A new organization has formed to lobby for more official wilderness in the United States/NPS file, Jacob W. Frank

A coalition of local, statewide, and national conservation and environmental justice organizations has established the National Wilderness Coalition (NWC) in Washington, D.C.

The NWC intends to reinvigorate "a diverse and powerful wilderness movement;" it is made up of organizations who have come together to build political power and advance wilderness legislation, the group said in a release.

In addition to the launch of the NWC on Tuesday, the Coalition will be awarding its inaugural Wilderness Champion Awards to U.S. Representatives Diana DeGette, Melanie Stansbury, Raúl Grijalva, and Joe Neguse and U.S. Senators Dick Durbin, Martin Heinrich, and Michael Bennet. 

“Wilderness conservation has been a cornerstone of environmental action for generations. The National Wilderness Coalition is working to ensure that concept is more inclusive, more focused, and more unified," said Jackie Feinberg, Sierra Club’s National Lands Conservation Campaign Manager. “Sierra Club is proud to be a part of this coalition. By bringing together Tribal Nations, Indigenous peoples, nonprofits, communities, and more, we can take on climate change and protect the wild places we love for generations to come.”

Since its inception in 1964, the Wilderness Act has been used by Congress to protect 112 million acres of public lands across 44 states. Although the Act has established 800 individual wilderness areas, these areas encompass only about 5 percent of lands in the country, according to the Coalition. The National Wilderness Preservation System represents the most protective and comprehensive means to ensure public lands are protected in their natural state for future generations.