Glacier Bay Wilderness

 

Map of Glacier Bay Wilderness

Click image for an interactive map!

The Wild Side

Towering glaciers, amazing wildlife, spectacular mountains...Glacier Bay is overwhelming in its beautiful scenery and magnificent sights. Yet equally remarkable is what we do not see...buildings, roads, bridges, towers. Most of Glacier Bay will never be developed, for much of Glacier Bay has the highest conservation protection our country can give to wild lands: wilderness

Perspectives on wilderness have changed throughout history. A place once feared became a place revered. Fifty years ago the United States made a bold statement to preserve some public lands as forever wild, defined by law as wilderness. The 1964 Wilderness Act, passed with an almost unanimous vote by Congress, created a National Wilderness Preservation System. Today, almost every state in the United States has designated wilderness and many countries around the world emulate the US Wilderness Act.

Glacier Bay National Park preserves one of the largest units of the National Wilderness Preservation System, encompassing more than 2.7 million acres. Glacier Bay also protects a very unique type of wilderness, marine wilderness. 13% of Glacier Bay’s water is designated wilderness, and therefore managed to be wild, untrammeled, and primeval.

To view land designations in and around Glacier Bay, visit an interactive map here.

 

 

Photo by Ben McLuckie

Glacier Bay Wilderness as Homeland

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The concept of wilderness as defined in the Wilderness Act is a modern construct that emphasizes the value of places with little evidence of human change. But the continued relationship of the Huna Tlingit with their Homeland is as much a part of the wilderness character of Glacier Bay as the glaciers, the bears, and the opportunity for an unconstrained experience. Perpetuating physical and spiritual connections between traditional people and their Homeland ensures that the Glacier Bay wilderness remains a living community.

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The Huna Tlingit have known Glacier Bay as their Homeland since time immemorial. Read more about Glacier Bay Wilderness as Homeland in this NPS article.

 

 

Wilderness Character Narrative

Glacier Bay Wilderness Character Narrative
Glacier Bay preserves one of the largest units of the National Wilderness Preservation System, encompassing more than 2.7 million acres of glacially influenced marine, terrestrial, and freshwater ecosystems. PDF Document

 

By designating an area as wilderness, we choose to manage it differently. There is considerable thought put into keeping wilderness truly wild. Protecting wilderness goes beyond caring for the landscape. Wilderness protects areas as places where humans exercise humility and restraint. Wilderness provides sanctuaries for wildlife and renewal for humans, offering reservoirs of hope in challenging times. Learn how we manage Wilderness in Glacier Bay.

 

In Glacier Bay’s wilderness, we have the opportunity to be overwhelmed by sights of glaciers, wildlife, and mountains. Yet there is so much more to wilderness than what catches our eye. Here we can be a part of something larger. We can immerse ourselves in wild lands. We can connect with wilderness, and carry that sense of wildness within us.

 

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  Today's Wilderness

  Our National Parks have been called America’s best idea. This reflects our need for places to turn to for replenishing ourselves, to step away from the demands of our culture, to be present to the wind and sounds of nature. Join ranger Marylou and learn how we all depend on Wilderness.

  Duration:

  2 minutes, 47 seconds

 

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  Changing Ideas About Wilderness

  Our concept of Wilderness has been an expanding idea since people first began to control the environment around them. Join ranger Marylou to discover our new appreciation for wild places.

  Duration:

  2 minutes, 39 seconds