HECHO Statement On Potential Government Shutdown

As the Congress braces for a shutdown in the face of failed budgetary negotiations, HECHO expresses its concern for the potential impact of the shutdown on our public lands, waters, and environment. Government shutdowns pose a barrier to our community's access to most national parks where visitors, including many Hispanics, hunt, fish, camp, watch wildlife, and enjoy many other outdoor activities. According to the Department of Interior's guidelines on the shutdown, many of these parks will be closed or largely unavailable during the shutdown.

In places of great importance to our community, like the Caja del Rio in New Mexico, which was recently granted a park ranger to help with active management as illegal shooting ranges and trash dumping threaten petroglyph carvings, the shutdown could mean no active patrol against these threats.

The impact of this unnecessary shutdown could also be seen in newly protected areas. In Arizona, the Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni—Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, designated in August of 2023 by President Biden, could see delays in its management planning and implementation which is critical to the equitable safeguarding of the new monument. 

The ramifications of a shutdown are extensive and affect nearly every corner of the US government, but also public health. During a shutdown, EPA-led inspections and permits to ensure clean drinking water could stop, putting our communities at risk.