This piece originally appeared as a Letter to the editor in The Salt Lake Tribune on January 26, 2021.
By HECHO National Advisory Board Member, Representative Mark Archuleta Wheatley | The Public Forum — 1/26/2021 6:00 AM MST
Like so many people during the pandemic, getting outdoors has been invaluable for my mental health — hiking at one of my favorite state parks, Antelope Island, has offered me solitude and respite. To continue to enjoy the special places we all love, we need to conserve these places and the wildlife they support. That’s why I support the nomination of Congresswoman Deb Haaland for Interior Secretary. I know she will ensure that our public lands and waterways are safeguarded for our families to enjoy and that she will ensure more people have access to the outdoors.
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This piece originally appeared as a Letter to the editor in The Santa Fe New Mexican on January 24, 2021.
By HECHO National Advisory Board Chair, Rock Ulibarri — 1/24/2021 2:00 AM PT
My family was one of the original families that settled Las Vegas, N.M. For generations, my family has lived off the land, growing food in the summer and hunting at the first snow to prepare for the winter. I am chairman of the advisory board for Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting and the Outdoors (HECHO). This deep connection to the land has led me to advocate for the responsible management of our public lands so that wildlife populations will flourish for generations to come. That’s why I’m so supportive of the nomination of U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland to lead the Department of the Interior.
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This piece originally appeared as a Letter to the editor in The Las Vegas Sun on January 8, 2021.
By HECHO National Advisory Board Member, and Nevada State Senator, Moises Denis — 12/08/2021 2:00 AM PT
In 2020, the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources released the Nevada State Climate Strategy, setting in motion the sustainable future Nevadans deserve.
Advancing Nevada’s climate goals has been at the forefront of Gov. Steve Sisolak’s leadership. In 2019, he signed Senate Bill 358 into law, raising our state’s renewable portfolio standard to 50% by 2030. As a primary sponsor of that bill, it was crucial to set this ambitious goal and take action on climate change. It passed unanimously, a major bipartisan accomplishment.
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Nearly 25 people joined HECHO on Tuesday, December 15 for our Holiday Cocktails & Conservation event to hear stories of traditions rooted in our Hispano cultural connection to the land. Enjoying a demonstration of our event’s signature drink, Abuelita Hot Cocoa with Kahlua, participants also engaged in a conversation regarding special memories and traditions that take place for many Hispano people during the Christmas season.
A newly formed tradition for HECHO, Holiday Cocktails & Conservation opened dialogue for community members to share their own cultural traditions around the Holidays. Sisters Juliana and Theresa Huereña demonstrated their family recipe of mince-meat empanadas made of game meat from hunting and pinyons traditionally gathered from forest trees. Founding Board Member, Kent Salazar, shared his seasonal hunting tradition, and community member, Steve Peru shared a beautiful remembrance of his late mother and their special camping memories.
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Like many Arizonans, I love to travel with my daughter to the Grand Canyon to take in its natural glory and reignite our connection to this special place. As a child, my family couldn’t afford to take expensive vacations, but visits to the Grand Canyon were accessible to us. Continuing this family tradition with my daughter, I experience great joy watching her eyes light up with the night sky full of bright stars. But as we adjust to the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, I worry about public health. As a parent and community member, now more than ever there is a responsibility to engage in issues that threaten the health of future generations.
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This piece originally appeared as an op-ed in the Santa Fe New Mexican on October 31, 2020.
By HECHO National Advisory Board Member, and former San Miguel County Commissioner, Rock Ulibarri — 10/31/2020 12:00 AM MDT
Currently, all of New Mexico’s residents are in drought — 2,060,000 people. Over 46 percent of the state is in extreme drought, with more than 30 percent in severe drought (drought.gov/drought/states/new-mexico). We know a decrease in rainfall and snow has increasing implications for our water supply. The unreliable Rio Grande has put farmers at risk.
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For generations, Hispanics have enjoyed a unique relationship with nature that connects us to our ancestors and fortifies the bond that we have with our community. Being able to practice these cultural traditions that depend on open spaces, is more critical than ever, and policy that includes Hispanic and Latinx values is especially urgent. For all of these reasons, Hispanic and Latinx leadership is invaluable in conservation legislation that is implemented and passed.
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This piece originally appeared as an op-ed in the Las Vegas Sun Times on September 30, 2020.
By HECHO National Advisory Board Member, and Nevada State Senator, Moises “Mo” Denis — 09/30/2020 2:00 AM MDT
Growing up, I was shaped by my time outdoors, hiking and camping with my family. Now, I’ve made it a priority to keep myself and my children connected to the outdoors, both for recreation and as a place of respite and rejuvenation from the fast pace of life.
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After outrage from communities and leaders across the country, the Trump administration finally withdrew their nomination of William Perry Pendley to lead the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). While this is a win for our communities and public lands, the fight is not over yet. Pendley is still serving – likely illegally – as acting director, and his power poses a direct threat to the Grand Canyon and surrounding communities. The recent release of a report from a Trump administration task force that recommends a handout to the uranium industry left many people fearful for the future of our nation’s crown jewel. With Pendley, who formerly sued the federal government on behalf of a mining company attempting to mine near the Grand Canyon, still serving, the future of this National Park looks even bleaker.
