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," 000713 LA GAR ITA WILDERNESS GUNNISON AND RIO GRANDE NATIONAL FORESTS COLORADO The La Garita Wilderness was first identified as having the qualities we now know as Wilderness on August 25, 1931, when Cochetopa National Forest Supervisor C. B. Mack recommended that 38,020 acres of his Forest be designated as a Primitive Area. ". . .it is isolated and far removed from human development. . . ." said Mack. His report continued. "The re9ion is valuable for its scenic features, the presence of wild game, notably mountain sheep and elk, and for other features representative of primitive conditions." On location and accessibility: "The area is accessible only by foot or horseback over Government trails. It is reached from Saguache. . .over a State highway for a distance of 21 miles, thence by horseback for 26 miles." On the public sentiment of the time, Mack reported, "The sentiment of the public relative to the establishment of the region as a primitive area has never been ascertained. It may, however, be assumed to be favorable to its wit~drawal for the purpose of maintaining the primitive conditions which exist at present." A little more than a year later, November 18, 1931, Regional Forester Allen S. Peck agreed with Forest Supervisor Mack, and approved his. proposal. Chief Forester R. Y. Stuart subsequently approved the plan and report on October 1, 1932, and the La Garita-Sheep Mountain Primitive Area was established. He took this action under the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture's Regulation L.20, relating to the occupancy, use, protection and administration of the National Forests. In 1944, the Cochetopa National Forest lands were added to the adjoining Rio Grande and Gunnison National Forests. In 1960, the respective Forest Supervisors recommended that the primitive area be enlarged from 38,020 acres to 49,000 acres and designated as the La Garita Wild Area, under the provisions of the Secretary of Agriculture's Regulations U-2. Richard E. McArdle. Chief of the Forest Service, approved the recommendation in 1961, and when the Wilderness Act of 1964 was enacted into law, the area was renamed the La Garita Wilderness as part of the National Wilderness Preservation System. The 1960 Forest Service proposal for changing designation from the Primitive classification to the more permanent Wild Area nomenclature contains some interesting facts and observations.