The National Wilderness Preservation System was created in 1964 by Congress to protect natural areas for both humans and wildlife. According to the Wilderness Act, Wilderness:

• Generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprints of man's work substantially unnoticeable;
• Has outstanding opportunities for solitude or primitive and unconfined recreation;
• Has at least 5,000 acres or is of sufficient size as to make practical its preservation use;
• May also contain ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic or historical value.

Only Congress can add new areas to the National Wilderness Preservation System but citizen led inventories have often been the catalyst for protecting wild places. The Wilderness Act requires that all Wilderness areas be "administered for the use and enjoyment of the American people in such a manner as will leave unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as Wilderness."

Recreation: Wilderness meets the growing demand for outdoor recreation, such as hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, watersports, and other activities.

Wilderness areas protect watersheds that provide drinking water to many cities and rural communities.

Wildlife: Wilderness secures habitat against the threats of logging, mining, drilling and road building for many endangered and ecologically important wildlife species.

Solitude- Wilderness is a haven from the pressures of our fast-paced, mechanized society. It provides places where we can seek refuge from the noise, haste and crowds of modern life.

Protection of Cultural Resources: Throughout New Mexico's wildlands there are thousands of reminders of native and colonial cultures in unmarked and yet-undiscovered sites. Wilderness designation keeps these sites intact and prohibits looting and vandalism by unknowing or ill-meaning passers-by.

Wilderness provides for a myriad of human activities and uses, including: hunting, fishing, rafting, canoeing and kayaking, snowshoeing and cross country skiing, hiking and horsepacking, camping, and rock climbing. Wilderness also provides opportunities for wildlife viewing and scientific research. Livestock grazing and mining are permitted where allotments and leases existed prior to Wilderness designation.

Activities which are not permitted in designated Wilderness areas include: new road construction; new reservoirs; powerlines and pipelines; logging; mining and oil and gas drilling; motorized  travel such as off-road vehicles; and use of mechanized equipment such as chainsaws.

The Wilderness Act of 1964 - the law that created the National Wilderness Preservation System and provides for the designation of Wilderness areas on public land - specifically allows livestock grazing to occur in federally designated Wilderness areas.

Section 4(d)4(2) of the Wilderness Act states:

"The grazing of livestock, where established prior to the effective date of this Act, shall be permitted to continue subject to such reasonable regulations as are deemed necessary by the Secretary of Agriculture."