Keep the U.P. Wild Coalition

Working Together to Designate Four New Wilderness Areas in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

As Michigan nature enthusiasts well know, the state’s Upper Peninsula is a rich, varied wonderland for outdoor recreation opportunities — and birding opportunities in the U.P. are no exception. Whitefish Point Bird Observatory in Paradise is a representation of just that, as more than 340 avian species have been recorded at this monitoring station on the shore of Lake Superior. 

The growing, local outdoor recreation world and economy do come with a fair share of side effects and impacts, from human disturbance to habitat fragmentation and loss. The surge in visitors to the Upper Peninsula over the last few years is credited as inspiring this idea of preserving parts of the U.P. and designating them as wilderness areas, and acted as a final push to form a coalition.

What is Keep the U.P. Wild? 

Keep the U.P. Wild is a growing coalition of more than 125 Michigan environmental, outdoor recreation, academic, and nonprofit organizations, institutions, and businesses working to advance new wilderness areas in the U.P. 

Michigan Audubon joined the coalition early on, as these proposed additions of new wilderness areas mean a lot for preserving biodiversity in the U.P., which correlates directly to our mission and work of bird conservation. Our hope in featuring this work in the Jack Pine Warbler is to share this news with our chapters, members, and community so that we can build public awareness, support, and achieve success in preserving habitat protection at this level.

Pursuing the designation of multiple wilderness areas and seeking the nation’s greatest natural resources protection is no small or simple feat. It’s a process requiring a diverse, talented pool of committed people and organizations to work together strategically to secure these protections.

The Definition of Wilderness

The Wilderness Act of 1964 defines wilderness 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 term wilderness has long referred to terrestrial ecosystems, such as forests, although marine wilderness continues to grow as an area of interest. The Wilderness Act helped inform policies and designations with its determination that “wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any non-urbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation.”