Last week, Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández introduced the Cerro de la Olla Wilderness Establishment Act to the House of Representatives that would designate 13,103 acres within the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument in northern New Mexico as Cerro De La Olla Wilderness.
Read MoreApril 16, 2021 — The Department of the Interior has been deeply entrenched in a review process to weed out orders that are not in line with the Biden Administration’s priorities, and this week passed Secretarial Order 3399, and Secretarial Order 3398, committing to building an equitable and just energy future, and prioritizing public input from impacted communities that have historically been underrepresented in the environmental review process.
Read MoreThis week, 28 state and local elected officials -- representing thousands of constituents across the southwestern United States -- sent a letter to the Interior Department and Secretary Deb Haaland in support of their pause and review of the federal oil and gas leasing program. The letter, organized by Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hiking, and the Outdoors (HECHO), comes as the first opportunity for public feedback to the administration closes and the Department prepares its report on the future of the leasing program. Western voters, particularly Latinos, overwhelmingly want oil and gas development on federal public lands to be stopped or strictly limited, not expanded.
Read MoreThis piece originally appeared as a press statement on April 15, 2021.
By Nolan Bush | 04/15/2021
Western, ocean, and conservation groups emphasize important opportunity to modernize the federal government’s antiquated leasing program Today, 28 leading conservation, ocean, and western advocacy organizations announced that they have shared more than 115,000 combined signatures with the Department of the Interior in support of their pause and review of the federal oil and gas leasing program. These signatures were collected in just a few weeks, during this first opportunity to provide feedback to the administration on how they can fix the broken federal leasing system so it works for everyone.
Read MoreIn Guatemala, conservation is just a part of the culture. You are one with the land, and you only use what you need. My family carried these values and we took them with us to every state we lived in, from New York to Florida, and Arizona.
Read MoreThursday, March 25, 2021 – Leaders from across the nation joined Thursday evening’s Clean Energy Economy and Justice Roundtable, calling for policy changes that would center the voices of Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities, while holding the administration accountable to implement these changes.
Read MoreAs the COVID-19 pandemic surges in the United States, so has racist rhetoric against Asian, Asian-American, and Pacific Islander community members. According to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, anti-Asian hate crimes have surged by 149% from 2019 to 2020.
Read MoreToday Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) sponsored the End Speculative Oil and Gas Leasing Act of 2021 that would prevent oil and gas speculators from leasing public lands that offer little to no potential for energy development.
Our nation’s public lands, and the people and wildlife who rely on them, face unprecedented challenges. Among them is the threat of speculative leasing, a destructive practice that allows oil and gas companies to tie up public lands with little to no potential for development in long-term leases. Speculative leasing not only wastes important government resources, but it also puts critical wildlife habitat in harm’s way, and hinders public access to the great outdoors, threatening important opportunities to connect with the landscape that is home to valuable cultural landmarks. Thankfully, it is not too late to stop this.
Read MoreAs a military family, we moved frequently before my father was once again stationed in Spain, where I was born and raised. Though we lived in cities during our time there, Madrid and Zaragoza, my childhood is peppered with memories from visiting the pueblo, Prado del Campo, where my mother’s family is from. Spending summer and easter breaks there, my deep connection to the outdoors began to grow.
Read MoreHistory was made today as we watched the inauguration of President Joe Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris, our nation’s first woman, and woman of color to take office as VP.
In 2021, Americans turned out in record numbers despite a global pandemic, high unemployment, and social unrest to cast their ballots in support of President Biden and Vice President Harris, marking a new opportunity to unite our country in a fair and equitable manner.
Read MoreWashington D.C. -- Last week, we witnessed the consequences of the dissemination of misinformation, and the perpetuation of white supremacy in the violence enacted at the U.S. Capitol.
Like many of you, we were shocked and saddened as we watched insurrection ensue, our nation’s Capitol breached by white nationalist groups and others who were emboldened by the leader of our country to undermine our fair and honest elections. To see the mob fight their way into the Capitol, and to learn that our country’s leaders were evacuated for their safety, was surreal. It was absolutely jarring and unacceptable.
Read MoreOn December 16, HECHO hosted the final installment of our Climate Solutions in Action Series, Solar Energy Zones, dedicated to strengthening Hispanic voice and visibility in public lands decision-making and advocacy.
The event focused on the importance of Solar Energy in Colorado’s San Luis Valley, and explored various land-based solutions to climate change. Co-hosted in collaboration with Mike Kruger, President of the Colorado Solar & Storage Association, HECHO was joined by panelists including HECHO Advisory Board Member and Colorado State Representative, Donald Valdez, Executive Director of the San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council, Christine Canaly, Joe Vieira, of the Bureau of Land Management, and Sam Sours, of Community Energy Solar.
Read MoreAlbuquerque, 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.
Read MoreNearly 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.
Read MoreSanta Fe, NM – Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors (HECHO), in partnership with the Office of Assistant Speaker Ben Ray Luján, hosted a virtual event focusing on the ways in which agricultural and community stewardship can help mitigate and adapt to climate change, while highlighting traditional land-use practices though New Mexico’s traditional acequia and land grant communities.
Read MoreOn November 10, HECHO hosted the next installment of our ongoing series, Climate Solutions in Action, dedicated to strengthening Hispanic voice and visibility in public lands decision-making and advocacy. The event focused on the importance and impact of forest restoration, the importance of forest health, and how forest industries and agencies are responding to climate change. HECHO was joined by panelists, Heather Provencio, Kaibab National Forest Supervisor, Jay Smith, Coconino County Forest Restoration Director, Devon Suarez, of Suarez Forestry LLC, and Sasha Storz, National Forest Foundation Arizona Program Manager.
Read MoreGrowing up in Douglas, Arizona is like having a foot in two worlds. Because it straddles the United States and Mexican border, my upbringing was unique in that I grew up on what I considered an international avenue – my favorite tienditas on one side, my family on the other, and then the desert, the saguaros, watching us all.
Living in a border town means understanding economic privilege from an early age. I recognized the divide that existed, and the role that politics played in our lives. I was painfully aware of the privileges that being a U.S. Citizen awarded me, and I questioned why my neighbors weren't able to experience what my family could.
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