U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich and U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez on April 18 announced the reintroduction of the M.H. Dutch Salmon Greater Gila Wild and Scenic River Act, which would designate approximately 450 miles of the Gila and San Francisco Rivers and their tributaries as Wild and Scenic. (Photo courtesy New Mexico Wild)

New Mexico Democrats U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich and U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez on Friday announced the reintroduction of the M.H. Dutch Salmon Greater Gila Wild and Scenic River Act, which would designate approximately 450 miles of the Gila and San Francisco Rivers and their tributaries “wild and scenic rivers.” That designation would protect the area under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The bill has been introduced three prior times with support from the entire delegation.

“The Gila and San Francisco Rivers are among the last wild, free-flowing rivers in the Southwest— vital to the region’s wildlife, communities, and culture. To truly safeguard the Gila’s wild character, we must also protect its rivers,” Heinrich, ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said in a statement.

Vasquez, who held a news conference with members of the Wild Gila River Coalition in Silver City on Friday, called the Gila River “a symbol of everything we love about New Mexico—wild, beautiful and full of life. This legislation is about protecting that legacy for future generations.”

Reintroduction of the bill came with support from a myriad of sources, including New Mexico Wild Executive Director Mark Allison, who said the bill “honors the original vision of Aldo Leopold and river champions like the late Dutch Salmon, without whose efforts this river we love would have been greatly diminished. The legislation also aims to preserve sites held sacred to communities that have called the Gila region home for centuries. New Mexicans know how irreplaceable our natural and cultural heritage is and overwhelmingly support this effort.”

(For more on Leopold and the Gila, be sure to read his 1921 essay “The Wilderness and Its Place in Forest Recreational Policy.”)

Fort Sill Apache Tribe Chairwoman Jennifer Heminokeky noted in a statement that “much of the Gila and San Francisco rivers are located within the Fort Sill (Chiricahua-Warm Springs ) Apache Tribe’s original 14-million-acre homeland that our ancestors were removed from by force. The Gila River and its tributaries provide a cultural roadmap to our ancestors who thrived in the surrounding lands for centuries. This legislation reflects my belief that it is our responsibility to protect these cultural and natural resources for future generations, just as our ancestors cared for these lands and rivers before us. We will continue to stand with others in this community to protect the Gila and San Francisco rivers.”

Residents and local governments also commended the legislation and remarked on its importance. “Each member of this community has a different story of their experience and connection to the forest and the river, but protection of the Gila is extremely important to all of us,” Silver City Councilor and Mayor Pro Tem Guadalupe Cano said in a statement. “As our community continues to grow and evolve, our love of the Gila is the one thing that stays the same.”

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