{"id":46379,"date":"2017-02-23T19:36:20","date_gmt":"2017-02-24T00:36:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/planetsave.com\/?p=46379"},"modified":"2017-02-23T19:49:34","modified_gmt":"2017-02-24T00:49:34","slug":"documentary-aims-tell-ultimate-story-nms-gila-river-eyes-3-young-environmentalists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/planetsave.com\/articles\/documentary-aims-tell-ultimate-story-nms-gila-river-eyes-3-young-environmentalists\/","title":{"rendered":"Documentary Aims To Tell Ultimate Story Of NM’s Gila River Through The Eyes Of 3 Young Environmentalists"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Gila River, one of the last wild rivers in the western US, is under threat from proposals for development and diversion. The <\/em>Heart of the Gila documentary<\/em><\/a> promises to deliver a compelling visual journey along the Gila, while also educating us about the importance of using good science and hard data to make the best decisions possible about our shared natural resources.<\/em><\/p>\n


\nFlowing out of America\u2019s first designated wilderness area, the Gila Wilderness (which was protected by the visionary conservationist Aldo Leopold<\/a> in 1924), the Gila River is incredibly rich in biological and cultural values, but is now threatened by a proposed diversion project that will almost certainly be a financial and environmental boondoggle.<\/p>\n

While the river currently flows free, people have been fighting to keep dams off the Gila River in New Mexico for the past century, yet this latest water grab<\/a> could remove huge quantities of water from the Gila. The amount of water that could be diverted from the iconic Gila by the proposed diversion project would mean risking the extinction of seven endangered species of fish, birds, and reptiles, while also jeopardizing the sustainability of the river\u2019s bankside cottonwood forests.<\/p>\n