Editors' Summary: In its 20-year history, the congressionally established wilderness system has seldom seen as much controversy as it has of late. Development pressures are increasing, the controlling agencies are reconsidering their wilderness policies, and Congress is being pressed to make ultimate decisions about the status of undeveloped lands.

The following discussion of wilderness law is adapted from the transcript of a panel discussion held at the February 1983 Conference on Environmental Law in San Francisco, cosponsored by ALI-ABA, the Environmental Law Institute, and the Smithsonian Institution. The remarks presented here are from panelists Michael McCloskey, Executive Director of the Sierra Club, and Jeffrey Desautels, Manager of Government Issues Analysis for Anaconda Minerals Co. The panelists succinctly present the underpinnings of wilderness law, trace the highlights of wilderness litigation, and discuss the major controversies remaining.