Gila Country

An Overview of the Gila Mountains

Online Editors — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:26:31 -0400

Situated in far southern New Mexico, the Gilas boast some of the most remote backcountry fish and game habitat in the Lower 48. More importantly, this range of rugged mountains is home to one of the nation’s most rare salmonids, the native Gila trout.

Once on the verge of extinction, TU and other conservation groups, in cooperation with state and federal agencies, have worked to restore these beautiful native fish to their home waters.

Additionally, the area provides outstanding opportunity for anglers pursuing a host of game fish in the middle and lower reaches of the Gila River. Fortunate anglers can catch smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, rainbow trout, brown trout and even catfish in the warmer, lower reaches of the river.

Hunters, too, have reason to visit the Gilas—huge elk and deer populations grace this country, as does a prime population of wild turkeys. On the Gilas dryer and lower slopes, quail are common and provide excellent sport for the upland bird hunter.

The mountains, too, shelter some of the region’s priceless cultural artifacts, including remote cliff dwellings from an ancient Native American civilization that to this day puzzles modern archaeologists.

Unfortunately, the area is being impacted by excessive and illegal off-road vehicle use. Pioneered trails are bisecting big game habitat and contributing silt and sediment to the Gila’s trout streams.

Cross-country travel is creating a spider web of improperly maintained trails that wash out during storms and rut deeply, permanently scarring otherwise habitable land for game and fish.

Properly maintaining legal trails is important to the Best Wild Places project—there are no efforts to close legal routes. But illegal and unofficial routs that impact habitat—and hunting and fishing opportunity—must be closed and reclaimed.

It will fall to sportsmen and ORV users themselves to police bad actors and protect this place forever.

What’s in the Gilas?
Fishing assets: Native Gila trout, smallmouth bass, brown trout, rainbow trout, brook trout, largemouth bass, catfish, suckers and various warmwater species in lower reaches of the Gila River drainage.
Hunting assets: Elk, deer, turkey, quail, varmints.
Other: Remains of ancient Native American civilizations, ample camping and touring opportunities, hiking, geocaching, cycling, etc.

Threats: Increased presence of illegally “pioneered” off-road trails that impact habitat and hunting and fishing opportunity.

Best Wild Places: Exploring Gila Country (Day 3)

Dave_Maccar — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 12:15:14 -0400

Editor-at-Large Kirk Deeter and photographer Kevin Cooley set out to explore the Gila Mountains of New Mexico, where Deeter hopes to fool a rare Gila trout. The duo is joined by Chris Hunt, Greg McReynolds, and Dylan Looze of Trout Unlimited, who have made incredible efforts to save the precious habitat that supports these elusive beauties of the high-mountain brooks. What begins as a fish quest becomes an eye-opening adventure for Deeter, who is pleasantly surprised by what he finds in the outdoorsman's oasis.

By day three of our odyssey in the Gila Wilderness of southwestern New Mexico, my mind was swimming. I had caught a "life fish"...my first rare Gila trout, which are only found here. Where I expected tumbleweed and cactus, I found lush Alpine meadows, brimming with wildflowers and tall grasses. We'd seen lightning arc from black anvil clouds into the red canyon walls around us, and hiked (far) to find scarce waters that hadn't been muddied by monsoon floods. On top of that, I had seen more wild game... elk, deer, turkeys, quail, and more... than I had seen anywhere south of the Canadian border.

But the trip also forced a reckoning with a difficult issue that faces all of us hunters and anglers who hope to experience as much as we can… share that opportunity with as many others as possible… and at the same time, preserve the natural landscape (and the fish/animals therein) for future generations as best we can.

Trout Unlimited volunteer Garrett VeneKlasen summed it up with a question he asked as we hiked up the Gila River on day three: "Is wilderness really wilderness if you build roads through it?"

Garrett’s query wasn’t unique by any stretch. It reflects a concern sportsmen and women have wrestled with for generations.

Aldo Leopold wrote in his classic A Sand County Almanac decades ago: "The trophy-recreationalist has peculiarities that contribute in subtle ways to his undoing. To enjoy he must possess, invade, appropriate. Hence the wilderness that he cannot personally see has no value to him. Hence the universal assumption that an unused hinterland is rendering no service to society. To those devoid of imagination, a blank place on the map is a useless waste; to others, the most valuable part."

And therein lies the rub.

The Gila National Forest is devising a travel management plan with the hope of designating certain routes for all-terrain vehicles and other motorized use. Done right, it could open opportunity in this amazing place. Done wrong, however, TU New Mexico public lands coordinator Greg McReynolds, thinks it could lead to a “chicken-foot” effect, where trails encroach virtually unchecked into critical habitat.

