Aldo Leopold Wilderness Centennial

In order that the man who cares more for the privilege of getting out in the wilds than he does for actual hunting, may have a place away from the smell of gasoline.

The head of the Gila, Mr. Leopold says, is ideally adapted for a wilderness hunting ground It contains no agricultural land and no mineral, as far as it is known. 

There are a few cow outfits in the area, but their continues operation would by no means interfere with its function as a wilderness.

The Gila is lavishly endowed...three kinds of deer, two kinds of bear, beavers, antelope, turkey, grouse, pigeons, squirrels and trout. Mr. Leopold says, a thousand devotees of the rifle found a happy hunting ground on the Gila.

Thinking Like a Mountain Aldo Leopold and the evolution of an ecological attitude toward deer, wolves, and forests By Susan L Fladder