 Gradually, 20 wilderness areas were established to protect scenic backcountry of the Sierra.These wilderness areas include the John Muir Wilderness (protecting the eastern slope of the Sierra and the area between Yosemite and Kings Canyon Parks), and wilderness within each of the National Parks.Because of the Wilderness Act and the rocky terrain in the area, plans to construct two trans-Sierra highways across this portion of the Sierra Escarpment, State Route 168 and State Route 190, were abandoned; the two highways each remain split as discontiguous segments on either side of the Sierra.