Abstract
Several prominent culture critics (including Bill McKibben and Richard Louv) worry that with the emergence of anthropogenic climate change and decline of direct experience with the out-of-doors, the idea of wilderness may no longer have meaning to twenty-first century Americans. Are they right? Does the wilderness tradition still speak to Millennials? To investigate this question, we organized an essay contest, inviting anyone born after 1980 to submit an essay on the meaning of wilderness. We analyze the 41 contest entries and the invited essays to determine common themes, identifying continuities and discontinuities with the inherited wilderness tradition. We conclude that the wilderness tradition remains vital and powerful, but we should expect it to evolve in new directions as social and environmental conditions change.
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