High Sierra Topix

Inyo NF:

The Inyo was among the first forest lands to have wilderness set aside. Since the Wilderness Act was passed in 1964, the following wilderness areas have been designated by Congress. The Ansel Adams Wilderness was originally called the Minarets Wilderness and later renamed.

1964: Ansel Adams (Minarets), John Muir, and Hoover
1978: Golden Trout
1984: South Sierra
1989: Boundary
1994: Inyo
2009: White Mountains, Owens Headwaters

Hooray for the Wilderness Act!
Cheers to our elected representatives who had the foresight to continue to preserve this nation's national treasures.
A pox on the houses of the toadies who attempt to remove these protections.

It may be worth noting that while the nat'l parks were established to set aside & protect certain areas in recognition of truly unique 'aesthetic' qualities, the forest service doesn't necessary follow those guidelines.

Rather, while we may enjoy the effects of the covered regions, the primary intent was/is commercial rather than recreational. Take Inyo for example; it was established specifically to protect the headwaters of the Owens river. Why the Owens? Because the LA aqueduct was in process of being built - the Feds stepped in to ensure the source wasn't compromised.

Why did the Feds care so much about SoCal (or NorCal for that matter)? Because the US had defeated Spain just a few short years before and picked up the Philippines. We backed the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy to ensure a coaling station midway across the Pacific. (Hence, the battle of Midway, the turning point of WWII vs Japan.) At the same time, the Pacific fleet was located in San Diego, with Long Beach and Alameda providing important support.

So, if we look at the expansion of forests throughout the state, it is almost universally driven by the need to protect watershed regions necessary for the economic well being of the entire state. Wilderness and open areas are all fine, but that's a secondary, add-on effect.

However, just like some recognize how valuable real estate is when located next to protected, open spaces (regional parks, etc), so too California natives who know where/when/why open spaces are preserved and open for recreation to be in position to 'score'.

The Forest Service set aside the first wilderness area in 1922, well before the Wilderness Act was even conceived. They were called Wild Areas, and were an agency created designation, not written into law. With the passage of the Act in 1964, the existing Wild Areas were absorbed into the the newly created Wilderness Areas. Old pre-1964 maps show them as Wild Areas.

Research Natural Areas, more restrictive and protected than Wilderness, were first created in 1927.

Hobbes is correct. National Forests were first created to protect watersheds AND to foster economic benefit to small rural communities (by supplying a steady supply of timber to local sawmills). NFs were not created to protect from logging. They were not being extensively logged. The were created to increase logging. Rural economic development is still a legal mandate of the Forest Service.