Photos and video by Pete McBride pedromcbride / A River Running Wild: New Mexico’s longest free-flowing river could stay that way for good. A section of the upper Gila River has just been proposed for a Wild and Scenic designation. The Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by U.S. Congress in 1968 to preserve rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values. There are 2.9 million miles (4.6 million km) of rivers across the U.S—600,000 miles (965,000 km) of those are blocked by dams, and only 12,709 miles (20,000 km) are protected by a Wild and Scenic designation. I recently floated this ribbon of life to document its beauty, wildlife, and local river lovers to showcase what would be protected. With climate change and dam proposals threatening aquatic lifelines like this across the West, such legislation—which in the Gila’s case is nearly a decade in the making and supported by a wide coalition, from local tribes to landowners and outdoor lovers—is a tool to safe...