Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge

Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Wilderness Area. You are about to enter the Wilderness Area of Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge. Designated by Congress in 1968, this area is part of the 100-million-acre National Wilderness Preservation System. It is distinguished in being the first designated Wilderness Area on a national wildlife refuge and the first in the U.S. Department of the Interior., The Wilderness Area exists today because local citizens joined together with government to preserve this natural area for the continued enjoyment and inspiration of all citizens. The 1964 Wilderness Act defines wilderness areas as "untrammeled", "undeveloped", and "affected primarily by the forces of nature". These areas provide "outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation". The 3,660 acres comprising the Great Swamp Wilderness Area exemplify these values., "A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain." - The Wilderness Act 1964.