Jared Free - "Gary Snyder, The Practice of the Wild"

In reading Gary Snyder, and following his attempts to try and define wilderness, I've come to the conclusion that no one, not even the most philosophically minded, scholastically intelligent individual will ever be able to set a definitive everlasting definition for what is wilderness. Snyder proposes, that "wilderness seems to be remote and perhaps designated regions that are commonly alpine, desert, or swamp." I can agree that this is the general consensus in society. His next assertion alludes to the every changing idea of wilderness. In saying "There has been no wilderness without some kind of human presence for several hundred thousand years" and further, that "Often there are areas that are difficult and remote, but all are known and even named," Snyder seems to be trying to refute the standard that wilderness is uninhabited; meaning eventually it will no longer exist as humans continue to develop habitats. I take from this that wilderness is not and will never cease to be; rather, it is always changing and as such our definition of it must also be perpetually evolving. Snyder's comments reminded me of the saying "It's a jungle out there." No matter what environment your in, natural or man made, it's all wilderness