We have a very rich history and a very strong connection to the land. Some people see the land as the topography, the boundaries, maybe mineral rights, a place to exploit. We see the land as where my father was born, where the blood from his umbilical cord soaked into this earth. We have a connection to the land. We have herencia and querencia and querencia is a love for the land.
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My experiences growing up not only taught me to respect the land, it also taught me the importance of getting out there. You care more about protecting our land and water when you have a personal relationship with them. Now, I bring that to my work as county supervisor and I organize events that will get the community involved in outdoor recreation.
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“We call on the new Administration to make it a top priority to protect and conserve our natural resources, and to ensure that oil and gas resources are developed responsibly, with input from local governments and communities.
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HECHO thanks our nation’s leaders for listening to the many voices that supported the finalizing of the methane rule. Read more about the national thank you letter and HECHO's radio ads applauding the finalization of the rule.
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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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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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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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The Latino Conservation Alliance released the following statement upon the introductions of Latino Conservation Resolutions in the US House of Representatives and Senate.
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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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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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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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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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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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Raul Morales, Deputy State Director for Natural Resources, Lands and Planning, Nevada State Office of the Bureau of Land Management discusses Latino engagement when managing public lands, finding a good balance between conservation and development, and working in a federal leadership position.
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Lupe Huerena and his daughter Alexis Stack discuss growing up hunting, fishing, and camping and how these activities have shaped their relationship, lives, and traditions. They also discuss how these outdoor activities forge a connection between person and land, and how protecting these vital resources for our future generations is paramount to the way we live.
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On February 16th, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) held a public hearing in Farmington, NM on their proposal to update regulations to address the wasteful release of natural gas into the atmosphere from oil and gas operations on public and Tribal lands. HECHO Board member Kent Salazar attended the hearing and discusses the diversity of people supporting the rule, from Tribal people, people of faith, elected officials, and enviros. The oil and gas industry made a showing, but their economic arguments were not valid; we must do a better job in the future of informing local officials and industry workers as to the economic benefits of capturing natural gas on public and Tribal lands.
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Throughout 2015, we interviewed each of our Advisory Board members and posted them on our blog to help our community get to know them. We discussed their upbringings, their experiences in the outdoors, their jobs, and more. Today we’re sharing snippets of their inspiring stories.
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Enjoying the outdoors naturally makes you want to conserve these resources so we can all continue enjoying them. And you don’t need to be in northern or rural Arizona to experience that with more and more city parks now including urban fishing and urban lakes. What good way to bring increased awareness of being outdoors and enjoying our natural resources. And for Latinos especially, it is important to keep public lands in public hands since this is where so many rich family traditions were created.
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My family has been hunting and fishing and enjoying the great outdoors of the Southwest for generations. They had a garden and ate elk and deer and fish – they were the “farm to table” organic growers before it was cool and trendy. Knowing my grandfather hunted in the same places I have and fished the same waters creates a powerful connection to the land.
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I grew up in a family that would camp, fish, hunt, and hike, and I thought they were the coolest things we did. We’d camp around San Antonio, Texas and my dad also took us camping in Colorado – we spent a lot of time skiing and fishing there. I remember my dad teaching us how to BBQ fish and how he’d buy watermelons and stick them in sacks in the cold lakes to keep them cool.
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