Gila Wilderness
The Gila Wilderness, established in June 1924, is a protected wilderness area located within the Gila National Forest in southwestern New Mexico. Renowned as the first designated wilderness area in the world, it spans over 202,000 hectares (approximately 500,000 acres) and features a diverse range of ecosystems, including elements from both the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Madre range, as well as the Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts. This region's establishment emerged from the early conservation movement in the United States, driven by concerns over the preservation of natural landscapes in the face of increasing settlement and development.
The Gila Wilderness was designated to maintain its roadless and unspoiled character, free from the impacts of tourism-related infrastructure. Aldo Leopold, a key figure in the area's preservation, emphasized the importance of protecting wildlands for both ecological integrity and recreational value. Over the years, additional legislation has expanded and refined the wilderness designation, leading to the establishment of the Aldo Leopold National Wilderness in 1980. As of 2024, celebrations are planned to mark the centennial of this significant area, which plays a vital role in biodiversity conservation and offers opportunities for reflection on the values of wilderness preservation.
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Gila Wilderness
DATE: Established in June, 1924
DEFINITION: Area of protected wilderness within the Gila National Forest
Establishment of the Gila Wilderness Area, the first designated wilderness area in the world, was a harbinger of the national wilderness system later established under the Wilderness Act of 1964.
The Gila Wilderness Area, located in southwestern New Mexico, comprises more than 202,000 hectares (500,000 acres) of rugged country containing highly diverse landforms, plants, and animals. It includes the termini of both the Rocky Mountains to the north and the Sierra Madre range to the south. The Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts also reach into the Gila Wilderness Area, contributing to its high biodiversity.
The designation of this region as the world’s first official wilderness area grew out of the nineteenth century conservation movement in the United States. As the United States became increasingly settled, some people grew concerned with the need to preserve the land’s natural beauty. This led to the establishment of the first national park, Yellowstone, in 1872. At the same time, however, plans were being formulated to make the park and similar areas readily accessible to visitors. About thirty years later, a number of observers began to realize that some wildlands needed to be preserved in a manner devoid of roads and other amenities for visitors.
In 1899 President William McKinley set aside the Gila River Forest Reserve. Seven years later, the Gila National Forest was established. In the early 1920’s threats to the area by developers led Aldo Leopold, then a young forester in the Southwest District of the U.S. Forest Service, to awaken the American public to the need to save wildlands. An avid hunter, Leopold observed that wildlands and wildlife habitats were shrinking, and he blamed these losses on road building. Upon his arrival in the Southwest in 1909, he had identified six roadless backcountry areas—each more than 202,000 hectares in size—in the region’s national forests. By 1921, only one, at the headwaters of the Gila River, remained without roads.
Passage of the Federal Highway Act in 1922 threatened to bring more road building and tourism, leading Leopold to fear the loss of this last roadless area. As assistant district forester, he led a movement to establish the Gila headwaters area as the first officially designated wilderness, to keep it roadless and without buildings or artificial trails. Persuaded by his arguments, the district forester designated some 305,500 hectares (755,000 acres) as the Gila Wilderness Area in June, 1924—a harbinger of the national wilderness system later established under the Wilderness Act of 1964.
Under the 1924 U.S. Forest Service wilderness designation, hunting was encouraged in the Gila Wilderness Area. Predator control then led to deer overpopulation. In 1933 the Forest Service responded by rebuilding an abandoned wagon road through the wilderness to provide easier access for hunters. This resulted in division of the wilderness. After some modifications in the laws and name changes in the intervening years, the New Mexico Wilderness Act of 1980 designated approximately 226,000 hectares (558,000 acres) west of the road as the Gila National Wilderness and about 81,000 hectares (200,000 acres) east of the road as the Aldo Leopold National Wilderness. These areas together exceed the size of the original Gila Wilderness Area. Local, and state officials marked the one-hundredth anniversary of the wilderness area with a series of events in May and June of 2024.
Bibliography
Huggard, Christopher J. “America’s First Wilderness Area: Aldo Leopold, the Forest Service, and the Gila of New Mexico, 1924-1980.” In Forests Under Fire: A Century of Ecosystem Mismanagement in the Southwest, edited by Christopher J. Huggard and Arthur R. Gómez. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2001.
Lewis, Michael, ed. American Wilderness: A New History. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Lorbiecki, Marybeth. Aldo Leopold: A Fierce Green Fire. 1996. Reprint. Guilford, Conn.: Globe Pequot Press, 2005.
Ogle, Juno. "Gila Wilderness’ 100th Birthday Peaks This Week." Silver City Daily Press, 29 May 2024, www.scdailypress.com/2024/05/29/gila-wilderness-100th-birthday-peaks-week/. Accessed 17 July 2024.