David Spildie - Leopold Institute
History of the Wilderness map
In January 1987, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) published a map (38077-BK-NA-05M-00) of the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) as part of their hard copy National Atlas Program. That map has never been updated by the USGS. In 1989, The Wilderness Society produced a poster-sized map of the NWPS in celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act. The map was very well received but, by 1998, it was no longer available. In response to demand, the map was updated in 1998 to celebrate the 35th Anniversary. This map was converted to a digital format and is shown on this website.
Development of the Wilderness map with collaborators
In 1998, a collaborative agreement was reached between the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute, the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center (ACNWTC), The Wilderness Society, and Trails Illustrated, a subsidiary of National Geographic Maps to update and publish the NWPS map. The basic design of the 1989 map was retained and Wilderness information was added to the front to provide general information about the NWPS. Dave Spildie, of the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute (ALWRI), provided oversight for data development, design, and production. Shane Matthews, Trails Illustrated, was the lead cartographer. Connie Myers (ACNWTC) and Jerry Greenberg of The Wilderness Society provided design oversight and production planning. All four collaborators reviewed and edited the map.
From the outset, a close working relationship between representatives of the four organizations was critical. Trails Illustrated typically publishes topographic maps of parks, monuments, and wildernesses. They were not accustomed to producing poster-type maps that presented mapped features in conjunction with collar information explaining the subject matter. While the 25th Anniversary map served as a suitable template, the map committee proposed many changes to enhance the appearance and information content of the map.
A copy of the 1989 map was sent to Shane to act as a template for the new map. Content for the text, explaining the tenets of Wilderness, were drafted and reviewed. Due to the addition of many small Wildernesses since the production of the 1989 map, a technique was devised to clearly portray them in their correct geographic location. A table was created to enumerate the Wildernesses under 20,000 acres in size. A sharper shaded-relief background was designed to enhance the overall appearance of the map. This continuing design evolution and collaboration was essential to completing the final map product.
Thousands of acres of new Wilderness have been added to the NWPS since publication of the 1989 map. The locations and geographic extent of these new areas were compiled in ArcINFO by Dave Spildie and then sent to Shane as raw data or as printed boundaries. The acreage totals and accompanying administrative information also needed to be updated on the back of the map, which showed the names, acreages, and administrative units of each Wilderness (Landres and Meyer, 2000). The transmission of these data was essential to finalizing the map content by date of publication.
To facilitate publication of the final map in early 2000, it was agreed that no new data would be accepted past December, 1999. Communigraphics of Denver, Colorado printed 75,000 copies of the map in early 2000 and they were distributed among the collaborators.
The 40th Anniversary Wilderness map in 2004
ALWRI, ACNWTC, and the USGS will publish an updated Wilderness map in 2004. This will coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. The USGS published a Wilderness map in 1987, and also serves the digital data for the NWPS on their National Atlas website. Dave Spildie of ALWRI, is the project supervisor and will oversee design and development of the map. The final product will be a standardized, 1:5,000,000 scale USGS National Atlas map. Cooperators on the 35th anniversary map are providing support and a variety of summits and celebrations are being planned to herald the 40th anniversary. A new map in 2004 is a fitting publication to support this Wilderness milestone.
- References
Landres, Peter and Meyer, Shannon, 2000. National Wilderness Preservation System Database:
- Key Attributes and Trends, 1964 Through 1999. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-GTR-18-Revised Edition, Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rocky Mountain Research Station, 98 p.
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