"It is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States that certain selected rivers of the Nation, with their immediate environments, possess outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural, or other similar values, shall be preserved in free flowing condition, and that they and their immediate environments shall be protected for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations." --Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
American attitudes toward wilderness underwent an important change over the course of the twentieth century. In the 1930s and 1940s, Aldo Leopold, Robert Marshall, and other well-known conservationists began to argue that not only were undeveloped areas of high ecological value, they were also of high social value since they provided an outlet for increasingly urbanized populations to renew their relationship with nature.
Aldo Leopold and Robert Marshall were born and died many years before the passage of the 1960s Wilderness Act but their influence on the formation of the Act's intent cannot be denied. Leopold is considered by many as the father of wildlife management and of the United State's wilderness system. He was a conservationist, forester, philosopher, educator, writer and outdoor enthusiast. Robert Marshall, like, Leopold, was a visionary in the truest sense of the word. He set an unprecedented standard for wilderness preservation in the United States that few have surpassed. His ideas and dreams continue to be realized long after his death at the young age of 38 in 1939. He was the principal founder of The Wilderness Society and was among the first to suggest that large tracts of Alaska be preserved, shaped the U.S. Forest Services' policy on wilderness designation and management, and wrote passionately on all aspects of conservation and preservation.
These efforts to revalue wilderness' worth to society eventually lead to the formation of two important pieces of federal legislation passed in the 1960s. Both the 1964 Wilderness Act and the 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act are premised on the idea that wild places are ecologically and socially valuable and therefore worthy of protection from unchecked development. Unlike the Wilderness Act, however, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act recognized that partially modified areas were also worthy of protection. It divided rivers and surrounding riparian lands into three categories--wild, scenic, and recreational--based on the degree of development.
Southwestern Oregon's Rogue River was one of eight rivers to be protected under the original 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. More than eighty-four miles from the mouth of the Applegate River downstream to the Lobster Creek Bridge are protected under the act, 33.6 miles of which are considered wild, 7.5 miles scenic, and 43.4 miles recreational. This incredible river's total flow is 215 miles from Crater Lake (the United State's deepest lake) to the Pacific Ocean.
Steelhead and salmon fisheries, challenging whitewater, and extraordinary wildlife viewing opportunities have made the Rogue a national treasure. Black bear, river otter, black-tail deer, bald eagles, osprey, Chinook salmon, great blue heron, water ouzel and Canada geese are common wildlife seen along the Rogue River. Popular activities include: white water rafting, fishing, and hiking.
The Wild section of the Rogue River is one of the most popular whitewater runs in the world. A steady water level due to dams upstream, hot sunny summer weather, and exciting whitewater rapids through lush forests and steep canyons heighten its popularity.
Due to its popularity, river managers have limited access to the Wild Section of the Rogue River in order to protect the river and the Wild Rogue Wilderness from overuse. Limiting the numbers of people on the river also enhances the Wilderness experience for floaters and hikers.
The last 40 years have afforded the Rogue River protection from development and misuse. The river today stands as a testament to the foresight of wilderness pioneers such as Marshall and Leopold and the legislation that was eventually crafted from their ideas and dreams. Marshall wrote just before his death, "To us the enjoyment of solitude, complete independence, and the beauty of undefiled panoramas is absolutely essential to happiness."
Joy Henkle has spent two decades as an outdoor writer for magazines, websites and, more recently, blogs. Over much of the last decade, her travel expertise has been focused on Oregon's unique and diverse Rogue River region. Visit her at Whitewater Warehouse orWhitewater Rafting Blog.
American attitudes toward wilderness underwent an important change over the course of the twentieth century. In the 1930s and 1940s, Aldo Leopold, Robert Marshall, and other well-known conservationists began to argue that not only were undeveloped areas of high ecological value, they were also of high social value since they provided an outlet for increasingly urbanized populations to renew their relationship with nature.
Aldo Leopold and Robert Marshall were born and died many years before the passage of the 1960s Wilderness Act but their influence on the formation of the Act's intent cannot be denied. Leopold is considered by many as the father of wildlife management and of the United State's wilderness system. He was a conservationist, forester, philosopher, educator, writer and outdoor enthusiast. Robert Marshall, like, Leopold, was a visionary in the truest sense of the word. He set an unprecedented standard for wilderness preservation in the United States that few have surpassed. His ideas and dreams continue to be realized long after his death at the young age of 38 in 1939. He was the principal founder of The Wilderness Society and was among the first to suggest that large tracts of Alaska be preserved, shaped the U.S. Forest Services' policy on wilderness designation and management, and wrote passionately on all aspects of conservation and preservation.
These efforts to revalue wilderness' worth to society eventually lead to the formation of two important pieces of federal legislation passed in the 1960s. Both the 1964 Wilderness Act and the 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act are premised on the idea that wild places are ecologically and socially valuable and therefore worthy of protection from unchecked development. Unlike the Wilderness Act, however, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act recognized that partially modified areas were also worthy of protection. It divided rivers and surrounding riparian lands into three categories--wild, scenic, and recreational--based on the degree of development.
Southwestern Oregon's Rogue River was one of eight rivers to be protected under the original 1968 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. More than eighty-four miles from the mouth of the Applegate River downstream to the Lobster Creek Bridge are protected under the act, 33.6 miles of which are considered wild, 7.5 miles scenic, and 43.4 miles recreational. This incredible river's total flow is 215 miles from Crater Lake (the United State's deepest lake) to the Pacific Ocean.
Steelhead and salmon fisheries, challenging whitewater, and extraordinary wildlife viewing opportunities have made the Rogue a national treasure. Black bear, river otter, black-tail deer, bald eagles, osprey, Chinook salmon, great blue heron, water ouzel and Canada geese are common wildlife seen along the Rogue River. Popular activities include: white water rafting, fishing, and hiking.
The Wild section of the Rogue River is one of the most popular whitewater runs in the world. A steady water level due to dams upstream, hot sunny summer weather, and exciting whitewater rapids through lush forests and steep canyons heighten its popularity.
Due to its popularity, river managers have limited access to the Wild Section of the Rogue River in order to protect the river and the Wild Rogue Wilderness from overuse. Limiting the numbers of people on the river also enhances the Wilderness experience for floaters and hikers.
The last 40 years have afforded the Rogue River protection from development and misuse. The river today stands as a testament to the foresight of wilderness pioneers such as Marshall and Leopold and the legislation that was eventually crafted from their ideas and dreams. Marshall wrote just before his death, "To us the enjoyment of solitude, complete independence, and the beauty of undefiled panoramas is absolutely essential to happiness."
Joy Henkle has spent two decades as an outdoor writer for magazines, websites and, more recently, blogs. Over much of the last decade, her travel expertise has been focused on Oregon's unique and diverse Rogue River region. Visit her at Whitewater Warehouse orWhitewater Rafting Blog.
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