends on staffing and funding 

constraints. For example, in order to have every park unit with designated Wilderness 

implement wilderness character monitoring by 2014, an additional employee would need to 

spend half of his/her time on the project. 

Proposed Organizational Structure

With the five overarching priorities in mind, the program sketched out the organizational 

structure required to fully accomplish all of the proposed actions by the 50th Anniversary of 

the Wilderness Act.

27 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN

Division Chief

Program Analyst Administrative Assistant

Deputy Chief

Branch Chief

Training and Development

Branch Chief

Wilderness Science

Branch Chief

Wilderness Planning

Natural Resource Specialist 

Wilderness Character and 

Planning

Natural Resource Specialist

Science and Data Management

Natural Resource Specialist 

Communication and Outreach

Western Wilderness 

Coordinator

Eastern Wilderness 

Coordinator

Existing Program Budget

Proposed Increase in FY 2012

Proposed Increase in FY 2013

Proposed Increase (beyond FY 2013)

Petroglyphs are a significant cultural resource protected in 

the Saguaro Wilderness.
Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the following people for 

their generous help and support. Without all of 

their efforts, this business plan would not have 

been possible:

National Wilderness Stewardship Program:

Tim Devine, National Wilderness Training

 Program Manager

Erin Drake, Communications Intern

Garry Oye, Division Chief

Ryan Scavo, Program Assistant

Wade Vagias, Natural Resource Specialist

Regional Wilderness Coordinators:

Judy Alderson, Alaska Region (previous), Retired

Mike Bilecki, Northeast Region, Chief of

 Resources Management, Fire Island National

 Seashore

Chris Holbeck, Midwest Region, Natural

 Resource Program Manager

Mark Kinzer, Southeast Region, Environmental

 Protection Specialist

Adrienne Lindholm, Alaska Region, Wilderness

 Coordinator

Alan Schmierer, Pacific West Region,

 Environmental Coordinator 

Suzy Stutzman, Intermountain Region,

 Wilderness Coordinator

Sandra Washington, Midwest Region (previous),

 Chief of Planning and Compliance

Wilderness Leadership Council:

Sean McGuinness, Wilderness Leadership

 Council Chair; Superintendent, Upper

 Delaware Scenic and Recreational River

National Park Service:

Jessica Bowron, Budget Analyst, National

 Interagency Fire Center

Jason Gibson, Management Analyst, Business

 Management Group

David Harrington, Deputy Comptroller, National

 Budget Office

Lena McDowall, National Program Manager,

 Business Management Group

Anne O’Dell, Budget Technician, National Budget

 Office

Sonya Rowe, Program Analyst, Visitor and

 Resource Protection

Debee Schwarz, Technical Writer, Visitor and

 Resource Protection

Steve Shackelton, Associate Director, Visitor and

 Resource Protection

Bruce Sheaffer, National Park Service

 Comptroller

Wilderness Stewardship Program Business 

Plan Authors:

Ashley Adams, Natural Resource Specialist,

 Wilderness Stewardship Division, National Park

 Service

Chris Clatterbuck, Management Analyst, 

 Business Management Group, National Park

 Service

Additional Thanks To:

The staff of the Visitor and Resource Protection 

Directorate, and all of the field staff in wilderness 

operations. 

Photography: NPS Photos (unless otherwise 

indicated).

Front and Back Covers: Sunrise on Mount Rockwell 

and Sinopah Mountain, viewed from Cobalt Lake. 

Glacier National Park recommended wilderness.

28 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN

Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are 

beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going 

home; that wilderness is a necessity, that mountain parks and 

reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and 

irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.

- John Muir, American naturalist, author, and early 

advocate of the preservation of wilderness.

Kobuk Valley Wilderness.
Wilderness

Designated Wilderness

Wilderness Name Park Unit Name State Year

Ansel Adams Wilderness Devils Postpile National Monument CA 1964

Badlands Wilderness Badlands National Park SD 1976

Bandelier Wilderness Bandelier National Monument NM 1976

Beaver Basin Wilderness Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore MI 2009

Black Canyon of the Gunnison Wilderness Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park CO 1976

Black Canyon Wilderness Lake Mead National Recreation Area NV 2002

Bridge Canyon Wilderness Lake Mead National Recreation Area NV 2002

Buffalo National River Wilderness Buffalo National River AR 1978

Carlsbad Caverns Wilderness Carlsbad Caverns National Park NM 1978

Chiricahua National Monument Wilderness Chiricahua National Monument AZ 1976

Congaree National Park Wilderness Congaree National Park SC 1988

Craters of the Moon National Wilderness Area Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve ID 1970

Cumberland Island Wilderness Cumberland Island National Seashore GA 1982

Death Valley Wilderness Death Valley National Park CA/NV 1994

Denali Wilderness Denali National Park & Preserve AK 1980

Eldorado Wilderness Lake Mead National Recreation Area NV 2002

Gates of the Arctic Wilderness Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve AK 1980

Gaylord Nelson Wilderness Apostle Island National Lakeshore WI 2004

Glacier Bay Wilderness Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve AK 1980

