Updated CHIR Designated Wilderness Shapefile

This shapefile contains boundaries for Designated Wilderness in Chiricahua National Monument, Arizona as of 2021. This dataset is based on the map identified in the law enacting wilderness for the park and the 850 acre wilderness land addition in 1984. The date of the original enactment map is 10/20/1976. The Congressionally Designated Wilderness is based on careful study of roadless areas, public hearings, and written responses. This dataset has been revised from the map to adjust buffers along roads and utilities, account for changes to the boundary and land status, and reflect more accurate measurement available through new GIS technology. Land added to the boundary after the 1976 enactment, except as noted, has not been studied for wilderness. In May of 1984, Congress added adjacent U.S. Forest Service land that was made wilderness at the same time. This dataset identifies 10,629 acres within Chiricahua National Monument as Designated Wilderness. This dataset identifies 0 acres within Chiricahua National Monument as Potential Wilderness (2 acres in 1977). The dataset did not contain the 2 acres because the map identified in the law enacting wilderness for the park did not show its location, however, the 2 acres still exist. This map was updated February 2021 using NAD 83 zone 12N and 40 feet contours created from a 10m DEM in conjunction with the 1976 map.