Wilderness areas abound in Red Rock Ranger District1 min read

By
Jeff Bear
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Despite modern man’s seeming determination to inhabit virtually every corner of the globe, designated wilderness areas in the United States are largely being spared from the impacts of human development.

So said Lorena Williams, a forestry technician with the Red Rock Ranger District who gave a presentation about the district’s seven wilderness areas on Friday, Aug. 2, at the South Gateway Visitor Center.

As the Wilderness Act of 1964 stated: Wilderness is “an area where the earth and community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.”

The Wilderness Act, which was written by Howard Zahniser and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States and initially protected 9.1 million acres of federal land.

Since that time, the amount of wilderness has grown almost every year and now includes more than 109 million acres in 44 states and Puerto Rico — an area larger than the state of California.

Arizona has more than 4.5 million acres of wilderness, the fourth most of any state.

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For the full story, please see the Wednesday, Aug. 7 issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.

Jeff Bear

Jeff Bear began his journalism career in 2003 as a graphic designer and sports reporter at the Weekly Register Call in Central City, Colorado. In 2007 he began working at the Canyon Courier in Evergreen, Colorado, as a graphic designer, but soon transferred into the editorial department where he worked as a copy editor and sport reporter under Editor Doug Bell. After a stint as a graphic designer at American Classifieds in 2009-10, Bear began working in 2011 as a copy editor at the Arizona Daily Sun, in Flagstaff. While at the Daily Sun, Bear was tapped by the late Randy Wilson to report on local sports including Northern Arizona University and Olympic medalists training in Flagstaff for the 2012 Olympics. In 2013 Bear began working at the Red Rock News in Sedona, Arizona, where he was an assistant editor and sports editor. Bear has two daughters, Angela and Jessica, with his wife Nina. He is a singer and guitarist, an avid cyclist and hiker, and enjoys camping with family and friends.

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Jeff Bear
Jeff Bear began his journalism career in 2003 as a graphic designer and sports reporter at the Weekly Register Call in Central City, Colorado. In 2007 he began working at the Canyon Courier in Evergreen, Colorado, as a graphic designer, but soon transferred into the editorial department where he worked as a copy editor and sport reporter under Editor Doug Bell. After a stint as a graphic designer at American Classifieds in 2009-10, Bear began working in 2011 as a copy editor at the Arizona Daily Sun, in Flagstaff. While at the Daily Sun, Bear was tapped by the late Randy Wilson to report on local sports including Northern Arizona University and Olympic medalists training in Flagstaff for the 2012 Olympics. In 2013 Bear began working at the Red Rock News in Sedona, Arizona, where he was an assistant editor and sports editor. Bear has two daughters, Angela and Jessica, with his wife Nina. He is a singer and guitarist, an avid cyclist and hiker, and enjoys camping with family and friends.