Gila National Forest sponsors free Wilderness 50th anniversary event

Release Date: Aug 25, 2014

Contact(s): John Kramer

SILVER CITY, N.M.-- The Gila National Forest is celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the Wilderness Act at the Gila Visitor Center on Sunday, Aug. 31, and the public is invited to attend.

To commemorate this milestone, the Wilderness Ranger District has planned a full day of activities and demonstrations for the public from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be interactive displays, information booths and Forest Service personnel will be on hand to answer questions about wilderness.

The Wilderness Act, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 3, 1964, established the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) and set aside an initial 9.1 million acres of wildlands for the use and benefit of the American people.

The Gila National Forest has three designated wilderness areas, the Gila Wilderness, which has the unique distinction of being the first designated wilderness in the country totaling 558,014 acres; the Aldo Leopold Wilderness, which straddles the crest of the Black Range Mountains and the Blue Range Wilderness designated in 1980.

For more information regarding this event call the Wilderness Ranger District at (575) 536-2250.

Direction:  Take State Highway 15 north from Silver City. Although the distance from Silver City is only 44 miles, the travel time is approximately two hours due to twisting and winding mountain terrain. An alternative route from Silver City is along State Highway 35 and goes through the Mimbres Valley. Even though it is 25 miles longer than Highway 15, it is less winding, wider, more level, and easier to travel; therefore it takes about the same amount of time to drive. NOTE: If your vehicle, travel trailer, or RV is over 20 feet in length, you should take Highway 35.