Components of a Wilderness Recovery Network.

"A wilderness recovery network is an inter-connected system of strictly protected areas (core reserves), surrounded by lands used for human activities compatible with conservation that put biodiversity first (buffer zones), and linked together in some way that provides for functional connectivity of populations across the landscape."

--WE SI, pg 15

Public lands are the foundation of most core reserves, and they are designed to be very large. It is safe to say, anywhere there is large block of public forest land, there is or will be a Wildlands project to preserve it. Looking at the characteristics of core reserves, one begins to understand the conflicts surrounding public land management today such as logging and road construction. However, it does not end there; human access is severely restricted under the Wildlands Project.

Dr. Noss himself has said, "Many ecologist (myself included) would just as soon see huge areas of land kept off limits to human activities of any kind." (Noss, R. 1995. Maintaining Ecological Integrity in Representative Reserve Networks. World Wildlife Fund Canada Discussion Paper. p. 12.)

Buffer Zones:

"A system of core reserves is necessary but not sufficient to maintain biodiversity. In most regions, strictly protected areas will not occupy enough land, in the short term, to meet... conservation goals..." "In many cases private lands will need to be acquired and added to National Forest and other public lands in order to serve as effective buffers."

Buffer zones allow for some human activity.