Wilderness, The Last Frontier

Though it’s not assured of success, there’s an effort under way to see nearly 720,000 acres in Big Bend National Park in Texas designated as wilderness. While the park was established more than 80 years ago, in 1944, much of it remains a raw landscape of geologic faults and volcanic underpinnings rich in palentological resources and boasting a cultural history that stretches back roughly 10,000 years to when Paleo-Indians made their life there. There are untrammeled forests and mountains, places that retain their primeval character and influence and which are essentially without permanent improvement or modern human occupation.

Working to see a wilderness designation bestowed on this land is Keep Big Bend Wild, which has worked since 2021 to revive a wilderness recommendation the National Park Service made in 1978. Keep Big Bend Wild is a charter member of the newly formed National Wilderness Coalition, a group working to advance the cause of wilderness preservation in Congress.

“Congress does not, at least these days, have any real strong wilderness champions in it, which is one of the reasons this new national wilderness coalition is starting up trying to change that,” says Bob Krumenaker, who served as Big Bend’s superintendent until retiring in 2023.

Read the full article at https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2025/01/wilderness-last-frontier