Wilderness Stewardship

What is Wilderness?

In some cultures, Wilderness has a specific meaning: land designated by Congress under the Wilderness Act to remain forever protected in a natural state. In other cultures, wilderness simply means the land, air, and sea in which humans live in balance with all other members of the biotic community. But the basic truth is this: Wilderness---the land, air, sea and its biodiversity---supports human life and needs our support to continue to do so.

We live in a time of change. Dramatic changes in biodiversity, technology, global population, and climate are straining our social and ecological systems.  In addition, in our world of increasing urbanization and commercialization more and more people are forgetting their connection to the land.  Wilderness areas are the places we rely on to hunt and fish, attract tourists from around the world, stabilize regional wildlife populations and ecosystems, and for personal solace and cultural identity.

SEACC's Wilderness Stewardship Program

SEACC’s Wilderness Stewardship program, initiated in 2011 as part of a nation-wide Wilderness Stewardship Challenge, continues to grow in strength and numbers.  Through a partnership with the US Forest Service, we organize volunteers and trip logistics to get our hands dirty restoring native vegetation, cleaning up beach debris, and collecting data for Forest Service research on the Tongass wilderness areas SEACC helped to establish.

Our cultures evolved over time with our relationship to the land, and the health of our communities has always reflected the health of the lands that surround us.  Our Wilderness Stewardship program provides opportunities for Southeast Alaskans to work in a collaborative way to explore and improve the health of our communities and environment.

Join Us in the Field

We’d like you to volunteer with us in our Wilderness Stewardship program!  Our volunteer trips allow SEACC members and staff to get to know one another, restore and monitor our Wilderness areas, and unplug and reconnect with the lands, waters, and biodiversity that shape our unique way of life.

In the summer of 2013, we are planning the following three trips (click for more info):

Southern Admiralty Island Beaches	Whitewater Bay, Admiralty Island	Upper Seymour Canal, Admiralty Island
June 16-20, 2013	August 4-10, 2013	July 21-27, 2013
Beach clean ups, wilderness monitoring	Invasive plant removal, monitoring	Campsite and wilderness impacts inventory

To get involve or learn more, contact Daven at:

907-586-6942

daven@seacc.org

Past Trips