With the support of President Donald Trump, Sens. Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) introduced the bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act that will finally provide full dedicated funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and address the $12 billion maintenance backlog facing our national parks. LWCF’s impact extends to neighborhoods throughout the country, reaches nearly every county in the nation and has been instrumental in providing Latino and other diverse communities with access to the outdoors.

I’ve lived on the Front Range of Colorado for the majority of my adult life. In all those years, I’ve fallen in love with Colorado’s mountains, the wildlife that live here, and the inner peace and tranquility I feel after spending some time wandering here. With every passing year, I fall deeper in love as I visit new places and parks throughout the state.

Today, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) introduced the End Speculative Oil and Gas Leasing Act of 2020, which would end the practice of leasing low and no potential lands for oil and gas drilling by requiring the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to assess all lands’ mineral development potential before offering those lands for lease, and prohibiting leasing on any lands found to have low or no development potential. In response to the passage, Maite Arce, Hispanic Access Foundation’s president and CEO, released the following statement:

Today, the 100% Clean Energy Economy Act of 2019 was introduced in Congress by U.S. Reps. Donald McEachin, Deb Haaland, Debbie Dingell, Earl Blumenauer, Paul Tonko, and Bobby Rush. In response to the legislation, which would transition our nation to a 100% clean economy by 2050 and require net-zero carbon pollution, Hispanic Access Foundation President and CEO Maite Arce released the following statement:

Today, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted to advance legislation to provide full, dedicated funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The Land and Water Conservation Fund Permanent Funding Act (S. 1081), was introduced by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.). A bipartisan House companion bill (H.R. 3195) was approved by the House Natural Resources Committee in June. In response to the passage, Maite Arce, Hispanic Access Foundation’s president and CEO, released the following statement:

Yesterday, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized the repeal of the 2015 Waters of the United States rule, which expanded the types of waterways that can receive federal protections under the Clean Water Act.

Today, Rep. Jimmy Gomez and Sen. Cory Booker introduced the Transit to Trails Act, which seeks to reduce barriers between people and access to nature.

Being outside has historically been a part of Latino culture for generations. While Latinos are not always represented in mainstream conservation groups and movements, groups around the state and the nation are working to change that.

It’s not every day you get to hold a live catfish, go tubing on the Shenandoah River and listen to the live music of Latin Grammy Award-winning artist Mister G. But, the more than 125 people attending the third annual RioPalooza! held this past weekend in Elkton, Virginia got to do just that.

More than 50 Las Vegas-area youth and families from Centro de Adoracion Familiar Church took to rods and reels on July 18 for a fishing experience at Lake Mead as part of the 6th annual Latino Conservation Week. Led by the Hispanic Access Foundation, in partnership with the Nevada Department of Wildlife ,George H.W. Bush Vamos a Pescar Educational Fund and the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, these groups came together to engage multi-generational families around basic fishing instruction, water safety, and hands-on conservation and aquatic stewardship activities.