“For our Gullah Geechee descendant community, wild places like the North End of Cumberland Island, Georgia, are not just empty nature—they are living sanctuaries of memory, heritage, and ancestral resilience.”

“As a Mexican-American youth, wilderness is where my culture comes from, it's where history started and where it continues, it's where youth and community can come to together and experience nature.”

“My community loves and pays respect to everything in the wilderness. We pilgrimage, say prayers, sing to and check on our ancestral homelands just like our ancestors did and taught us to do. Being deeply connected to Nature is our way of life.”

“Our community's tourism-based economy also depends on access to these lands for multiple reasons—every job is just one degree away from supporting people who live and vacation here because of our wilderness areas.”

“Wilderness is a place where I can tap into both fortitude and softness. The remote and rugged wildernesses I've explored have called me to be strong, steady, and brave in the face of real, life-affirming challenges.”

“Well, I met my wife in Wilderness, on a long hike I was undertaking. She had heard from mutual friends that I was hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. The long journey through 49 wilderness areas interested her. Plans were made, she joined me around Mt. Hood, and here we are today 32 years later, still getting out in the wild.”

“Archeological materials like scarlet macaw feathers and bones, copper bells, and ceremonial cacao have been found in wild and historic places across the Colorado Plateau. Wilderness reminds: Latinos have always belonged here and we always will.”

“Wilderness and outdoor recreation matters to me because as a young person, I want my future to involve less screens, and more trees.”

“I seek medicinal refuge in the wilderness to connect with my ancestors and their stories, helping me to identify who I am.”