Plans to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of The National Wilderness Preservation Act of 1964 are moving ahead.  A steering committee has been established and a new logo has been designed that will be used to help promote a variety of commemorative activities being planned later this year at college campuses and other venues across New York State this year.

The Wilderness Act’s chief author, Howard Zahniser, took his inspiration from New York’s “forever wild” constitutional protection of the Adirondack and Catskill Forest Preserve. That constitutional protection also has its 120th anniversary this year (1894-2014). Zahniser wrote that New York State set the example for the national Wilderness movement.

A New York State Wilderness 50th steering committee has been established comprised of  the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, the State University College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Adirondack Wild, and the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government. Committee members are visiting colleges to encourage activities which engage each campus in dialogue and demonstration about what wilderness preservation and stewardship mean today. The goal is to encourage younger leaders to engage in thoughtful appreciation, care and stewardship of wild lands.

More information about the Wilderness 50th celebration can be found at  www.adirondackwild.org.  New York events will also be posted on the national website, www.wilderness50th.org.