The Wilderness Act has one singular statutory purpose, and that is to secure the benefits of an enduring resource of Wilderness. This singular purpose is articulated in the opening paragraph of the Act as the Act’s Statement of Policy:

“…it is hereby declared to be the policy of the Congress to secure for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness. For this purpose there is hereby established a National Wilderness Preservation System…”

As Howard Zahniser repeatedly testified to Congress during debate on the Wilderness bill, preserving Wilderness character is the essential key to securing an enduring resource of wilderness. The resource of wilderness and Wilderness character are inextricably intertwined. Without preservation of Wilderness character, the Wilderness resource would not exist.

It is also important to note that Congress explicitly refers to the wilderness resource as singular. It recognized that wilderness is more than just a collection of other natural resources such as wildlife, free-flowing streams, etc. These physical resources are important components of the wilderness resource, but the Wilderness Act’s emphasis on wilderness character demonstrates that Congress intended that wilderness be understood as more than just a mixture of biophysical resources. By congressional decree, wilderness is a complex and unique resource in its own right, consisting of both tangible and intangible qualities. Therefore we cannot secure an enduring resource of wilderness simply by applying traditional natural resource management to various biophysical resources of wilderness. Preserving the resource of wilderness requires that we protect the overall wilderness character of each area in the System.