Letter to the Editor - PBS film misrepresents wilderness areas

Dear Editor:

The rebroadcast of the 2019 film “Wild by Law and Nature,” produced by Montana PBS, deserves comment because the film misrepresents wilderness and the issues involved.

A big problem with the film is that there is no mention that Congress passed the Wilderness Act and the Land and Water Conservation Fund at the same time in order to provide for both preservation and recreation on separate and distinct public lands.

The word “untrammeled” is misused. One speaker even misrepresented wilderness as “untouched by man.” Merriam-Webster defines the noun “trammel” as “something impeding ac...