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**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.