The Otis Pike Wilderness at Fire Island National Seashore is now 1 acre larger/NPS

It's only one acre, but thanks to Hurricane Sandy's fury back in 2012, that one acre is now part of the Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness at Fire Island National Seashore in New York.

And as it turns out, that was the last acre of "potential" wilderness that could be added to the wilderness area, which is the only designated wilderness area in New York State, according to the National Park Service. The land was eligible to be designated part of the wilderness area because the hurricane destroyed structures on the land -- structures that were not compatible with wilderness designation -- making the one acre eligible for addition to Fire Island National Seashore's wilderness area.

Those structures? A boardwalk nature trail west of the Wilderness Visitor Center, the boardwalk dune crossing, and a pit toilet at Old Inlet.

The land is the last of 18 acres identified as potential wilderness in the 1980 Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness Act to be converted to full wilderness designation. Under the designation wild, undeveloped federal lands are provided the highest level of protection, prohibiting motor vehicles, roads, and development. More than 1,380 acres of natural, undeveloped dunes, swale, and salt marsh are now available within the Seashore's wilderness. Just two hours from New York City, this natural, undeveloped barrier island wilderness offers unique opportunities for solitude, recreation, and education.

The Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness Act designated 1,363 acres of the Seashore as wilderness, and identified 18 additional acres as potential wilderness. By October 1999 roughly 17 of the 18 acres of potential wilderness fully complied with wilderness standards and were designated as federal wilderness.

The Wilderness Act was signed into law on September 3, 1964. What became known as the "Eastern Wilderness Areas Act," provided for areas in the East that had been severely modified to be included in the National Wilderness Preservation System. For more information on federal wilderness please visit www.wilderness.net.