Preserving the Greater Gila

Deep in the heart of the American Southwest lies the Greater Gila Bioregion, a place that is larger and more biodiverse than Yellowstone, as wild as the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, a rich and sacred cultural landscape, and the birthplace of the wilderness ideal. WildEarth Guardians believes that the Greater Gila can and should be America’s next, great protected landscape.  A truly protected Greater Gila would demonstrate a new model of public land management that meaningfully integrates and uplifts the histories, voices, and perspectives of all Indigenous communities with a connection to the landscape. 

We envision an expansive protected area, anchored around the Gila, Aldo Leopold, and Blue Range wilderness areas, where wolves are free to roam, Mexican spotted owls soar, and Gila and Apache trout thrive in free-flowing rivers and streams.

For decades, WildEarth Guardians has advocated for protection and restoration of the Greater Gila Bioregion. We’ve made great strides since shifting our approach to working with ranchers, rather than against them. Our innovative method for retiring grazing allotments has resulted in the protection of more than 36,000 acres of important Mexican gray wolf habitat on public lands, giving the wildness that remains in the Greater Gila the space to endure.

 Guardians is actively collaborating with Indigenous communities,  local residents, conservation groups, and other interested stakeholders within the Greater Gila Bioregion to develop community-driven and science-based solutions to protect the Greater Gila against the threats of over-logging, military overflights, toxic mining operations, loss of wildlife habitat and decades of forest mismanagement. We aim to protect, restore, and reconnect public and private lands to provide a unique and rich place for wildlife, wild rivers, and current and future generations.