Great Sand Dunes Wilderness Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve CO 1976

Guadalupe Mountains Wilderness Guadalupe Mountains National Park TX 1978

Gulf Islands Wilderness Gulf Islands National Seashore MS 1978

Haleakala Wilderness Haleakala National Park HI 1976

Hawaii Volcanoes Wilderness Hawaii Volcanoes National Park HI 1978

Indian Peaks Wilderness Rocky Mountain National Park CO 1978

Ireteba Peaks Wilderness Lake Mead National Recreation Area NV 2002

Isle Royale Wilderness Isle Royale National Park MI 1976

Jimbilnan Wilderness Lake Mead National Recreation Area NV 2002

John Krebs Wilderness Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks CA 2009

Joshua Tree Wilderness Joshua Tree National Park CA 1976

Katmai Wilderness Katmai National Park & Preserve AK 1980

Kobuk Valley Wilderness Kobuk Valley National Park AK 1980

Lake Clark Wilderness Lake Clark National Park & Preserve AK 1980

Lassen Volcanic Wilderness Lassen Volcanic National Park CA 1972

Lava Beds Wilderness Lava Beds National Monument CA 1972

Marjory Stoneman Douglas Wilderness Everglades National Park FL 1978

Mesa Verde Wilderness Mesa Verde National Park CO 1976

Mojave Wilderness Mojave National Preserve CA 1994

Mount Rainier Wilderness Mount Rainer National Park WA 1988

Muddy Mountains Wilderness Lake Mead National Recreation Area NV 2002

Nellis Wash Wilderness Lake Mead National Recreation Area NV 2002

Noatak Wilderness Noatak National Preserve AK 1980

Olympic Wilderness Olympic National Park WA 1988

Organ Pipe Cactus Wilderness Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument AZ 1978

Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness Fire Island National Seashore NY 1980

Petrified Forest National Wilderness Area Petrified Forest National Park AZ 1970

29 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN

High summer on Aialik Bay, Kenai Fjords eligible wilderness 

(photo courtesy of John Pritz).
Wilderness Name Park Unit Name State Year

Phillip Burton Wilderness Point Reyes National Seashore CA 1976

Pinnacles Wilderness Pinnacles National Monument CA 1976

Pinto Valley Wilderness Lake Mead National Recreation Area NV 2002

Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness Rocky Mountain National Park CO 2009

Saguaro Wilderness Saguaro National Park AZ 1976

Sangre de Cristo Wilderness Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve CO 1993

Sequoia-Kings Canyon Wilderness Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks CA 1984

Shenandoah Wilderness Shenandoah National Park VA 1976

Spirit Mountain Wilderness Lake Mead National Recreation Area NV 2002

Stephen Mather Wilderness North Cascades National Park WA 1988

Theodore Roosevelt Wilderness Theodore Roosevelt National Park ND 1978

Wrangell-Saint Elias Wilderness Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve AK 1980

Yosemite Wilderness Yosemite National Park CA 1984

Zion Wilderness Zion National Park UT 2009

Recommended Wilderness* Park Unit State

Arches National Park UT

Assateague Island National Seashore MD

Big Bend National Park TX

Bryce Canyon National Park UT

Canyonlands National Park UT

Capitol Reef National Park UT

Cedar Breaks National Monument UT

Colorado National Monument CO

Crater Lake National Park OR

Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve ID

Cumberland Gap National Historic Park KY

Dinosaur National Monument CO

El Malpais National Monument NM

Glacier National Park MT

Grand Teton National Park WY

Great Smoky Mountains National Park TN

Yellowstone National Park WY

Zion National Park UT

Proposed Wilderness* Park Unit State

Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area MT

Cape Lookout National Seashore NC

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area AZ

Grand Canyon National Park AZ

Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve CO

Lake Mead National Recreation Area AZ/NV

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore MI

Voyageurs National Park MN

* A park unit can have designated wilderness within its boundaries, yet still have sections of land at different stages in the pre-designation 

process.

Eligible Wilderness* Park Unit State

Aniakchak National Monument & Preserve AK

Bering Land Bridge National Preserve AK

Big Bend National Park TX

Big Cypress National Preserve FL

Cape Krusenstern National Monument AK

Chaco Culture National Historic Park NM

Channel Islands National Park CA

Denali National Park & Preserve AK

Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve AK

Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve AK

Guadalupe Mountains National Park TX

Katmai National Park & Preserve AK

Kenai Fjords National Park AK

Kobuk Valley National Park AK

Lake Clark National Park & Preserve AK

Natural Bridges National Monument UT

Noatak National Preserve AK

Saguaro National Park AZ

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve AK

Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve AK

30 WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP BUSINESS PLAN

(Opposite) Storm clouds over Eureka Dunes, Death Valley Wilderness (photo courtesy of Jane Cipra).

Cumulous clouds drift over Zion Wilderness, newly 

designated in 2009.

Wilderness Stewardship Program

1201 I Street NW

Washington, D.C. 20005

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Visitor and Resource Protection