Tens of thousands of acres of wilderness in Chincoteague and the mountains around Shenandoah National Park could be at risk of commercialization or industrialization. That's the concern raised by conservation groups across the country, who are worried that the Interior Department might make changes to allow for increased development of wilderness areas.
"If Shenandoah wilderness areas are allowed to essentially like be managed as something less than what they've been for the last 50 years, it could open it up to further commercialization of the park," says Andrew Young at the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance, "which is something that wilderness enthusiasts are definitely not in favor of."
Andrew Young at the Sierra Club says a review of wilderness stewardship policies at the Interior Department is raising alarm bells.
"What we've seen from other reviews of public lands by this administration is increased commercialization of public lands, increased industrialization, and even some loss of protections," says Feinberger.
Conservation groups say opening up wilderness areas to industrial use threatens public lands by exposing vulnerable landscapes to exploitation, including drilling for oil and gas as well as development of data centers.
