Since the Wilderness Act of 1964, the National Wilderness Preservation System has grown from about 9 million acres to over 106 million acres. Good stewardship involves more than just acquiring suitable areas; it includes understanding how to appropriately manage wilderness resources.

The WMDEP is an interagency effort to increase wilderness scholarship among professional wilderness managers and the public at large. The WMDEP is sponsored by the Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center and the University of Montana's College of Forestry and Conservation.

The Arthur Carhart National Wilderness Training Center

The Carhart Center was established in 1994 to "foster interagency excellence in wilderness stewardship by cultivating knowledgeable, skilled, and capable wilderness managers and by improving public understanding of wilderness philosophy, values, and processes."

The Carhart Center identifies challenges in wilderness management, training, and education. Experts at all levels of the four wilderness managing agencies along with other experts design comprehensive, practical solutions to wilderness management using a team approach.

The College of Forestry and Conservation

The College of Forestry and Conservation was founded in 1913, one of the first programs accredited by the Society of American Foresters. The College has earned nationwide respect for the quality of its programs, and it has produced some of the nation's finest natural resource managers.

The WMDEP is one of the programs under the Wilderness Institute at the College. Established in 1975, the Wilderness Institute provides students, agencies, and the public with information, education, and an understanding of the issues and social and ecological values of wilderness.