They argue that the term is culturally inappropriate and implies that the land and waters in a proposed declaration were uninhabited and predominantly void of human activity.

The natural river flows that are the heartbeat of the North’s diverse ecosystems and lifeblood for many existing communities are under threat from dams, irrigation schemes, and land clearing in their catchmentsIn January 2010, the Queensland Wild Rivers Act 2005 became the subject of national interest when federal Opposition leader Tony Abbott announced a plan to 'overturn' the Act through a proposed Wild Rivers Environmental Management Bill.

[12] This legislation intended to insert a provision in the Queensland Act, granting Indigenous titleholders a right to consent to this one regulation.

[13] The introduction of the Wild Rivers (Environmental Management) Bill to both houses of federal parliament in 2010 and 2011 led to a series of parliamentary inquiries, though in October 2011, Queensland Liberal National Party candidate Campbell Newman indicated he planned to 'axe' the legislation if elected.

Elected in March 2012, Newman subsequently announced he would eventually replace the Wild Rivers Act solely in Cape York Peninsula under a Bio-Regional Management Plan anticipated in October 2013.

Governments – federal, provincial and territorial – lend support and guidance, and provide approvals as required.

Unless we arrest this slide, our grandchildren may be left to defend the last wild river in New Zealand.Following a Presidential Commission reviewing the outdoor recreational resources of the United States of America, the United States Congress passed the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in October 1968, creating a National Wild and Scenic Rivers System as follows:[17] It is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States that certain selected rivers of the Nation which, with their immediate environments, possess outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural or other similar values, shall be preserved in free-flowing condition, and that they and their immediate environments shall be protected for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generationsAs of 2008 (after 40 years since the United States National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was first created), more than 11,000 miles (18,000 km) of 166 rivers in 38 States plus the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico have been protected.