New Mexico S Wilderness Areas

The growing awareness of the environmental movement of the 1960s and 1970s, along with the enactment of the Wilderness Act, precipitated local, regional, and national joint actions of the many outdoor recreation organizations. Wilderness enactments resulted from some of the more successful citizen attempts. The onrush of man's capability to "tame the wilderness" continues to accelerate with the population growth and the need for some restraints has become increasingly evident. This book shows what happened in a magical part of the American Southwest. "Wisconsin Bookwatch" reported: "...an informative history of the conflicting forces striving to determine the fate of New Mexico's wild lands-on one hand, the press of population growth and the desire to 'tame the wilderness'; and on the other, the efforts of environmental movements and outdoor recreation groups to preserve the wilderness and its heritage. Black-and-white photographs illustrate this thoughtful and moving account which is a welcome and much appreciated contribution to Environmental Studies reference collections and reading lists." * * * * * Corry McDonald was employed for over thirty years by Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was during this time that he developed an interest in the wilderness areas of that state. McDonald took copious notes on every back country trip he made. Those notes have become the basis for this book. In it he reluctantly tells about some of his secret places in the hope that it will reduce some of the overuse of the wildernesses that are so well known. He is also the author of "The Dilemma of Wilderness" from Sunstone Press.

This comprehensive guide to New Mexico's wild lands includes not only such well-known areas as the Gila and Pecos wildernesses, but also lesser-known regions such as Latir Peaks, Apache Kid, and Bisti De-na-zin wildernesses. It also provides an inventory of the state's more than 50 "wilderness study areas" -- the wilderness areas of the future. With text by New Mexico author Bob Julyan and illustrated with pictures by Tom Till, one of the Southwest's finest outdoor photographers, the book provides a richly colored portrait of New Mexico's wilderness heritage, including suggestions for hikers and insights into each area's unique natural and human history.

New Mexico's 555,000-acre Gila Wilderness is a vast untrammeled patchwork of virtually unlimited forest types, climatic conditions, and wildlife.