Uploaded October 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
“Legacies of the Gila” explores the relationship between the Gila Wilderness and the communities alongside it, through the stories of a living historian, a park ranger, and a ranching family with a multi-generational history of conservation in the Gila. Directed by Noah Montes and Gayla Lacy, with sound design by Iliana Aragon.
The Gila Film School was a first-of-its-kind documentary filmmaking program at New Mexico State University, offered in collaboration with the Forest Service, with the objective of creating a showcase of short films for the Centennial Celebration of the Gila Wilderness. Thirteen students from diverse backgrounds took part in the immersive 3-semester program. In July 2022, the group spent twelve days in the Gila, making seven short documentaries about people living and working in the Gila Wilderness. The films reflect the unique natural, cultural and conservation history of the Gila, including Indigenous and Latino history. Through compelling human-interest stories, they explore the relationship between people and their natural environment, and the importance of protecting wilderness.
Learn more at fs.usda.gov/detail/gila/learning/history-culture/?cid=fseprd1202132
“Legacies of the Gila” explores the relationship between the Gila Wilderness and the communities alongside it, through the stories of a living historian, a park ranger, and a ranching family with a multi-generational history of conservation in the Gila. Directed by Noah Montes and Gayla Lacy, with sound design by Iliana Aragon.
The Gila Film School was a first-of-its-kind documentary filmmaking program at New Mexico State University, offered in collaboration with the Forest Service, with the objective of creating a showcase of short films for the Centennial Celebration of the Gila Wilderness. Thirteen students from diverse backgrounds took part in the immersive 3-semester program. In July 2022, the group spent twelve days in the Gila, making seven short documentaries about people living and working in the Gila Wilderness. The films reflect the unique natural, cultural and conservation history of the Gila, including Indigenous and Latino history. Through compelling human-interest stories, they explore the relationship between people and their natural environment, and the importance of protecting wilderness.
Learn more at fs.usda.gov/detail/gila/learning/history-culture/?cid=fseprd1202132