“The chicken foot effect is when a trail ends, and someone creates a new fork, then the next person comes along, and forks off that trail… eventually there’s a chicken foot network of trails that might not have been intended, but form because of regulations that can’t be effectively enforced,” explained McReynolds.

“I think all sportsmen, from hunters, to anglers, to ATVers, and hikers share a common goal. The trick now will be working together to achieve the best scenario for the Gila.”

As I thought on what VeneKlasen and McReynolds had to say, it occurred to me that, while there are few universal “truths” in the finicky fly fishing world, one constant I have always experienced is that the further one ventures from the road or the parking lot… the more foot miles you put on… the better the experience is.

And so that would be the mantra for the final day of our Gila country adventure. Led by long-time local, author, and outdoorsman Dutch Salmon, we walked up the West Fork of the Gila River. And walked… and walked some more.

We started on the trail along the river, then cut through a piney meadow on another hiking trail, and eventually bushwhacked our way to the stream.

Here, we found clear, cool headwaters that hadn’t been muddied by the monsoon torrents (at least not yet). The river churned a lazy course through red canyon rocks, a path no doubt scoured by the river for eons.

In the shadows of the rocks and willow brushes, there were lazy pools, accentuated by gentle riffles. And where the riffles met the pools—usually right on the current seam where a bubble line formed—brown trout were sipping dry flies from the surface.

Chris Hunt fished with Dutch. I teamed up with Trout Unlimited intern Dylan Looze from Texas. By this point, Dylan and I were old pals… we’d run through the high country of the Alpine Triangle in Colorado… and now were wrapping up the Gila trip in New Mexico. Dylan had caught species like Apache Trout, Gila Trout, and wild Cutthroats in his first mountain fishing adventure… species it had taken me years to tick off my list.

So it was only appropriate that Dylan show the old dog a few more new tricks… which he did, as soon as I broke the tip off my fiberlass rod (caught it in the brush). Casting small terrestrial flies, he’d hook up every twenty minutes or so. The fishing was tough under brighter skies. But the browns were cooperative, if you knew how to get at them without making shadows or loud splashes as you waded. By this point Dylan had become a natural.

As for me, I already had my rewards. Watching Dylan (who had not caught trout on flies before) work the water like a pro was probably first and foremost in my mind.

Second was catching a number of rare Gila Trout, which I had never done before.

And third, of course, was having been introduced to an entirely unexpected, and indeed enchanting (New Mexico is the Land of Enchantment, after all) landscape that is the Gila Country.

It is, without question, one of the most beautiful wild places I have seen. And it is worth experiencing yourselves… and protecting for many generations that will follow us.

—Kirk Deeter

Click here to see more photos from Day 3 of the Deeter's Gila Country adventure.

Exploring Gila Country: Day Three

Dave_Maccar — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 12:06:08 -0400

Editor-at-Large Kirk Deeter and photographer Kevin Cooley set out to explore the Gila Mountains of New Mexico, where Deeter hopes to fool a rare Gila trout. The duo is joined by Chris Hunt, Greg McReynolds, and Dylan Looze of Trout Unlimited, who have made incredible efforts to save the precious habitat that supports these elusive beauties of the high-mountain brooks. What begins as a fish quest becomes an eye-opening adventure for Deeter, who was pleasantly surprised by what he found in the outdoorsman's oasis.

Best Wild Places: Exploring Gila Country (Day 2)

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:35:33 -0400

Editor-at-Large Kirk Deeter and photographer Kevin Cooley set out to explore the Gila Mountains of New Mexico, where Deeter hopes to fool a rare Gila trout. The duo is joined by Chris Hunt, Greg McReynolds, and Dylan Looze of Trout Unlimited, who have made incredible efforts to save the precious habitat that supports these elusive beauties of the high-mountain brooks. What begins as a fish quest becomes an eye-opening adventure for Deeter, who was pleasantly surprised by what he finds in the outdoorsman's oasis. Here's the scoop on day two.

On day two we got up early, and decided to head into the high country of the Black Mountains, in order to find a feeder creek that would be above most of the monsoon runoff. We knew if we could find clear water, we would also find Gila trout that would eat flies.

Trout Unlimited’s New Mexico Public Lands Coordinator, Greg McReynolds, led the way, and we were joined by TU volunteer and avid outdoorsman Garrett Veneklasen. Veneklasen runs fishing travel business that connects anglers with some of the most exotic fishing locales in the world (www.interangler.com). Yet he also reminded me that he lives in New Mexico for a reason: This is some of the most stunning hunting and fishing land in the world.

