Blog: Latino Partnership to Cut Waste and Protect Our Air
Blog: Latino Partnership to Cut Waste and Protect Our Air

Right now Congress is threatening to overturn a ruling by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that would save taxpayers millions of dollars and curb harmful pollution from methane waste. 

The BLM rule – which HECHO worked hard to help finalize last year -- would curb natural gas waste by requiring new and existing oil and gas operations on public lands to use the most up-to-date technology to capture wasted natural gas that is either released into the atmosphere or burned off, and repair leaks from equipment.  To help prevent this important ruling from being overturned, we are partnering with other Latino groups including: the Hispanic Access Foundation; Chispa Nevada; League of Conservation Voters; Mi Familia Vota; and Por la Creación Faith-based Alliance, to educate Congress, the press, and the public about this issue.

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Camilla SimonBureau of Land Management (BLM), Methane Waste, Oil and Gas, Environmental Justice (EJ)Comment
Press Release: Latino groups unite over reducing natural gas waste, concerns for the future of BLM rule
Press Release: Latino groups unite over reducing natural gas waste, concerns for the future of BLM rule

Today, five Latino groups announced the formation of a new initiative, “Latino Partnership to Cut Waste, Protect Our Health.” The partnership includes Hispanic Access Foundation; HECHO; Chispa Nevada, League of Conservation Voters; Mi Familia Vota; and Por la Creación Faith-based Alliance.

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Press Releases/StatementsCamilla SimonPress Release, Methane Waste, Pollution, Oil and Gas, Public LandsComment
Statement: HECHO calls for New Administration to Continue the Conservation and Preservation of our Public Lands
Statement: HECHO calls for New Administration to Continue the Conservation and Preservation of our Public Lands

The following is a statement from Camilla Simon, Executive Director of Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors (HECHO) on the reports that president-elect Donald Trump will nominate Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) as Secretary of the Interior.

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Press Releases/StatementsGuest BloggerStatement, Department of Interior (DOI), Public LandsComment
Statement: HECHO Commends BLM on the Finalization of the Methane and Waste Prevention Rule
Statement: HECHO Commends BLM on the Finalization of the Methane and Waste Prevention Rule

On November 11, the Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management finalized the long-awaited Methane and Waste Prevention Rule. The following is a statement from Camilla Simon, Executive Director of Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors (HECHO) in support of this announcement.

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Press Releases/Statements, Oil & GasGuest BloggerStatement, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Methane WasteComment
Statement: Bernalillo County Passes Resolution Supporting Bureau of Land Management Natural Gas Waste Rule
Statement: Bernalillo County Passes Resolution Supporting Bureau of Land Management Natural Gas Waste Rule

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.

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Press Releases/Statements, Oil & GasGuest BloggerStatement, Methane Waste, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), New Mexico, Rock Ulibarri, Advisory Board, PollutionComment
Blog: Energy Diversification in New Mexico, Do it for the Kids
Blog: Energy Diversification in New Mexico, Do it for the Kids

There’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. 

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Oil & GasCamilla SimonOil and Gas, New Mexico, Pollution, Leasing ReformComment
Blog: HECHO Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month By Encouraging Latino Voices to be Part of Public Lands Management
Blog: HECHO Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month By Encouraging Latino Voices to be Part of Public Lands Management

The 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.

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Guest BloggerHispanic Heritage MonthComment
Blog: Why A Decision to Drill 4,000 Oil Wells Affects Us All
Blog: Why A Decision to Drill 4,000 Oil Wells Affects Us All

Decision-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.

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Oil & GasCamilla SimonOil and Gas, Pollution, Leasing Reform, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Utah, Master Leasing Plan (MLP)Comment
Op-ed: HECHO Advisory Board Member Op-Ed Featured in La Opinión!
Op-ed: HECHO Advisory Board Member Op-Ed Featured in La Opinión!

An 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.

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HECHO in the NewsGuest BloggerOp-Ed, Lenore Loroña Stuart, Advisory Board, National Park Service (NPS), JEDI, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), U.S. Forest Service (USFS)Comment
Blog: HECHO Celebrates the Centennial of the National Park Service and Calls for More Inclusion of Diverse Voices in the Management of Public Lands
Blog: HECHO Celebrates the Centennial of the National Park Service and Calls for More Inclusion of Diverse Voices in the Management of Public Lands

The 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.

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Guest BloggerNational Park Service (NPS), Public LandsComment
Blog: RACs – One More Opportunity to Make Latino Voices Heard
Blog: RACs – One More Opportunity to Make Latino Voices Heard

One 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.

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Guest BloggerLiz Archuleta, Public Lands, Arizona, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Forest Service (USFS), Hunting, FishingComment
LTE: San Miguel County, NM supports clean air and less waste of our natural resources
LTE: San Miguel County, NM supports clean air and less waste of our natural resources

The 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.

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HECHO in the News, Oil & GasGuest BloggerLTE, Advisory Board, Rock Ulibarri, New Mexico, Methane Waste, Pollution, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Public LandsComment
Q&A: HECHO Advisory Board Member Rock Ulibarri
Q&A: HECHO Advisory Board Member Rock Ulibarri

The 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.

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Guest BlogCamilla SimonAdvisory Board, Rock Ulibarri, New Mexico, Traditional Land Uses, Hunting, Fishing Comment
Blog: How Can the Forest Service Represent More Diverse Perspectives?
Blog: How Can the Forest Service Represent More Diverse Perspectives?

On March 3rd in Santa Fe, I sat on a Sustainable Recreation panel for the USDA Forest Service Southwestern Regional Chief’s Review. Sustainable recreation is a concept used to describe managing our public lands so that all Americans can receive the benefits of outdoor recreation today and in the future. It was an interesting panel, intentionally structured to showcase a variety of perspectives of how to maximize existing, but untapped, opportunities, increase diversity, and effectively leverage partnerships.

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Camilla SimonNew Mexico, U.S. Forest Service (USFS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), JEDIComment