North Dakota Wilderness and Regions of the Mind
Steve, a charter member, has served on the board and continues to write for the newsletter from time to time.
North Dakota Wilderness and Regions of the Mind (2001)
by Dr. Stephen L. Robbins, Associate Professor of English Dickinson State University
In 1999, the United States Forest Service's requirement to review and revise its management plans for the Dakota Prairie Grasslands sparked into life not only a controversy about politics and range management but also once again questions about wilderness in the Little Missouri National Grasslands. Should the Forest Service recommend wilderness areas for the grasslands? What is wilderness? What value, if any, does wilderness contain? Is wilderness important to the state? What would be the effects of wilderness areas on the economics of the region?
Before citizens can address these and similar questions, first they need to understand the language of various national wilderness acts that define wilderness and some of the other federal directives that preceded the United States Forest Service's final Northern Great Plains Management Plans Revision, for these national acts and federal mandates have defined much of the controversy in the grasslands over wilderness areas and wilderness values.