During Dwight D. Eisenhower's administration in the 1950s, the U.S. planned and began implementation of a bold idea that perhaps was as influential in connecting the people of our large country as the television. The Interstate Highway project was a magnificent wonder of the continental US. According to Wiki (with supporting documentation), 'as of 2006, the system has a total length of 46,876 miles (75,440 km), making it both the largest highway system in the world and the largest public works project in history.' We take this huge accomplishment for granted because it's been an imbedded part of our lives for decades. But initially, it was a marvel that an individual could drive the width or length of the country, and expect a certain standard of highway construction, limited slowdowns, and services at regular intervals the entire way. The engineering perhaps did not require anything too novel (I don't know about this), but the application of that engineering to such a big vision makes it remarkable.

Could what Eisenhower did for connecting citizens from coast to coast have applications for some of our ecological concerns? Why not create an interstate wilderness highway? Initiate a bold, big vision, the purchase of contiguous lands crisscrossing the country, connecting parks and national forests already in government ownership, acquiring more habitat to adequately support the diversity of plants and creatures across our beautiful country. Not necessarily special lands, but uninterrupted land, providing migratory animals safe thoroughfare, making certain that certain areas are not through our highly valued economic freedoms casually suburban- and urbanized, destroying what our wildlife requires for survival. Animals and plants would be guaranteed connected swaths of land free of artificial chemicals, pesticides, and fast vehicles. Forests and prairies and mountains would once again be connected without barriers. Can you imagine the map of the country, with lines showing the untouched wilderness highways? Instead of waiting for emergencies such as extinctions and ecological disasters, why not a bold proactive project protecting more of our country’s heritage: wildlife, land and water in its natural state from border to border. A source of American pride and thriving life. Imagine.