LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Latinos are expected to make up nearly a third of the U.S. population by 2050, according to Census projections. So conservation groups want to ensure that Latinos stay engaged in environmental stewardship.

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Hispanic Access Foundation announced that Chela Garcia Irlando has been selected as its Director of Conservation Programs and will oversee the organization's national conservation program. The program will continue to build upon HAF's seven-year history of Latino stakeholder engagement in protecting natural resources, accessing the outdoors and building a Latino environment narrative.

Mountain West voters weighed in on the Trump administration’s priorities for managing the use and protection of public lands in a new Colorado College State of the Rockies Project Conservation in the West Poll released today. The poll, now in its eighth year, surveyed the views of voters in eight Mountain West states on some of the most pressing issues involving public lands and waters, including proposals to eliminate or alter national monuments. Hispanic Access Foundation highlighted the Latino results during today’s press conference.

Following the Washington Post report that Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke is recommending that at least four monuments should be reduced in size and several other should be opened up for commercial activities -- in direct contrast to the 2.8 million comments submitted where 99 percent were in support of maintaining or expanding the existing national monuments -- Maite Arce, president and CEO of Hispanic Access Foundation, released the following statement:

Sure, we all know about endangered species, but did you know there are endangered rivers, too?

Many would agree that Congress has a moral obligation to listen to voters and protect our cherished outdoor heritage. Unfortunately, some in the U.S. Senate are attempting to overturn a popular rule that reduces the waste of taxpayer-owned natural gas on public and tribal lands. As if that wasn’t enough, overturning the rule would stifle the agency’s ability to enact similar rules in the future, permanently harming taxpayers and our health.

On Saturday, March 18th, we’ll be celebrating the one year anniversary of the Sand to Snow, Mojave Trails and Castle Mountains National Monuments with a pop-up photo exhibition at Division 9 Gallery that I am curating as part of my internship with the Hispanic Access Foundation.

In California, where the largest ethnic group is Hispanic, Latino voices were important to the creation of the Sand to Snow, Mojave Trails and Castle Mountains National Monuments. Latinos are now stepping up to make sure these monuments are kept intact. Twenty Latino groups have signed a joint letter to President Trump to emphasize their desire to see these locations, which they worked so hard to preserve, are not altered in anyway.

Nevada is a state of incredible natural diversity. The diverse landscapes of our state provide a lot more than just recreation and relaxation. These special places play a vital role in our economy, our culture and our history. Growing up in a family that camped, fished, hunted and hiked, I was raised to take from the land only what was needed and to not waste our natural resources. To do otherwise doesn’t make sense, and it is our moral obligation to ensure that future generations will inherit this outdoor heritage.

Two California non-profit organizations have been awarded funds to provide fishing programs for Hispanic families. A total of $10,792 in grants was awarded by the Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (RBFF) through the George H.W. Bush Vamos A Pescar™ Education Fund. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) will match the grant funds, effectively bringing the total amount of funding to $21,585.