National Wilderness Preservation System
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A system of federally protected lands designated as
“wilderness” according to the Wilderness Act of 1964
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Managed by a four different federal public lands
agencies
o United States Forest Service
o National Park Service
o Fish and Wildlife Service
o Bureau of Land Management
Clifty Wilderness
Mission Statements and Objectives of Federal Lands Management Agencies
USFS (Department of Agriculture)
• Mission: The mission of the USDA Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the
Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations.
• Motto: Caring for the Land and Serving People
o The phrase, "CARING FOR THE LAND AND SERVING PEOPLE," captures the Forest Service mission. As set
forth in law, the mission is to achieve quality land management under the sustainable multiple-use
management concept to meet the diverse needs of people: It includes:
 Advocating a conservation ethic in promoting the health, productivity, diversity, and beauty of
forests and associated lands.
 Listening to people and responding to their diverse needs in making decisions.
 Protecting and managing the National Forests and Grasslands so they best demonstrate the
sustainable multiple-use management concept.
 Providing technical and financial assistance to State and private forest landowners, encouraging
them to practice good stewardship and quality land management in meeting their specific
objectives.
 Providing technical and financial assistance to cities and communities to improve their natural
environment by planting trees and caring for their forests.
 Providing international technical assistance and scientific exchanges to sustain and enhance
global resources and to encourage quality land management.
 Helping States and communities to wisely use the forests to promote rural economic
development and a quality rural environment.
 Developing and providing scientific and technical knowledge aimed at improving our capability
to protect, manage, and use forests and rangelands.
 Providing work, training, and education to the unemployed, underemployed, elderly, youth, and
disadvantaged in pursuit of our mission.
• Vision
o We are recognized nationally and internationally as a leader in caring for the land and serving people.
o We are a multicultural and diverse organization.
o Employees work in a caring and nurturing environment where leadership is shared.
o All employees are respected, accepted, and appreciated for their unique and important contribution to
the mission.
o The work is interesting, challenging, rewarding, and fun -- more than just a job!
National Wilderness Preservation System
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o We are an efficient and productive organization that excels in achieving its mission.
o Responsibility and accountability for excellence are shared by employees and partners.
o The American people can count on the Forest Service to perform.
Guiding Principles
o To realize our mission and vision, we follow these 13 guiding principles:
1. We use an ecological approach to the multiple-use management of the National Forests and
Grasslands.
2. We use the best scientific knowledge in making decisions and select the most appropriate
technologies in the management of resources.
3. We are good neighbors who respect private property rights.
4. We strive for quality and excellence in everything we do and are sensitive to the effects of our
decisions on people and resources.
5. We strive to meet the needs of our customers in fair, friendly, and open ways.
6. We form partnerships to achieve shared goals.
7. We promote grassroots participation in our decisions and activities.
8. We value and trust one another and share leadership.
9. We value a multicultural organization as essential to our success.
10. We maintain high professional and ethical standards.
11. We are responsible and accountable for what we do.
12. We recognize and accept that some conflict is natural and we strive to deal with it
professionally.
13. We follow laws, regulations, executive direction, and congressional intent.
NPS (Department of Interior)
• Mission: "...to promote and regulate the use of the...national parks...which purpose is to conserve the scenery
and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in
such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."
(National Park Service Organic Act, 16 U.S.C.1.)
• The National park Service preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national
park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The Park Service
cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor
recreation throughout this country and the world.
• To achieve this mission, the National Park Service adheres to the following guiding principles:
1. Excellent Service: Providing the best possible service to park visitors and partners.
2. Productive Partnerships: Collaborating with federal, state, tribal, and local governments, private
organizations, and businesses to work toward common goals.
3. Citizen Involvement: Providing opportunities for citizens to participate in the decisions and actions of
the National Park Service.
4. Heritage Education: Educating park visitors and the general public about their history and common
heritage.
5. Outstanding Employees: Empowering a diverse workforce committed to excellence, integrity, and
quality work.
6. Employee Development: Providing developmental opportunities and training so employees have the ,
"tools to do the job" safely and efficiently.
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National Wilderness Preservation System
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7. Wise Decisions: Integrating social, economic, environmental, and ethical considerations into the decision
-making process.
8. Effective Management: Instilling a performance management philosophy that fosters creativity, focuses
on results, and requires accountability at all levels.