That said, Veneklasen also pointed out that the high desert and alpine areas of New Mexico are also extremely fragile, which is part of the reason TU and Field & Stream organized this expedition.

The particular concern in this area is that The Gila National Forest is devising a “Travel Management Plan” for the area, which would establish a designated system of motorized trails. The problem, according to Trout Unlimited, is that the proposal could include a huge loophole by allowing motorized big game retrieval for up to a mile from any road.

That sounds good for many hunters… but there’s a catch. “The problem is that would make the off-road limits utterly unenforceable in a practical sense,” said McReynolds.

According to Veneklasen, who considers himself an avid ATVer, there is a point where we need to draw clearer boundaries in order to protect the overall experience.

“I’m a 17-year ATV guy, but as an elk hunter, I have also come to learn that engine noise is definitely equated by elk with predation," said Veneklasen. “The point is to have a regressive experience, and in fact, that is a huge reason why the elk hunting, bird hunting and fishing experience is so unique here.

“The problem is, the more you drive off road, the more the elk are pushed away, and the more need there is to hunt with an ATV. It’s a spiral effect. We need to avoid that from happening.”

Indeed, it isn’t an issue of irresponsible ATVers rip-snorting around the mountains and marking up the landscape as much as it is a matter of people who love the landscape—hunters, anglers, and ATVers included (often one in the same)—perhaps loving it so much, and wanting to experience it so easily, that we risk loving the region to death. By the same token, we limit hunting licenses in the Gila, which is one of the most prolific trophy elk areas in the world (the chances of drawing a rifle season mature bull elk tag for the Gila Wilderness is roughly 10% for nonresidents and 15% for residents). We also should look at the way we access the resource. In conservation icon Aldo Leopold’s spirit, keeping the true wilderness nature of an area requires maintaining roadless areas.

What that boiled down to for us anglers on this day was some serious hiking—a few miles along a creek, through a canyon, and over a small ridge to a spot where we could see the Gila Trout shimmering in the runs of the narrow creek.

I prefer fishing fiberglass rods when I cast dry flies in these situations. On the first cast, I lobbed a size #10 Stimulator fly into the heart of a choppy run, and a Gila trout surged to inhale the bug. They’re sporty little fish; this one bulldogged upstream on a first run, and then turned back into an eddy, where I could cradle it in my hand, unhook it, hold it for a few images by photographer Kevin Cooley, and then let it go.

Mission accomplished. It’s funny when you look back and think about all the effort, time and money that can go into a fishing or hunting adventure—the quest for a big elk, or a marlin, etc. And in many ways, as I held that small fish in my hands, considering the fragility of the ecosystem and the rarity of this species, I ranked it right up there with the most rewarding outdoor adventures I have ever had.

I would certainly recommend the quest for a Gila trout as a “bucket list” addition to any angler’s itinerary. The uniquely beautiful allure of the New Mexico high country is apparent at first glance.

The trick now is finding ways to work together to ensure that same impression and experience for future generations.

Click here to see more photos from Day 2 of the Deeter's Gila Country adventure.

Exploring Gila Country: Day Two

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:20:41 -0400

Editor-at-Large Kirk Deeter and photographer Kevin Cooley set out to explore the Gila Mountains of New Mexico, where Deeter hopes to fool a rare Gila trout. The duo is joined by Chris Hunt, Greg McReynolds, and Dylan Looze of Trout Unlimited, who have made incredible efforts to save the precious habitat that supports these elusive beauties of the high-mountain brooks. What begins as a fish quest becomes an eye-opening adventure for Deeter, who was pleasantly surprised by what he finds in the outdoorsman's oasis.

Best Wild Places: Exploring Gila Country (Day 1)

Joe_Cermele — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 16:41:55 -0400

Editor-at-Large Kirk Deeter and photographer Kevin Cooley set out to explore the Gila Mountains of New Mexico, where Deeter hopes to fool a rare Gila trout. The duo is joined by Chris Hunt, Greg McReynolds, and Dylan Looze of Trout Unlimited, who have made incredible efforts to save the precious habitat that supports these elusive beauties of the high-mountain brooks. What begins as a fish quest becomes an eye-opening adventure for Deeter, who was pleasantly surprised by what he finds in the outdoorsman's oasis. Here's the scoop on day one.

My first Field & Stream “Best Wild Places” adventure was a homecoming to the familiar San Juan Mountains of Colorado; the second was a completely opposite experience, into a completely unseen and unexpected realm—the Gila Mountains of southwestern New Mexico.

