In 1969, the poet Gary Snyder published a collection of poems and essays which examined mankind’s relationship with the planet. Drawing upon a Native American creation myth, he chose the title Turtle Island, the Native American name for North America. For Snyder, Turtle Island became symbolic of the cultural and ecological rediscovery of North America.

Now, almost 30 years later, "Turtle Island", has become the icon of the reinvention of North America: the Wildlands Project.

In 1992, Wild Earth magazine, the literary extension of the Wildlands Project, published an issue devoted to the Wildlands Project, and as they put it "Plotting A North American Wilderness Recovery Strategy". That strategy consists of setting aside 50% of North America in "wild land" or wilderness for the preservation of biological diversity. It is that Wild Earth from which much of this material comes.

As much as possible, this presentation uses the Wildlander’s own words to tell their story.

The Publisher of Wild Earth is former Earth First! leader Dave Foreman. After splitting with Earth First! in 1990, his book, Confessions of an Eco-Warrior, indicated the principles he would apply in starting the Wildlands Project: