The first conservation protection for La Madre Mountain began when the area was included as part of the Desert Game Range (Desert National Wildlife Refuge) in 1936. This protection was removed in with the passage of Public Land Order 4079 in 1966.   Conservation-minded people in Las Vegas, however, worked to obtain preliminary protection for this area in 1964 as a recreational resource. In 1967, 62,000 acres of the area, including La Madre Mountain was designated Red Rock Canyon Recreation Lands. It would take another 35 years of advocacy by individuals and organizations like Friends of Nevada Wilderness to designate the La Madre Mountains as protected Wilderness with the passage of the Clark County Conservation of Public Land and Natural Resources Act of 2002 (see the Additional Resources page for additional information about the conservation history of this area).

The spectacular cliffs of La Madre Mountain Wilderness form the dramatic backdrop of the Scenic Loop at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, located approximately 12 miles west of Las Vegas, Nevada. These 47,180 acres of Wilderness Area contains a rugged, eye-catching complex of canyons, gray carbonate ridges and mountain peaks. La Madre Mountain itself, at 8,154 feet, harbors the rugged core of this outstanding Wilderness. Elevations within the Wilderness range from 3,600 feet on the alluvial fans on the northeastern corner to nearly 9,400 feet along the crest of the Spring Mountains, just south of Griffith Peak.