“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God… I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.”

– Anne Frank

For nearly a third of a century, the celebration of Earth Day, April 22, has allowed us to reflect on the environment. Is it better? Is it worse? What do we need to do to preserve and protect it?

In Maine, although there are issues of environmental concern, we are fortunate to have a natural environment that is largely clean and unsullied. Maine also has something unique.

We have large, tracts of uninhabited places, some of which are extraordinary examples of wild nature.

In Maine, we have wilderness.

Some have asked: “Why do we need wilderness?” There are many answers to these questions. They range from the spiritual to the economic, from the personal to the global. Here are just a few reasons why we need wild, untrammeled nature.

Large wilderness areas provide an unfettered supply of clean water. Clean water supports wildlife and the biotic community. Clean water supports wilderness recreation such as fishing and canoeing. In many cases, wilderness regions are a source of clean water for more populated areas downstream. Wilderness forests generate oxygen that we breathe and absorb carbon dioxide. This uptake of carbon dioxide mitigates, to some extent, the amount emitted elsewhere on the planet. As we know, the excess carbon dioxide from the combustion of fossil fuels is largely the cause of global climate change.

Wilderness supports habitat and biodiversity. Loss of habitat is the leading cause of species extinction on the planet. Wilderness can protect entire ecosystems. In Maine, it is particularly important in providing habitat and range for large species such as bear, moose, lynx, hawks and eagles. It has been estimated that the value of intact ecosystems is up to 75 percent higher than the value of individual components. The genetic diversity of wild nature has been a source of materials used to invigorate agricultural stocks and as the basis of new medicines. Taxol, used to combat cancer, was discovered in the bark of the Pacific yew found growing in the wild forests of the Pacific Northwest.

Wilderness provides opportunities for scientific study. Wilderness areas are usually sufficiently large to contain an entire ecosystem, or, in some cases, several ecosystems. Since wilderness is typically managed to allow only natural forces to apply, it can provide almost limitless opportunities for scientific inquiry and nature study. Such study can be devoted to individual species or the delicate and complex interplay of functioning, healthy ecological systems.

Wilderness provides us with unique recreational opportunities. Mainers are particularly fond of hiking, hunting, fishing, canoeing and snowshoeing, and these are enhanced by the increased peace and solitude provided by wilderness areas. Such activities are truly “recreational” as they are restorative to body, mind and spirit.

Wilderness experiences build character, resourcefulness and self-confidence. Forays deep into the wilderness require careful planning, learning new skills, physical fitness and the mental flexibility to meet the myriad challenges of nature. Such experiences have long been recognized as a way to develop self-confidence and resourcefulness in the young and old alike; from the Boy Scouts at the turn of the century to present day Outward Bound programs and wilderness youth camps. As recently as last summer, the Chewonki Foundation, with great success, sponsored an annual wilderness canoe trip for Maine teenage girls. As one 17-year-old remarked, “This trip totally opened up things for me… I wasn’t looking forward to finishing school, but now I’m ready to be a senior!”

Wilderness is part of our cultural heritage. Numerous politicians, philosophers, artists, and poets have noted that our historical wilderness experiences have shaped American values and character: freedom, individuality, optimism, and our “can-do” attitude. As the writer and environmentalist Wallace Stegner once said: “Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed.” Here in Maine, wilderness has certainly played a part in sculpting the character of Mainers: tenacious, independent, self-reliant.

And finally, wilderness gives us a place for quiet reflection and spiritual renewal. In our current troubled times, now more than ever, we need places of quiet solitude. Places where we reconnect with nature and ourselves. Wilderness provides unique spiritual, aesthetic, and therapeutic values. In such places we can contemplate and appreciate the beauty, scale and the miracle of creation.

Maine has the largest region of uninhabited forest in the eastern United States. Preserving the wilderness qualities of some of our Northern Forest would be a remarkable legacy for the people of Maine – and the country. Maine needs its wilderness like we need air to breathe and water to drink. Most of is in Maine would agree that we need wilderness for our bodies and souls; for ourselves and our children; for the present and the future.

Barbara Winterson, a professor of physiology at the University of New England in Biddeford, is the chair of the Maine Chapter of the Sierra Club.