It became part of the National Wilderness Preservation System in 1980 by an act of the United States Congress and has a total of 202,016 acres (81,753 ha) (316 sq.

On September 18, 1879, the Apache war chief Victorio and his warriors ambushed 100 Buffalo soldiers (African-Americans) of the 9th Cavalry and Navajo scouts on the eastern edge of the Black Range and the Wilderness near Las Animas Creek.

[5] The wilderness area has fauna typical of the American Southwest: mule deer, elk, spotted owl, gray fox, wild turkey, bobcat, peccary, black bear and cougar.

A population of Rio Grande cutthroat trout survives in Holden Prong of Las Animas Creek on the east side of the Black Range.

[7] Aldo Leopold is rugged and remote and is often considered New Mexico's "wildest wilderness," probably seeing fewer human visitors in 2011 than it did 100 years ago.

The best known and most accessible trail into the wilderness leads from Highway 152 at 8,228-foot (2,508 m) Emory Pass and goes five miles north to Hillsboro Peak which reaches an elevation of 10,011 feet (3,051 m).

[9] The Aldo Leopold is separated from the larger Gila Wilderness Area only by a gravel road and a narrow corridor of private property.