9. Research and Technology: Incorporating research findings and new technologies to improve work
practices, products, and services.
10. Shared Capabilities: Sharing technical information and expertise with public and private land managers.
On August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the act creating the National Park Service, a new federal
bureau in the Department of the Interior responsible for protecting the 40 national parks and monuments then
in existence and those yet to be established.
This "Organic Act" of August 25, 1916, states that "the Service thus established shall promote and regulate the
use of Federal areas known as national parks, monuments and reservations . . . by such means and measures as
conform to the fundamental purpose of the said parks, monuments and reservations, which purpose is to
conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the
enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of
future generations."
The National Park Service still strives to meet those original goals, while filling many other roles as well: guardian
of our diverse cultural and recreational resources; environmental advocate; world leader in the parks and
preservation community; and pioneer in the drive to protect America's open space.
The National Park System of the United States comprises 384 areas covering more than 83 million acres in 49
States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Saipan, and the Virgin Islands. These areas
are of such national significance as to justify special recognition and protection in accordance with various acts
of Congress.
By Act of March 1, 1872, Congress established Yellowstone National Park in the Territories of Montana and
Wyoming "as a public park or pleasuring ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people" and placed it
"under exclusive control of the Secretary of the Interior." The founding of Yellowstone National Park began a
worldwide national park movement. Today more than 100 nations contain some 1,200 national parks or
equivalent preserves.
In the years following the establishment of Yellowstone, the United States authorized additional national parks
and monuments, most of them carved from the federal lands of the West. These, also, were administered by the
Department of the Interior, while other monuments and natural and historical areas were administered as
separate units by the War Department and the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture. No single
agency provided unified management of the varied federal parklands.
An Executive Order in 1933 transferred 63 national monuments and military sites from the Forest Service and
the War Department to the National Park Service. This action was a major step in the development of today's
truly national system of parks—a system that includes areas of historical as well as scenic and scientific
importance.
Congress declared in the General Authorities Act of 1970 "that the National Park System, which began with the
establishment of Yellowstone National Park in 1872, has since grown to include superlative natural, historic, and
recreation areas in every region ... and that it is the purpose of this Act to include all such areas in the System...."
Additions to the National Park System are now generally made through acts of Congress, and national parks can
be created only through such acts. But the President has authority, under the Antiquities Act of 1906, to
proclaim national monuments on lands already under federal jurisdiction. The Secretary of the Interior is usually
asked by Congress for recommendations on proposed additions to the System. The Secretary is counseled by the
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National Wilderness Preservation System
National Park System Advisory Board, composed of private citizens, which advises on possible additions to the
System and policies for its management.
FWS (Department of Interior)
• The mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System is to work with others, to conserve, protect and enhance
fish, wildlife, and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.
• Objectives
1. Assist in the development and application of an environmental stewardship ethic for our society, based
on ecological principles, scientific knowledge of fish and wildlife, and a sense of moral responsibility.
2. Guide the conservation, development, and management of the Nation's fish and wildlife resources.
3. Administer a national program to provide the public opportunities to understand, appreciate, and wisely
use fish and wildlife resources.
• Functions. Here are a few of the ways we try to meet our mission:
o Enforce Federal wildlife laws,
o protect endangered species,
o manage migratory birds,
o restore nationally significant fisheries,
o conserve and restore wildlife habitat such as wetlands,
o help foreign governments with their international conservation efforts, and
o through our Federal Aid program, distribute hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and
hunting equipment to State fish and wildlife agencies.
BLM (Department of Interior)
• It is the mission of the Bureau of Land Management to sustain the health, diversity and productivity of the public
lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.
• The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is responsible for managing 258 million acres of land--about one-eighth
of the land in the United States--and approximately 700 million acres of subsurface mineral resources.
• Most of the lands the BLM manages are located in the western United States, including Alaska, and are
dominated by extensive grasslands, forests, high mountains, arctic tundra, and deserts. The BLM manages a
wide variety of resources and uses, including energy and minerals; timber; forage; wild horse and burro
populations; fish and wildlife habitat; wilderness areas; archaeological, paleontological, and historical sites; and
other natural heritage values.
• The Bureau of Land Management administers public lands within a framework of numerous laws. The most
comprehensive of these is the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA). All Bureau policies,
procedures and management actions must be consistent with FLPMA and the other laws that govern use of the
public lands.
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