The United States has more than 100 million acres of land managed as wilderness and most of it is concentrated in the West. Conservationists worry that a Trump administration review of land management rules could threaten these wild places.
The Wilderness Act of 1964 protects lands like Idaho’s Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, the largest contiguous wilderness in the lower 48 states. It’s a roadless stretch of mountains, forest and steaming natural hot springs where elk, moose and wolves roam.
Once you enter the Frank Church wilderness, you can wander for days without ever hitting a road or human habitation. On a recent summer day there, the only sounds were birdsong and the gurgling of a trout-filled creek.
The Wilderness Act of 1964 states that wilderness areas are where “man himself is a visitor who does not remain.” They are meant to be preserved as close to their natural state as possible. Little, beyond hiking trails, is allowed, and anything mechanized is forbidden.
And many more areas around the country could become wilderness like this. They’re called wilderness study areas.
Back in July, the Department of the Interior opened a 60-day public comment period on the manuals governing how the study areas are managed. They are managed as wilderness but need a vote from Congress to make permanent the same protection as the Frank Church.
Former Bureau of Land Management Director Tracy Stone-Manning notes that the news of the review of study areas was tucked into a press release that led with a review of rock climbing rules on public lands.
“This comment period, to me, feels like a Trojan horse, [in] that in rides this question that says, ‘tell us what you think,’ and the administration is going to find excuses to then open up these wildlands to spoil them forever,” she said.
Stone-Manning, who served in the Biden Administration, is now the president of the Wilderness Society, a leading national conservation group. She is particularly worried about the possibility of motorized vehicles, like ATVs, being allowed into areas with wilderness protections.
“People go to seek solace in these places, and by opening up the potential for motorized recreation in these places, in addition to all the other places that have motorized recreation, we are taking away all of the last truly wild, quiet places,” she said.
In early August, 10 Democratic senators sent a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, opposing the review.
“Given this Administration’s obsession with development and disposal of public lands, it seems clear that this comment period is really just a ploy to weaken protections for public lands,” the letter reads, in part.
Department officials did not respond to requests for comment for this story, and it’s unclear what, if any, changes his department is considering.
But in a press release on opening the manuals to public comment, Burgum says: “Under President Trump’s leadership, Interior is focused on expanding outdoor recreation opportunities, removing unnecessary barriers to access and use and managing public lands in a way that benefits the American people.”
The review of wilderness study areas is the latest of several moves by the Trump Administration to alarm conservationists. It goes on the list with the administration’s layoffs of National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service employees and efforts to overturn the so-called roadless rules that prevent development in some of America’s most pristine places.
Many wilderness areas and wilderness study areas contain sites of historical and sacred significance to Native American tribes. Tribes also often have hunting and fishing rights guaranteed by treaties with the federal government.
Lytle Denny, natural resources deputy director for the Shoshone Bannock Tribes in southern Idaho, says the Trump administration has done a poor job of including tribes in land management decisions.
“I would say in general we're frustrated with this administration and their consistent attack on our federal public lands for tribes,” he said.
Denny said the Tribe will be watching closely for what the government does after the comment period closes.
Aug. 14 is the final day for the public to comment on the rules governing wilderness study areas. Public comments can be made at regulations.gov by putting the docket number in for the specific wilderness manual up for changes.
- For Bureau of Land Management rules, click here or use BLM-2026-0067
- For National Park Service rules, click here or use NPS-2026-0100
- For US Fish and Wildlife Service rules, click here or use FWS-HQ-NWRS-2026-2575
