This piece originally appeared as an article by the Public News Service on December 29, 2021.
By Roz Brown | 12/29/2021
People of color historically have been excluded from outdoor-recreation jobs, but a collaborative effort to diversify staff within agencies that manage public lands could change that.
The Hispanic Access Foundation has teamed up with agencies such as the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to tap college students and recent graduates for what are known as "MANO" fellowships.
"The potential of a 'Climate Corps' - you know, the Civilian Climate Corps - it begins to groom Hispanic people to take their place in conservation," said Max Trujillo, senior field ooordinator for the group Hispanics Enjoying Camping Hunting and the Outdoors in New Mexico.
When I was 10 years old, I witnessed my grandfather, Cesar Chavez, fasting to demand a ban for pesticide use on table grapes. The pesticides poisoned the soil and posed serious health impacts to the farmworkers who tended the land.
At this early age it ignited in me a passion to ensure that our communities and our environment are protected and have access to clean air and fresh water.
Today this connection has led me to advocate for legislation that will mitigate the impacts of the climate crisis that my community is experiencing first hand. From frequent heavy pollution days and increasing concern over access to clean drinking water, it’s high time for comprehensive legislation that will address these important issues.
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This piece originally appeared as an op-ed in the Tucson Sentinel on September 22, 2021.
By Arizona State Representative Alma Hernandez | 09/22/2021, 1:37 p.m. MST
Rep. Alma Hernandez is a Democrat from LD 3 in the Arizona House of Representatives.
41,000 jobs for Arizonans, more than $58 million in investments for the state, and improvements to the Grand Canyon, Tucson Mountain Park, Coronado National Forest, and communities statewide: the impact of the Civilian Conservation Corps of the early 20th century was long-lasting for our state. The work of the original CCC provided economic benefits during the Great Depression while building long-lasting and crucial upgrades to improve our access to nature.
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This piece originally appeared as an article featured in KQED on April 29, 2021.
By Judy Fahys, InsideClimate News | 04/29/2021 12:00 AM MST
Amy Kuo saw firsthand how powerful it can be to tackle the big problems of our times in small ways when she was on a California Conservation Corps work crew a few years ago in the sweltering summer heat deep in a forest outside of Los Angeles. Kuo, now a legislative analyst for the corps, recalls slogging upstream, sometimes waist deep in water or poison oak, hauling gasoline, chain saws and other heavy gear to clear fallen trees and debris blocking the riverbed.
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