1580                             Laws of Maryland                      [Ch. 735

tion to manage or maintain the areas for the preservation of their
natural condition.]

(a)    In order to assure that an increasing population, accom-
panied by expanding settlement and growing mechanization, does
not occupy and modify all areas within the State of Maryland, leav-
ing no lands designated for preservation and protection in their
natural condition, it is hereby declared to be the policy of the
Maryland State Legislature GENERAL ASSEMBLY to secure for
the people of Maryland of present and future generations the benefits
of an enduring resource of STATE wildlands. For this purpose there
is hereby established a State Wildlands Preservation System to be
composed of areas in the State designated by the Legislature
GENERAL ASSEMBLY as "Wildland Areas," and these shall
be administered for the use and enjoyment of the people of
Maryland in such a manner as will leave them unimpaired for the
future use and enjoyment as wildlands, and so as to provide for the
protection of these areas, the preservation of their wildland char-
acter, and for the gathering and dissemination of information re-
garding their use and enjoyment as wildlands; and no State lands
shall be designated as "Wildland Areas" except as provided for in
this Act or by a subsequent Act.

(b)    The inclusion of an area in the State Wildlands Preserva-
tion System notwithstanding, the area shall continue to be managed
by the Department and agency having jurisdiction thereover im-
mediately before its inclusion in the State Wildlands Preservation
System unless otherwise provided by an Act of the Legislature GEN-
ERAL ASSEMBLY. No appropriation shall be available for the pay-
ment of expenses or salaries for the administration of the State
Wildlands Preservation System as a separate unit nor shall any appro-
priations be available for additional personnel stated as being re-
quired solely for the purpose of managing or administering areas
solely because they are included within the State Wildlands Preserva-
tion System.

(c)    "Wildlands" means limited areas of land or water which
have retained their wilderness character, although not necessarily
completely natural and undisturbed, or have rare or vanishing
species of plant or animal life or similar features of interest which
are worthy of preservation for the use of present and future resi-
dents of the State, and may include unique ecological, geological,
scenic and contemplative recreational areas on State lands.

"State Wildlands" ARE "WILDLANDS" OWNED BY THE
STATE AND shall include the following three types and the loca-
tion of each shall be described in the designation:

Type 1. Primitive areas which by their size or location are in
effect untouched by urban civilization, and can therefore offer the
experience of solitude and self-reliance. Whereas, lands at the
higher elevations are important for protection of watersheds, are
ecologically vulnerable if unwisely altered by human interference, and
often may be uneconomic for logging or construction, it is hereby
found that such lands generally may be suitable for this classifi-
cation.

Type 2. Units of importance for all the natural sciences, especially
ecology, and with outstanding value for education and research and
for the appreciation of natural processes. Preservation in the desired