The Gila Wilderness in New Mexico was, in 1924, the first designated wilderness area in the world. Forester Aldo Leopold’s concept was to create a pristine place untouched by man – there would be no mechanised vehicles or buildings, but horses, rafts, hunting and fishing would be allowed. How we designate a wilderness hasn’t really changed in the last century. In some ways, Gila was ahead of its time – in the early 20th century, nobody was really thinking about conserving the land. But they also forgot about the people living in this area: the Chiricahua Apache had been there for 200 years, and the Mogollon before that. The Gila is an example of how contradictory conservation can be, back then and now.
One of the most interesting examples of this is the elk. These were once widespread in the Gila region, but were gradually hunted out. In the 1970s, the Forest Service reintroduced Rocky Mountain elk – but since the elk don’t know how to survive in the desert conditions, they had to build water tanks, even though construction was against the principles of conservation. Fifty years on, the elk are part of the reason people visit.