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Utah’s public lands are the envy of other states, and they draw countless visitors from all over the world. They also are at the heart of what it means to be a Utahn — no matter your background. Growing up, I spent a majority of my free time outdoors, hunting elk and deer on our public lands to put food on the table. Now, as a state representative, I feel an even greater sense of duty to protect these places so that families like mine can continue to enjoy and recreate on our public lands, particularly during these difficult times.
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HECHO spoke with Advisory Board member Mark Cardenas of Arizona to learn about his personal connection to the Grand Canyon, his favorite memories there, and why he believes the Grand Canyon should be protected from uranium mining.
HECHO: What is your personal connection to the Grand Canyon?
Mark Cardenas (MC): My personal connection to the Grand Canyon -- that was where, you know, growing up you would always go on the weekends, to the parks and to go hiking in the mountains, because that was what we could afford. I remember one of the biggest trips that we got to go on was a road trip to the Grand Canyon. I was probably like six or seven years old. was really little, and it was just so amazing that one, we got out of the city and two, there's this huge place that, you know, when you go into the parking lot there's license plates from all around the country…
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Rebecca Chavez-Houck (RCH): So, in reflecting on my experiences and my personal connection to the Grand Canyon, I looked at it through some of the different phases of my life. My first recollection of having visited the Grand Canyon was when my husband and I took our daughter on a trip there. I believe that I was expecting our second child and it was during the off season. It is kind of interesting how, when we think about our experiences in the outdoors and we think about going to different, amazing places, incredible places like the Grand Canyon, the experiences kind of fall together….
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June 17, 2020 -- Today, HECHO is celebrating alongside countless others the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) by the U.S. Senate. An act of bipartisanship (73-25) marks a major milestone for full and consistent funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which protects and increases access to public lands and national parks, and addresses the significant maintenance backlog in our national parks.
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For some, COVID-19 has changed our daily lives and how we interact with each other. For others, COVID-19 has made the impacts of existing societal, economic, and health disparities even worse. The truth is that we must navigate the unique challenges brought about during these uncertain and unprecedented times, and come out of this pandemic with a greater sense of how we are all connected.
As we hear stories about how community leaders are responding to the pandemic in thoughtful ways, we are hopeful that we will emerge from this in a better place. But that takes leadership and an understanding of our humanity. As an example, in Santa Fe County, NM, Commissioner Henry Roybal recognized the economic impact that solid waste disposal fees were having on some residents after seeing trash being dumped on the land. In response, he led a county effort to suspend solid waste disposal fees during the pandemic to reduce barriers for appropriate trash disposal.
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HECHO spoke with Viviana Reyes of Flagstaff, Arizona to learn about her personal connection to the Grand Canyon, her favorite memories there, and why she believes the Grand Canyon should be protected from uranium mining.
HECHO: What is your personal connection the Grand Canyon
Viviana Reyes (VR): As far as my personal connection to the Grand Canyon, I was born and raised in Arizona. I grew up in Phoenix, and, as a child, the Grand Canyon was one of the only places that we were really able to visit. For one, it’s in our home state and it was really close. And, also, it’s kind of an affordable place to visit in the sense that we would just kind of get together as a family and drive. One of the first times I got to visit was with an uncle and it was super breathtaking and beautiful. I remember thinking that it wasn’t real, that it just looked like a picture, like a postcard almost.
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HECHO sat down with Lynn Cordova of Arizona to learn about her connection to the Grand Canyon, and why she believes the Grand Canyon should be protected from uranium mining.
HECHO: Why do you think it’s important to advocate for national parks against the threat of uranium mining?
Lynn Cordova (LC): I think national parks are important, and we, as a society, need to have places to visit and unwind. As you probably know and read my story about growing up, and growing up low income, I didn't have a ton of exposure to public lands. I lived in Colorado, and it's a beautiful state. There are tons of mountains and hiking trails, but I rarely got to experience that because, often times, it was a matter of my mother not having enough money to even get us to the mountains. If we did, it was the closest foothills we could get to and that was our version of a picnic or camping.
Now that I'm older, and since I have yet to visit the Grand Canyon, it’s on my bucket list— especially since I now live in Arizona. I want to ensure that it's going to be available for me to visit. But if uranium mining occurs, I’m worried about the potential of water contamination in the area, and who knows what other repercussions could happen from that. It’s important to ensure that it doesn't happen so that everyone can visit the Grand Canyon.
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FLAGSTAFF (April 23, 2020)—Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors (HECHO) opposed new recommendations released today from the Nuclear Fuels Working Group citing the audacity of its claims that the U.S. Government ought to “revive and strengthen the uranium mining industry” by streamlining “land access for uranium extraction”—a move that could open up uranium mining outside the Grand Canyon.
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Recent reports demonstrate the link between air pollution and deaths from COVID-19. This distressing connection underscores existing failures of the Trump Administration to prioritize public health-- from restricting access to health care to allowing corporations to pollute the air, land, and water-- making the Trump administration’s shamefully inadequate response to this public health crisis even worse. In response HECHO issued the following statement.
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The desire to connect with the outdoor world runs deep in my family. My grandfather owned a farm in Mexico, where my father and his brothers worked the land daily. My mother grew up in Guatemala, surrounded by green trees, quetzal birds, and volcanoes. When my parents reminisce about their childhoods, their favorite stories all happened outside.
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