Contact: Camilla Simon, HECHO, camilla@hechoonline.org, 503-975-6355
LAS CRUCES, N.M. [Dec. 22, 2021] – This week, the Biden-Harris Administration issued its initial report on the America the Beautiful Initiative, highlighting important steps to conserve and restore our nation’s lands, waters, and wildlife and to achieve more equitable outdoor access for American communities. Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting and the Outdoors (HECHO) applauds the initial efforts taken by the Administration and encourages the President to take further, and more decisive action on protecting critical landscapes important to diverse communities across the country.
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The Build Back Better Act passed the House of Representatives with bold investments to Create Jobs, Restore Public Lands, Act on Climate, and Reform the Federal Gas Leasing Program
(Arizona/Washington, DC) -- A group of Hispanic and Hispanic-serving community and elected leaders, including Hispanics Enjoying Camping Hunting and the Outdoors (HECHO), sent a letter to Members of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources urging them to pass the Build Back Better Act with nature-based investments that will restore natural systems, protect communities against climate-fueled disasters, create millions of jobs, and reform the federal oil and gas leasing program.
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Contact: Amy Dominguez, Communications Coordinator, Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors (HECHO); 801-928-9157, amy@hechoonline.org
Flagstaff — In Arizona, where unprecedented weather events, such as devastating wildfires, drought, record heatwaves and flashfloods dominated headlines in 2021, nature-based infrastructure solutions in President Biden’s Build Back Better Act present an opportunity to keep communities and natural landscapes safe from the climate-driven impacts that are sweeping the nation today.
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June 22, 2021 – U.S. Senator Michael Bennet introduced the Oil and Gas Bonding Reform and Orphaned Well Remediation Act today, setting a precedent in holding oil and gas companies accountable in their operation of our nation’s public lands. The bill calls for a two-step approach in addressing the burdensome and broken system that has been in place for the decades and has impacted local governments and taxpayers alike.
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April 20, 2021 -- This week, Senator Michael Bennet (D. Colo.) introduced the Outdoor Restoration Partnership Act that prioritizes forest restoration, watershed conservation, and would support jobs in the outdoors.
The Outdoor Restoration Partnership Act would create a $60 billion outdoor restoration fund, from which two major programs would emerge, the Restoration and Resilience grant program, and the Restoration and Resilience Partnership.
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Albuquerque, New Mexico (December 27, 2020) -- Following the holiday at Petroglyph National Monument, a Navajo and Oneida man named Darrell House was repeatedly tased by a National Park Service ranger for stepping off-trail to maintain social distancing protocols when he noticed a crowd walking in his direction.
The site plays an important role for Indigenous people, and was designated after Native American activists sought to protect the stone carvings from vandalism and land development. House visited the national monument to pray before the petroglyphs, and to collect earth for ceremonies.
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Washington, D.C. (September 25, 2020) — Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors (HECHO), stands by the decision of the federal court ruling that William Perry Pendley has been illegally serving the Department of the Interior. HECHO is a strong proponent for the protection of our nation’s public lands, lands that Pendley fought to sell-off and dispose of by prioritizing mining in special places like the Grand Canyon National Park.
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“The Great American Outdoors Act is beneficial to us all, protecting our country’s most precious places, and expanding critical outdoor and recreational opportunities to our communities,” said Camilla Simon, Executive Director of Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors (HECHO). “The future of our nation’s special and venerated public lands is bright, and we look forward to the upcoming park projects, and improved outdoor access many will experience in our country’s landscapes.
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With strong bipartisan backing, the Great American Outdoors Act today passed the House of Representatives and is one step closer to becoming law.
The landmark legislation fully funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which will address the maintenance backlog in our national parks and public lands, as well as allocating funding to parks and habitat projects.
HECHO commends the members of the U.S. House of Representatives who have come together to protect our nation’s state and local parks, trails, recreation facilities and public lands, fortifying our connection to our nation's diverse landscapes.
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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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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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