What we talk about when we talk about wilderness

About 100 years ago, the U.S. decided it would set aside some land and legally call it “wilderness.”

In 1964, it went a step further and signed into law the Wilderness Act which designated more than 800 areas across the U.S. as wilderness.  

How does a place get the official “wilderness” label? And how are these places changing?

Reporter and executive producer Marissa Ortega-Welch explores that in her podcast “How Wild.” It’s produced in partnership with KALW public media.

She took quite the journey to hear from those involved in these wilderness issues firsthand. We ask her what she learned.