As part of the wilderness system, it is intended to preserve a variety of natural life forms and contribute to a diversity of plant and animal gene pools.

The timber is mostly 21–100 years old since much of the area was cut and burned in the early part of the 20th century, however some old growth forest remains.

State route 613 along the western border was the grade for the railroad used to bring timber from the area.

[7] The wilderness is part of the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains Subsection within the Central Appalachian Broadleaf Coniferous Forest-Meadow Province.

[9] Little Wilson Creek, beginning on the southeastern slope of Pine Mountain in a bog containing many rare plants, flows southeast through the wilderness into Wilson Creek, which defines the border between the wilderness and Grayson Highlands State Park.

[17] Designated by Congress in 1984, the wilderness now has a total of 5461 acres and is managed by the Forest Service through the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.