Congress established the Wilderness Act of 1964 to preserve the nation’s remaining wild lands for their natural, cultural and scientific value. To qualify for wilderness designation, an area must be publicly owned land “retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation.” Areas are usually required to be at least 5,000 acres and must provide opportunities for solitude or primitive recreation. The act also says, “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 established the National Wilderness Preservation System, which consists of federally owned areas designated by Congress as “wilderness areas.” Although pre-established mining and grazing are permitted in a designated Wilderness, new logging, mining, grazing, road building and ORV use are not allowed.

More about Redrock
The Colorado Plateau and Utah's Basin and Range
"Bureau of Livestock and Mining"
Citizens take over where BLM fails