WASHINGTON – Today the Department of the Interior announced the largest expansion of outdoor recreation opportunities in recent history by allocating 2.1 million acres of public lands for hunting, sport fishing, and other outdoor recreation opportunities such as nature watching and environmental education.
The expansion aligns with the Biden-Harris administration’s America the Beautiful initiative to restore and conserve 30 percent of America’s lands and waters by 2030.
Read MoreThis piece originally appeared as a blog post on July 21, 2021 via The National Wildlife Federation during Latino Conservation Week.
By Bianca McGrath-Martinez | 07/21/2021
Saturday, July 17th marked the start of the 8th annual celebration of Latino Conservation Week, which is an initiative of the Hispanic Access Foundation created to support Latinx communities getting into the outdoors and participating in activities that protect our natural resources.
Read MoreI live on four-acres of land next to the Coronado National Forest. I love living in the boondocks. When I’m home I sit outside and have a 360-degree view of nature. I listen to the birds and it clears my mind. It gives me solace to be out here by myself. It’s relaxing, but most of all, it’s inspirational.
Read MoreI’m proud to be an 8th generation Arizonan. My family has traced our long history in Arizona back to the 1740s. Both my maternal and paternal grandparents were farmworkers, tending the fields. My father was a farmworker as well.
My family settled in Pima County after an uncle bought a plot of land and invited his brothers to join.
Arizona is what I know best. I was brought up in South Phoenix, and moved after gentrification pushed us out. Afterwards, my family moved to Golden Gate Barrio. I find comfort in familiarity and today, my children go to the same elementary school I did.
Read MoreHECHO (Hispanics Enjoying Camping Hunting and the Outdoors), in partnership with City of Mesa Councilmember David Luna, the Arizona Game & Fish Department, and the City of Mesa Parks and Recreation hosted the first Free Family Fishing Day of 2020 at Red Mountain Lake on February 1, 2020.
Read MoreI was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. Colorado is such an outdoorsy place, but I grew up with limited means. We lived in a housing project and often relied on government assistance. My mother was a single mom who worked as a janitor. Even though the mountains were only 20 minutes away, we rarely went because when you’re poor, even buying the gas to get there is an extreme effort.
Read MoreMany of us here carry a sense that we are connected to the land. Even many of those who live in town have family connections with land nearby. Many people spend time out of town “at the ranch”.
Las Vegas is situated at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range. They are the very last of the Rockies if you follow them down from north to south. We have many acres of National Forest including Carson, Santa Fe, and Pecos. Growing up I’d go backpacking or camping with girlfriends, or we’d go out in the winter with our snowboards and enjoy the snow. I had this feeling that this wild land of the communal forest was my own. A lot of people have those types of strong connections to the land here.
Read MoreThe favorite activity that my father and I shared was fishing. Fishing taught us patience and respect, not easy lessons for my rambunctious siblings and myself. When we would catch something too small to eat we would always throw it back. I’ll never forget the first fish my baby brother finally caught. It was a tiny Bluegill no bigger than the length of my index finger and certainly nothing that was going to feed anyone. Beaming with pride from this seminal experience he threw it in the freezer instead of throwing it back into the lake. My dad lit into my wide-eyed little brother. With the frankness signature of a Marine-Corps drill sergeant he informed us that we don’t waste. If we kill we eat and when we eat, we use as much of the animal as possible.
That lesson struck a nerve with me much deeper than just my love of fishing or nature. Spending time with my father in the outdoors was a masterclass in respect. I’ve carried that respect with me from the lush forests of Northern Michigan to my arid home in Southern Colorado. I’ve tried to embody it everyday as an adult, as a mom, as a teacher and now as a State Legislator.
Read MoreI was born and raised in Pecos, New Mexico, where my family has been for several generations. I grew up eating deer meat and trout. Nature is what sustained me growing up. My father was a hunter and a fisherman, and we depended on that for our food source. We’d gather berries and pick piñon in the fall. Food gathering has always been really important to my family.
I still share the tradition of picking berries and making jelly with my family. My daughter asks me why we’re doing it since we still have leftover jelly from last year, but I tell her it’s about remembering grandma and her recipes and continuing the tradition. I want to teach my kids and grandkids about the foods that are edible in this area and how to identify them. That’s something that’s been part of my upbringing and something that’s always been important to me.
Read MoreOnce you get up there the treeline stops – you can see Sedona, all of Flagstaff, and the view from the back of the mountain is unreal. Breathtaking.
On the way down, a storm rolled in so for the last hour or two I was walking in the rain. People say, “oh man,” but honestly it was the most peace I’ve ever had. I totally got drenched it was so peaceful. The clouds rolled in and that’s all you hear is just the rain. That was one of the better hikes I’ve had in a long time. The last mile or two it really started coming down so I picked up the pace. But the rain actually ended the hike really well.
Read MoreThe land has always been our life. Our dedication is to the land. We’ve always depended on the land to survive. My family were farmers and ranchers. I spent most of my summers with my grandfather, and I continue his traditions. We own pieces of land, but I don’t feel like they’re ours, only ours to take care of while were here.
Read MoreLiz Archuleta, HECHO spokesperson said, “It is personally rewarding to see the community out here discovering their sense of adventure or renewing their connection to the land. I hope that by experiencing all that nature has to offer, we can help people understand the importance and urgency to protect and conserve our public lands and waterways. We used this opportunity to educate community members on the importance of permanent reauthorization of the Land Water Conservation Fund that is used to build and maintain parks and trails with no cost to taxpayers.”
Read MoreRead the story of Rose Ann Contreras Atherton, whose second home is the outdoors - plus her favorite wild game green chili recipe! "Every Thursday night, like clockwork, my husband, son and I pack up our Fifth Wheel and prepare to head out into the woods the next day," she writes. "During hunting season, we drive a few hours away to our favorite spots looking for deer, elk, and wild turkey. I love the outdoors. I love the smell. I love that you can go for a walk for hours and you see something different every second. You don’t have to answer to anybody. I can’t even tell you the last time I stayed in a motel – it’s been years."
Read MoreMy 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.
Read MoreOne 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.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreLupe 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.
Read MoreEnjoying 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.
Read MoreMy 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.
Read MoreMany Latino families are working so hard to fulfill those basic necessities, they may not have the time or headspace to consider the land or recreation or connecting with nature. However, in my opinion, spending time with family is also a basic necessity, and public lands are a great venue, as they are open to everyone and they provide a place for families to be together doing activities that are low-cost.
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