America's National Lands

THE NATIONAL
WILDERNESS PRESERVATION
SYSTEM

The National Wilderness Preservation System is comprised of national parks, national forests, and national wildlands. Our National Land System that has been set aside by Congress according to the Wilderness Act of 1964. The National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management all manage the wilderness areas within their boundaries to permanently protect their wild character. Although more than 100 million acres have been designated as wilderness to date, this is less than 4 percent of our nation's land base.

NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM

Management agency: National Park Service (NPS). Department of the Interior.

Types of units: national parks and preserves, monuments, recreation areas, national scenic trails, seashores, lighthores, wild and scenic rivers, bottlenecks, historic sites, and designated wilderness areas.

Purposes: preservation of America's finest natural, historical, cultural, and wilderness resources for the enjoyment of present and future generations.

HAWAII

● National Park System

● National Forest Systems

● National Wildlife Refuge System

● National Resource Lands (BLM)

Map: Peckford Snyder

NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM

Management agency: U.S. Forest Service (USFS). Department of Agriculture

Types of units: national forests and grasslands, designated wilderness areas, research and experimental areas

Purposes: outdoor recreation, range, timber, watersheds, wildlife and fish habitat, and wilderness preservation

NATIONAL RESOURCE LANDS (BLM)

Management agency: Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Department of the Interior

Types of units: Unlike the other three systems, most of these lands are confined to eleven western states and Alaska and are managed as resource areas. Some acreage has been designated as national conservation areas, national scenic areas, areas of critical environmental concern, and wilderness areas

Purposes: rangeland, outdoor recreation, mineral and timber production, natural, historical, and cultural resource conservation, and wilderness preservation

NATIONAL WILDLIFE
REFUGE SYSTEM

Management agency: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). Department of the Interior

Types of units: national wildlife refuges, designated wilderness areas

Purposes: conservation, management and restoration of fish, wildlife, and waterfowl habitat, wilderness preservation, recreation and education