America’s Preservation System: A Wilderness Bill of Rights by William O. Douglas

North America has one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. There are deserts, wetlands, rolling hills, plains, and mountain ranges in the United States alone. But what has been done to preserve America’s incredible biodiversity? There have been many attempts in the past, as well as in recent years. Many people want to preserve the American wilderness, as Ann Malaspina discovered. “In fact, taxpayers, like those in Florida who support the wild lands corridor, are increasingly willing to pay the price to preserve open space” (Malaspina 70). The National Wildlife Refuge system was started to keep the wilderness preserved. Even though in the past great efforts have been made, the American wilderness is rapidly disappearing, and many people and organizations, including the government, have been trying to preserve our precious and diverse ecosystems.

In the mid-1900s, there was a great need for protection. In A Wilderness Bill of Rights, William O. Douglas discusses the need for parks and protected forests in California. When California was made a state, there was 1,900,000 acres of redwood trees throughout the golden state. By 1965, there were only 250,000 acres left, while only 50,000 acres were protected. At the rate they were being cut down, the unprotected redwoods would have been gone in fifteen years (Douglas 51). This shows the extreme need for protection of wilderness. The redwoods of California are extremely historic. They have been there for thousands of years, and are different from all other trees. They are irreplaceable, and it would have a huge impact on the Californian biodiversity.

State forests were, and still are today, very important in keeping individual ecosystems alive and thriving. In California alo...

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... zoos and enclosures, and there has also been recent hatchings in the Grand Canyon. This shows another recent success that is continuing today.

Over the years, there have been many successes in the preservation of the American wilderness. Started by President Theodore Roosevelt, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service has done much for the preservation. The National Wildlife Refuge System was started, and although the refuges take away over half of the lands hunters pay to protect and hunt, they have done a lot to protect America’s diverse ecosystems. The American wilderness has been rapidly disappearing, and many people and organizations have been working to slow the pace. As conditions are improving, multiple species have been saved from extinction. The wilderness is beginning to come back to life, even though the systems protecting the lands are not perfect.