Message to the Congress Transmitting Annual Report on the National Wilderness Preservation System.

To the Congress of the United States:

Today I am transmitting the 7th Annual Report on the status of the National Wilderness Preservation System. The Report spells out the substantial progress which has been made in the Wilderness System, a System which now encompasses more than 10.1 million acres--an increase of over 200,000 acres in the last year.

On April 28, 1971, I transmitted fourteen new wilderness proposals to the Congress. If approved, these proposals would enlarge our Wilderness System by an additional 1.8 million acres. Again, I urge quick and favorable congressional action on these proposals as well as on thirteen other proposals which are also before the Congress and which would add over a million acres to the System. Wilderness designation of all these areas is vital if we are to preserve their natural environment for future generations of Americans.

RICHARD NIXON

The White House

August 5, 1971