NEW MEXICO—In 1924, the USDA Forest Service accepted a proposal that would forever impact conservation on the American landscape: the designation of the Gila Wilderness as the first federally recognized wilderness area in the United States. This week, the wilderness celebrates 100 years of that designation.

The designation came at the recommendation of Aldo Leopold, the father of wildlife ecology and one of the leading conservationists of the 20th century. Today, the Gila is a vital part of New Mexico’s natural heritage, source of exemplary outdoor recreation, environmental research, connection with the natural world, and a place of complicated relationships between cultures and land.

The history of the Gila is a microcosm of a long-standing debate: what is Wilderness? Does Wilderness—big W—even exist in the way that Aldo Leopold imagined? When additional voices are included, namely those of Indigenous cultures that have lived in the region for thousands of years, how is the conversation reframed? These questions are the center of the upcoming Gila Centennial speaker series in Silver City, New Mexico. Join us to learn from the diversity of wilderness perspectives and to challenge your own understanding of land and wild spaces.

All events are Friday, May 31, in Mountain Time. Register here to attend any or all of these events.

Wilderness: Explorations in Understanding

9:00-10:30 a.m. MT and 10:45-11:45 a.m.

Join Aldo Leopold biographer Curt Meine, Latinx and environmental writer and professor Priscilla Solis Ybarra, and writer and former Gila trout biologist Leeanna Torres for presentations that cover founding legacy and Leopold history as well as a discussion about who wilderness leaves out.

A Century of Wilderness

1:00 p.m. MT and 2:30 p.m. MT

Join Gila trail steward Melissa Green, wilderness historian Doug Scott, professor emeritus of environmental studies Doug Hulmes, and retired BLM Wilderness Specialist Chris Barns to learn about wilderness management and a discussion of its evolution over the past 100 years.

Land Relationships Across Cultures

6:00-8:00 p.m. MT

Join Theresa Pasqual, executive vice president of Indigenous Affairs for Crow Canyon Archaeological Center; Michael Darrow, Fort Sill Apache historian; Corey Torivio, Continental Divide Trail Coalition representative and founder of Ancestral Lands Conservation Corps for a discussion that explores what lessons we can learn from other steward's best practices and the Indigenous history of the area we call the Gila.

This speaker series was organized and supported in part by USDA Forest Service, New Mexico Wild, Trout Unlimited, The Aldo Leopold Foundation, WildEarth Guardians, Gila Resources Information Project, Heart of the Gila and Continental Divide Trail Coalition.