The Gila Wilderness by Katie Orlinsky

A sunset view of cliffs along t...ess of southern New Mexico. USA

A sunset view of cliffs along the middle fork of the Gila River in the Gila Wilderness of southern New Mexico. USA

A Mexican grey wolf at the Ladd...o ensure genetic diversity. USA

A Mexican grey wolf at the Ladder Ranch in Caballo, New Mexico is placed inside a capture box and muzzled in order to reduce visual stimulation and make it safer for biologists from the Mexican Grey Wolf Recovery Program to handle it. Once inside the box, the biologists will apply radio collars, check the wolf’s health and administer vaccines, deworming treatment and fluids before the animal is relocated to the wild in Mexico. The Mexican gray wolf species is native to the Gila Wilderness region, and almost went extinct until the Mexican Grey Wolf Recovery Program began re-introducing the species into the wild in 1992. Since then the Gila’s Mexican Grey Wolf population has been slowly growing, with wolves and pups frequently transported between various habitats and breeding facilities in the United States and Mexico to ensure genetic diversity. USA

Joe Saenz, a wilderness outfitt...ral homeland of the Apache. USA

Joe Saenz, a wilderness outfitter guide, environmental activist and educator from the Chiracahua Apache Nation, leads a horseback pack trip through the Gila Wilderness of New Mexico. Over ten days, Joe and his handler Kristen Kairos led National Geographic writer Peter Gwin, photographer Katie Orlinsky and podcast producer Brian Gutierrez across hundreds of miles of canyons, pine forests, mountain ranges, rivers and winding streams. Throughout the Journey Joe shared knowledge about the Gila Wilderness today, and it’s history as the ancestral homeland of the Apache. USA

A 60-plus mile horseback pack t...n the region for centuries. USA

A 60-plus mile horseback pack trip in the Gila Wilderness of New Mexico led by Joe Saenz accompanied by his wrangler Kirsten. Joe is a wilderness outfitter guide, environmental activist and educator from the Chiracahua Apache Nation. The Gila Wilderness and its surrounding area is the ancestral homeland of the Apache. However by the time the Gila Wilderness was officially established nearly 100 years ago, the majority of Apache people had been forced onto reservations or captured. The Apache were the region’s first conservationists, living a way of life that was symbiotic with nature and cared for the land. The famous Chiracahua Apache warrior Geronimo was born and raised along the headwaters of the Gila River, and it is thanks to him and other warriors fending off the US military until the late nineteenth century that the Gila remained as undeveloped and under-grazed as it did. The Gila Wilderness in southern New Mexico encompasses 870 square miles of rough country that includes desert, grasslands, pinyon and pine forests, 10,000 foot mountain ranges, and walls of red canyons lining the largest still un-dammed river in the American west-the Gila River. In 1924 the Gila became the first ever designated wilderness area in the United States, a milestone of American conservation made in large part thanks to Aldo Leopold. In a post-frontier era of industrial expansion, Aldo Leopold’s views on the intrinsic value of wilderness as a place to be protected both for, and from, humans were ahead of their time. However they were also built on the same settler colonial perspectives and myths that continue to define the American west and erase indigenous people’s history to this day. The irony of course is that this very same area had always been inhabited by humans, from the Mogollon cliff dwellers of thousands of years ago to the six different Apache tribes who lived in the region for centuries. USA

Michael Lopez, along with his d...rican west, the Gila River. USA

Michael Lopez, along with his daughter Lainey, son Cayden and fellow hunting guides Tom and Paula Klumker, take the Lopez children out on a youth elk hunt in the Gila Wilderness and Gila National Forest of southern New Mexico. Both Lopez children had a successful hunt, and it was Lainey’s first. She cried after killing the elk and after her father Michael gave her a hug, he painted his children’s faces with the blood of the elk and helped them make an offering over the animals. The Lopez family has Pueblo and Navajo ancestry and deep roots in the Gila region of New Mexico. The Gila Wilderness was the first ever designated wilderness area in the United States and encompasses 870 square miles of rugged country that includes desert, grasslands, pinyon trees, pine forests, 10,000 foot mountain ranges, and the largest still undammed river in the American west, the Gila River. USA

A portrait of Becky Campbell, a...d by her family since 1940. USA

A portrait of Becky Campbell, a rancher, outfitter and guide, at her elk hunting camp in the high country of the Gila Wilderness located in southern New Mexico. Becky operates the Gila Hot Springs Ranch along with her sister Ysabel, which has been owned by her family since 1940. USA

