CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

In order to assure that an increasing population, accompanied by expanding settlement and mechanization, does not occupy and modify all areas within the United States and its possessions, leaving no lands designated for preservation and protection in their natural condition, it is hereby declared to be the policy of the Congress to secure for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness. (The Wilderness Act, 1964, p. 1)


Context of the Problem

Only a small percentage of the American population has ever experienced a night in a wilderness, away from the lights and sounds of civilization. I have been one of the lucky ones, having spent dozens of nights in a sleeping bag next to a stream, or in dry desert wash, or on the side of a 14,000-foot peak. The peace and beauty of the wilderness provide a rejuvenation of the spirit that has kept me going back again and again. But the more I go to the wilderness, the more I see the changes: the deeper ruts in the trails, the proliferation of blackened campfire circles, the increasing number of visible signs of human contact. There are other changes not visible to the human eye: the effects on wildlife as their habitats are encroached upon more and more, and the pollution of the once-pristine water sources, requiring that water be filtered in order to drink it.

The San Gorgonio Wilderness is literally in my back yard–I live one-half mile from the popular Vivian Creek Trailhead. Thousands of hikers go up that trail every summer, and I have seen the signs of their passing: discarded cans and bottles, food wrappers, cigarette butts, and pieces of broken camping gear. A century ago prospectors came into the San Gorgonio Wilderness, leaving behind the remnants of a water flume and rusted mining equipment. In the centuries before the prospectors, the Cahuilla Indians lived here, though little evidence remains of their impact. The future will see even more visitors–the number of people who backpack and hike has grown tremendously. Surrounded on three sides by roads, and within an hour’s drive of several million people, the San Gorgonio is practically an island of wilderness in a sea of humanity. This humanity will continue to encroach on the foothills surrounding the wilderness, and I believe it is only the rules written by Congress in establishing the wilderness that will ensure its future.

I spent the summer of 2005 working as a volunteer ranger for the San Gorgonio Wilderness Association. In addition to spending several days along the heavily-traveled South Fork Trail, I helped staff the Big Falls Station near the Vivian Creek Trailhead. While many of the visitors I encountered were experienced and knowledgeable, I met an equal number of people who have never been to the wilderness, have never hiked a trail alongside a clear mountain stream, and were new to the concept of leaving civilization behind for the wilderness experience. I learned that when given explanations for regulations, or shown damage caused by failure to heed those regulations, people are much more willing to obey them. Wilderness managers can make rules and regulations regarding wilderness usage–they can limit numbers of hikers, size of parties, length of stay, and other such restrictions, but it is only through educating the visitors about the reasons for those regulations that there can be any expectation of compliance, or any expectation that the people who come to the wilderness will also be its protectors. The ultimate goal for this project is to show not only that it is important to protect, manage, and restore the wilderness, but that it cannot be done without providing the public a foundation for understanding the necessity of wilderness.

Organization of the Project

The first section of this paper discusses the history of humans in the San Gorgonio Wilderness, from the first visitors, the Cahuillas and Serranos, who inhabited the lower elevations of the San Bernardino Mountains, to the present-day visitors, the hikers and backpackers. This history includes the physical impacts made on the wilderness by centuries of human visitation, such as water flumes, buildings, and survey markers. Since many of the marks made upon the wilderness are in conflict with the definition of wilderness, it has become necessary to address the human impact in order to both restore and maintain the character of the wilderness.

Early leaders of the wilderness movement, men like John Muir, Aldo Leopold, Arthur Carhart, and Robert Marshall, were concerned mainly with the setting aside of pristine lands as wilderness; their focus was on designation and protection. During that time, few people came to the San Gorgonio Wilderness. In the last 50 years, use of the wilderness by hikers and campers has exploded, along with the physical impacts of the increased visitation and the booming growth of the population around the wilderness boundaries. An entire industry has been built around the wilderness experience, necessitating a shift in focus from designation and protection to management. As more and more visitors come to the San Gorgonio Wilderness, its very nature as a wilderness is threatened. The overused campsites will continue to deteriorate and the trails will continue to be used by hundreds of hikers each week, who leave behind their footprints, their trash, and their waste. Therefore, Chapter Four describes the activities of various organizations and agencies in attempting to mitigate the human impact. Numerous changes have been made both physical and regulatory, that have either restored the wilderness or lessened the impact made upon it.

Chapter Five discusses predictions and recommendations for the future of the wilderness and what it will take for it to retain the qualities that make it special. In addition to careful regulatory and physical management, environmental education will play a crucial role in the future of the wilderness. The outreach efforts of the institutions which have regulatory oversight must include educating the visitors who utilize the wilderness and who can assist in its management.