Sorry I’m late. The first designated wilderness. Wow! And we still have to fight to protect the tiny bit of land left unspoiled.
Happy Birthday, Gila! | New Mexico Wilderness Alliance
Happy Birthday, Gila Wilderness!
June 3, 1924-June 3-2014
Today is the 90th birthday of the world’s first designated wilderness, the Gila Wilderness.
In 1922, Aldo Leopold, a United States Forest Service supervisor of the Carson National Forest, proposed that the headwaters area of the Gila River be preserved by an administrative process of excluding roads and denying use permits. Through his efforts, this area became recognized in 1924 as the first wilderness area in the National Forest System. Then, in 1964, the Gila became the first congressionally designated wilderness of the National Wilderness Preservation System when the Wilderness Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson.