Gila National Forest

The Gila National Forest is a United States national forest in New Mexico. Established in 1905, it now covers approximately 2,710,659 acres (10,969.65 km2), making it the sixth largest national forest in the continental United States. The Forest administration also manage the part of the Apache National Forest in New Mexico which covers 614,202 acres for a total of 3.3 million acres managed by the Gila National Forest. Within the forest, the Gila Wilderness was established in 1924 as the US's first designated wilderness. The Aldo Leopold Wilderness and Blue Range Wilderness are also found within its borders. The Blue Range Primitive Area lies within Arizona in the neighboring Apache National Forest.