In the article, Ward and Green lay out three factors influencing the encroachment into wilderness areas: population growth, increasing technology and global climate change. Visitors to these lands are restricted in what they can do and are encouraged to 'leave no trace.' These areas include national parks, wildlife refuges and national forests maintained by four federal agencies. Human activities are limited on these lands to preserve their pristine state and leave it untainted by people. There are nearly 1,000 designated wilderness areas in the national wilderness system, made up of nearly 110 million acres that remain in its natural condition. population grows, Ward said, with some estimates predicting the number of people doubling by 2050. Encroachment into wilderness areas will only continue to worsen as the U.S. In an article published in the journal Illuminare, Ward and Gary Green, an associate professor in the Warnell School, propose that federal agencies overseeing these wild areas begin creating zones to help wilderness managers better preserve and protect them. 'But from over-applying lawn care chemicals to introducing invasive plant and animal species, landowners' choices can have far-reaching negative impacts on neighboring wilderness areas.'

'People like the idea of having a national forest in their backyard,' said Lauren Ward, a graduate student at UGA's Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. However, this construction and growth near the National Wilderness Preservation System is beginning to degrade the quality of these lands and erode biodiversity. But University of Georgia researchers say these federally protected nature areas have a problem: Their boundaries have become prime real estate.ДЄs the country's population continues to grow, people have built homes close to national parks, forests and wilderness areas for the same reasons these systems have been left protected from development.

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