I joined photographers Kevin Cooley and Bridget Batch, as well as Trout Unlimited’s Chris Hunt, Greg McReynolds, and Dylan Looze in Silver City, New Mexico. Silver City is a laid-back community in the high desert that would easy fit on one of those magazine hot-lists of “off the radar” outdoor towns. Long dependent on the hard rock mining industry (the giant open pit Santa Rita mine is nearby), Silver City now has a trendy restaurant row, art boutiques, and plenty of allure for outdoor aficionados, especially anglers, hunters, mountain bikers, and hikers.

My main objective wasn’t about finding a new outdoorsy place to be, however. I wanted to catch a rare Gila trout (oncoryhchus gilae gilae), a fish that can only be found in this area. Genetically related to cutthroats and rainbow trout, it is believed that as ancient oceans and flood waters receded and the deserts enveloped this region, the Gila trout evolved and adapted in what is now a relatively tiny high country oasis, where coldwater streams still flow in alpine meadows. Once pressured to the brink, through the efforts of Trout Unlimited, New Mexico wildlife officials, and other conservation organizations, the Gila trout have made an impressive resurgence of late.

As this trip evolved, however, it would become much more than a quest to tick off a “bucket list” species on the fly. It was an eye-opening odyssey through a unique ecosystem that supports a wide array of animals. Frankly, having never been here, I came prepared for dusty mountains and tumbleweed. What I found instead were vast glades of vibrant wildflowers, and lush green thickets through which flowed crystalline brooks. And more animals—bigger, stronger, and more numerous—than I had planned to see.

For example, the area is home to some of the most prolific elk in the world (it’s one of the most coveted, and difficult-to-draw licenses in New Mexico). Local guides will tell you that they expect a herd bull to be 380-class, and 350-scoring satellite bulls are commonplace.

I’ve never seen so many wild turkeys as I would encounter in my days hiking through the Gila. Big healthy birds, many, it seemed, were squarely over 20 pounds. This is also a quail hunter’s paradise, one of the few places where you can chase Mearns’, Gambel’s, and Scaled Quail in close proximity, on the same day.

I am told it is the uniquely mild high desert-meets-alpine-climate that produces the habitat and forage needed to yield such species. But, almost ironically, the delicate balance that produces such natural wonder may also be the region’s Achilles’ heel. I was struck by the palpable fragility of this landscape.

Trout Unlimited’s mission in this area simply revolves around keeping the road access in throughout the Gila are limited, and also limiting the amount of ATV traffic off established trails… avoiding the so-called “chicken foot effect.” As much as hunters and anglers realize the benefits of open access, one cornerstone of conservation thinking—particularly in this region—is that some places are best left alone… or at least we should tread on them very lightly.

It was conservation icon Aldo Leopold who once said: "Recreational development is a job not of building roads into lovely country, but of building receptivity into the still unlovely human mind."

Species like the Gila trout benefit when their fragile spawning runs are not disturbed. Migrating elk herds flourish away from the noises and pressures roads bring. And so on, and so on…

As such, this would be a trip that involved a lot of hiking. Our only drive on day one was the two-hour twisting trek from Silver City to the Gila Cliff Dwellings, where we walked to the ruins of the ancient Mogollon civilization that lived in the rocks above the Gila River more than 700 years ago.

From there, we decided to fish. We had noticed that the monsoon rains turned the main stem of the Gila river into a raging torrent of chocolate, but were able to find some clear water in the west fork of the Gila River. Chris Hunt caught a small brown trout on a grasshopper fly, but we didn’t find the elusive Gila trout that day.

Instead, chased away by the billowing thunderheads over the canyon, we made our way back to The Wilderness Lodge (www.gilahot.com) to soak in the natural hot spring pools, and make plans for a long hike, well into the backcountry and high above the swollen rivers where we would find clear water.

And hopefully, the fabled Gila Trout…

Click here to see more photos from Day 1 of the Deeter's Gila Country adventure.

Exploring Gila Country: Day One

Joe_Cermele — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 16:33:08 -0400

Editor-at-Large Kirk Deeter and photographer Kevin Cooley set out to explore the Gila Mountains of New Mexico, where Deeter hopes to fool a rare Gila trout. The duo is joined by Chris Hunt, Greg McReynolds, and Dylan Looze of Trout Unlimited, who have made incredible efforts to save the precious habitat that supports these elusive beauties of the high-mountain brooks. What begins as a fish quest becomes an eye-opening adventure for Deeter, who was pleasantly surprised by what he finds in the outdoorsman's oasis.