On October 25, the Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners resolved to support the Bureau of Land Management’s rule to charge royalties on wasted methane—the primary component of natural gas—on federal and tribal lands. The resolution addresses the serious problem of methane waste, which is impacting state revenues, harming the environment and threatening the health of New Mexicans.
Read MoreThe following is a solidarity statement from Camilla Simon, Director of Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors (HECHO), with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
Read MoreNew blog alert! The Latino Conservation Alliance launched a new blog in support of its mission to to highlight the importance of conserving the U.S.'s natural heritage for Latino communities. Check out the blog to read the inaugural post written by HECHO Director Camilla Simon.
Read MoreThe Latino Conservation Alliance released the following statement upon the introductions of Latino Conservation Resolutions in the US House of Representatives and Senate.
Read MoreThere’s no doubt that the oil and gas sector is an essential source of jobs and revenue to the state of New Mexico. It is a critical part of our economy. At the same time, New Mexico can’t afford to tie its fiscal health, and the welfare of our schools, colleges, and universities to the boom-and-bust cycles of fossil fuel markets.
Read MoreThis year’s Hispanic Heritage Month comes during an historic time for the Latino community and for the future of public lands in our country. The voices, perspectives, and input of the Hispanic community needs to play an integral role in these decisions.
Read MoreThe following is a statement from Camilla Simon, Director of Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors (HECHO), on the 1st anniversary of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s announcement that the greater sage-grouse no longer needed to be considered as a threatened or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Read MoreThe Latino community needs to be represented in conversations, forums, and formal consultations that are helping shape the next 100 years of our public lands. Our communities’ heritage, inter-generational wisdom, values and practices should be incorporated into the vision and implementation of public lands management plans.
Read MoreDecision-making about where to drill typically excludes diverse stakeholders, including Latino communities that hunt, fish, camp, and use public lands. As a result, our access to public lands for recreation, subsistence, education, and traditional cultural uses are impeded. And, worse yet, sometimes the landscape, wildlife, or water is irreparably damaged.
Read MoreAn example of good planning and incorporating diverse voices in the management of public lands can be seen in the Heritage Area in Yuma, Arizona on the border with the state of California. In this area, adjacent to the Colorado River, wetlands have been restored and space has been created for family life and contact with nature. Development and management of the project has had major participation from Latino communities who have lived in the area for generations and know, inhabit, and have close links with the region. Today, we are proud of this space where natural beauty, conservation, cultural traditions and recreational spaces are merged.
Read MoreThe Centennial of the National Park Service is a time for all Americans to celebrate, enjoy, and engage in the conservation of our nation’s public lands. It is also a time to call upon federal government agencies to engage multicultural communities, including the Latino community, in the decision-making process and management of public lands to reflect the diversity and changing cultural landscape of America.
Read MoreOne way to get involved in the management of our public lands is through Resource Advisory Councils (RACs), and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has established 31 of them in the western states. What makes RACs unique is that they are required to be made up of community members who represent various backgrounds and experiences.
Read MoreFor hunters and anglers, conservation makes perfect sense. We must be stewards of the wild just as a farmer must be a steward of his land to ensure a bountiful harvest in years to come. For Hispanics, it goes even further, as it’s part of our culture. Hunting and fishing are centuries-old traditions, and we know that in order to enjoy these activities, we depend upon healthy watersheds, clean air, and robust wildlife habitats.
Read MoreWhether it is hiking, camping, fishing, or recreating in the Moab region Latinos have been enjoying the great outdoors for generations. It connects us to our ancestors, and guides how we see our future. Yet over the years we have seen these public lands increasingly impacted by development, and our access compromised. Development is a reality, but should not come at the expense of the lands that we continue to depend upon for recreation, sustenance, and the growing tourism economy.
Read MoreIndependence Day is a time to reflect on our freedom and outdoor traditions. We are lucky to have vast public lands that belong to every American, and we are proud to protect these lands for future generations.
Read MoreThe methane also creates harmful smog, which has increased asthma attacks and aggravated lung diseases, especially devastating the state’s Latino population, which is three times more likely to die from asthma than any other racial or ethnic group. Fortunately, we are now on a better path.
Read MoreLast week brought some very good news for New Mexicans. In a unanimous ruling, the San Miguel County Board of Commissioners resolved to support the Bureau of Land Management’s rules to charge royalties on wasted methane – the primary component of natural gas – on federal and tribal lands.
Read MoreLet’s call on President Obama to issue a Presidential Memorandum to ensure that the second century of conservation in America reflects the full diversity of our nation’s citizens; respects the historical, cultural and spiritual stories and unique contributions of all Americans; and actively engages all people.
Read MoreThe Ulibarri side of my family was one of the original 36 families that settled in Las Vegas, New Mexico and my mother’s side of the family is a mix of Apache and French Canadian (as a result of the cavalry in southern New Mexico). Our ancestry and heritage is assimilated from the Native American community, so we see ourselves as caretakers of the land, not owners. Indigenous DNA runs through us and makes us uninterested in developing or exploiting the land. The land is sacred. The blood from my father’s umbilical cord is soaked into this land and his mother before him and her mother before that.
Read MoreEach year in New Mexico, $101 million in natural gas is wasted on public lands through venting, flaring, and equipment leaks. As hunters and anglers, we use every bit of what we kill or catch. Surprisingly, New Mexico State Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn is against common-sense rules to curb and capture natural gas waste. We call on Commissioner Dunn to support efforts to rein in waste on public lands and ensure New Mexicans get their fair share of revenues from the mining of our publicly owned resources.
Read More