Photo by Tim Drescher / Eagle Summit Wilderness Alliance Summit and Eagle counties are fortunate to have lots of public land that we can enjoy and on which we can recreate. That is why we live here. Most of these lands are in the White River National Forest. Some special areas of the national forest are designated and managed as wilderness areas, including the Eagles Nest, Ptarmigan Peak and Holy Cross wilderness areas. So what are wilderness areas, how do they differ from the rest of the national forest, and why are they important? Wilderness areas are federally owned lands designated by Congress in accordance with the 1964 Wilderness Act to be part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Only Congress can designate a wilderness area. Eagles Nest was designated by Congress in 1976, Holy Cross in 1980 and Ptarmigan Peak in 1993. Wilderness areas are the creme de la creme of our public lands: 36% of Colorado land is federally owned but only 3% is designated as wilderness.