Feburary 25-27, 2027
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Everyone may attend the Natural History of the Gila Symposium
FREE OF CHARGE!
Questions?
Questions?
For further information, please contact us at nhgscommittee@gmail.com
**The "Gila" region, loosely defined, is situated within the watershed boundary of the upper Gila River in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona. Here, five ecoregions converge along a transition zone between the warm, dry Chihuahuan Desert and Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico and the cool, wet Rocky Mountains of the United States. Each ecoregion contributes major floral and faunal components to make the Gila Region one of the most biologically diverse areas in North America. Elevations in this region range from 914 to almost 3,353 m (3,000–11,000 ft), with water being spatially and temporally variable. Fire plays a key role in ecosystem dynamics, as do perennial watercourses such as the Gila River, representing the lifeblood of this biologically diverse landscape to which humans have been intricately tied for millenia.
Land Acknowledgement
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge that the lands surrounding the Gila River and the broader region where we gather for the Natural History of the Gila Symposium are the traditional, ancestral, and unceded homelands of Indigenous peoples, including Mogollon peoples, Chiricahua Apache (Nde) , Warm Springs Apache (Chi’ihénee) , and numerous Pueblo peoples.
These lands hold long histories of relationship between people and place. Knowledge, ceremony, migration, foodways, and stewardship have shaped this region for generations. Indigenous peoples with continuing ties to the Gila region maintain spiritual, cultural, ecological, and ancestral relationships to these lands despite displacement, violence, and ongoing colonial pressures.
We honor past, present, and future generations of Indigenous peoples who have protected and continue to protect this land. We recognize Indigenous knowledge systems as vital to conservation, natural history, and the future of this region.
May our work reflect respect, accountability, and a commitment to listening, learning, and supporting Indigenous relationships to land
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