Becky Campbell, a rancher, outf...rican west, the Gila River. USA

Becky Campbell, a rancher, outfitter and guide, sets up a horseback elk hunting camp with assistance from her wrangler Dale in the high country of the Gila Wilderness located in southern New Mexico. September 2021. The Gila Wilderness was the first ever designated wilderness area in the United States and encompasses 870 square miles of rugged country that includes desert, grasslands, pinyon trees, pine forests, 10,000 foot mountain ranges, and the largest still un-dammed river in the American west, the Gila River. USA

The headwaters of the Gila Rive...f the Gila River watershed. USA

The headwaters of the Gila River in the Gila Wilderness of southern New Mexico. The Gila is one of the longest still un-dammed rivers of the American West. It is also one the most endangered rivers in the United States, which is why activists and New Mexico’s Senators are lobbying congress to pass the M.H. Dutch Salmon Greater Gila Wild and Scenic River Act. The bill will give the Gila River “Wild and Scenic River” designation and protect more than 440 miles of the Gila River watershed. USA

Jill Wick, a gila trout biologi...ve trout have been removed. USA

Jill Wick, a gila trout biologist and the native fish program manager with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, catches gila trout at Whitewater Creek along the northwest boundary of the Gila Wilderness. The creek had recently been stocked with around 1,000 young fish spawned earlier this spring, so Jill was able to catch and release dozens of these golden speckled rare fishes in one of the few places in the world where you can still find gila trout. Gila trout are relatives of Pacific salmon that evolved over time to survive the harsh high desert conditions. There existence has been threatened since the late 19th century due to the stocking of the Gila River with nonnative trout, overfishing and habitat deterioration fortunately as early as the 1920s conservation efforts to restore the species began and over the next decades Gila trout have been returned to numerous streams in New Mexico and nonnative trout have been removed. USA

Jill Wick, a gila trout biologist and the native fish program manager with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, holds a gila trout at Whitewater Creek along the northwest boundary of the Gila Wilderness. The creek had recently been stocked with around 1,000 young fish spawned earlier this spring, so Jill was able to catch and release dozens of these golden speckled rare fishes in one of the few places in the world where you can still find gila trout. Gila trout are relatives of Pacific salmon that evolved over time to survive the harsh high desert conditions. There existence has been threatened since the late 19th century due to the stocking of the Gila River with nonnative trout, overfishing and habitat deterioration fortunately as early as the 1920s conservation efforts to restore the species began and over the next decades Gila trout have been returned to numerous streams in New Mexico and nonnative trout have been removed. USA

Sam Martinez, a graduate studen...th is yet to be determined. USA

Sam Martinez, a graduate student researcher at New Mexico State University, captures and collars a recently born elk calf in the Gila National Forest. His work is part of a multi-year study led by Dr. James W. Cain III of the USGS New Mexico Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, in the Gila Wilderness and National Forest investigating the potential impacts of recovering Mexican gray wolf populations on elk habitat use, behavior, and population productivity. After the Gila’s elk population went extinct due to overhunting in the early 20th century, Rocky Mountain elk from Yellowstone National Park were reintroduced to the region in the 1950s and the species struggled to adapt to New Mexico’s dry conditions for decades. Today the Gila’s elk population is generally considered to be healthy, however the influence of Mexican wolf reintroduction on survival, recruitment and population growth is yet to be determined. USA

Mexican gray wolves at the Ladd...o ensure genetic diversity. USA

Mexican gray wolves at the Ladder Ranch in Caballo, New Mexico inside a capture box so USFWS biologists Brady McGee, Melissa Kretzian and Margaret Dwyer from the Mexican Grey Wolf Recovery Program can apply radio collars, check their health and administer vaccines, deworming treatment and fluids before they are relocated to the wild in Mexico. The Mexican gray wolf species is native to the Gila Wilderness region, and almost went extinct until the Mexican Grey Wolf Recovery Program began re-introducing the species into the wild in 1992. Since then the Gila’s Mexican Grey Wolf population has been slowly growing, with wolves and pups frequently transported between various habitats and breeding facilities in the United States and Mexico to ensure genetic diversity. USA

New Mexico Game and Fish biolog...o to ensure genetic diversity.

