Does Maine have the most untouched wilderness in the Lower 48? | Fact brief

Maine does not have the most untouched wilderness in the Lower 48 (the continental states excluding Alaska and Hawaii).

One measure is federally designated wilderness: public land Congress has protected under the Wilderness Act. Maine has three designated wilderness areas totaling about 18,600 acres, less than 1% of its land area. California has the most designated acreage in the Lower 48 at 15.3 million.

Another measure is the U.S. Forest Service’s list of inventoried roadless areas. These are undeveloped National Forest System lands, but they are not automatically designated as wilderness.

Maine has about 6,000 acres, ranking 33rd among the 42 states listed by the Forest Service. Alaska leads with nearly 14.8 million roadless acres.

Maine nevertheless is the nation’s most forested state. Forests cover about 89% of its land area, or 17.5 million acres. Much of that is privately owned, managed for timber and/or served by roads.