New Mexico Game and Fish biologist Nicholas Riso, along with US Fish and Wildlife Service biologists Meghan Murphy, Agapito Lopez, and Allison Greenleaf, handle Mexican Grey Wolf puppies in the Gila National Forest as part of the Mexican Grey Wolf Recovery Plan’s cross-foster program. In this cross-foster, three wolf puppies from Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo were flown to the Gila National Forest on a private plane provided by the conservation flying non-profit Lighthawk. The pups were then taken to a den of wild wolf puppies, where biologists mixed the zoo and wild wolf pups together, covering them with each other’s urine and feces. This is done to reduce and blend the scent that the pups from captivity have retained during their transportation so that once they are placed inside the den, the wolf mother raises all of the pups as her own. The Mexican gray wolf species is native to the Gila Wilderness region, and almost went extinct until the Mexican Grey Wolf Recovery Program began re-introducing the species into the wild in 1992. Since then the Gila’s Mexican Grey Wolf population has been slowly growing, with wolves and pups frequently transported between various habitats and breeding facilities in the United States and Mexico to ensure genetic diversity.

Zack Crockett and his mule alon...rotect the Gila Wilderness. USA

Zack Crockett and his mule along the middle fork of the Gila River in the Gila Wilderness of southern New Mexico. Zack is a long-time resident of the Gila region who works as a wilderness outfitter, horse and mule trainer, and in a variety of capacities for the US Forest Service helping to manage, maintain and protect the Gila Wilderness. USA

Elena Lancioni and Anthony Raym...ess of southern New Mexico. USA

Elena Lancioni and Anthony Raymond relax in the Jordan Hot Springs along the middle fork of the Gila River, one of the most popular destinations within the Gila Wilderness of southern New Mexico. USA

A view of Turkey Creek and the ...Cliff and Gila, New Mexico. USA

A view of Turkey Creek and the Mogollon mountains along the southwest side of the Gila Wilderness near the towns of Cliff and Gila, New Mexico. USA

A horse grazes during a Decembe... Isabel and Becky Campbell. USA

A horse grazes during a December snowfall at the Gila Hot Springs Ranch in Gila Hot Springs, New Mexico. The ranch, located on the edge of the Gila Wilderness, was homesteaded nearly 100 years ago by Doc Campbell and is run today by his daughters Isabel and Becky Campbell. USA

Snow blankets the Gila River on...ill live in the town today. USA

Snow blankets the Gila River on a December morning in Gila Hot Springs, New Mexico. The small, remote town is the last stop before all roads end and the Gila Wilderness begins. Thousands of years ago Gila Hot Springs was inhabited by the Mogollon, and later by numerous Apache tribes who successfully protected the area from colonization for centuries, until the late 1880s when the Apache were defeated and it became a US military camp. Over the following decade homesteaders arrived, and some of their family members still live in the town today. USA

A 60-plus mile horseback pack trip in the Gila Wilderness of New Mexico led by Joe Saenz accompanied by his wrangler Kirsten. Joe is a wilderness outfitter guide, environmental activist and educator from the Chiracahua Apache Nation. The Gila Wilderness and its surrounding area is the ancestral homeland of the Apache. However by the time the Gila Wilderness was officially established nearly 100 years ago, the majority of Apache people had been forced onto reservations or captured. The Apache were the region’s first conservationists, living a way of life that was symbiotic with nature and cared for the land. The famous Chiracahua Apache warrior Geronimo was born and raised along the headwaters of the Gila River, and it is thanks to him and other warriors fending off the US military until the late nineteenth century that the Gila remained as undeveloped and under-grazed as it did. The Gila Wilderness in southern New Mexico encompasses 870 square miles of rough country that includes desert, grasslands, pinyon and pine forests, 10,000 foot mountain ranges, and walls of red canyons lining the largest still un-dammed river in the American west-the Gila River. In 1924 the Gila became the first ever designated wilderness area in the United States, a milestone of American conservation made in large part thanks to Aldo Leopold. In a post-frontier era of industrial expansion, Aldo Leopold’s views on the intrinsic value of wilderness as a place to be protected both for, and from, humans were ahead of their time. However they were also built on the same settler colonial perspectives and myths that continue to define the American west and erase indigenous people’s history to this day. The irony of course is that this very same area had always been inhabited by humans, from the Mogollon cliff dwellers of thousands of years ago to the six different Apache tribes who lived in the region for centuries. USA