PURPLE MOUNTAINS MAJESTY: The White House said on Wednesday that President Obama will make his 13th national monument designation on Friday, protecting 350,000 acres of California's San Gabriel Mountains. 

President Obama designated nearly 347,000 acres of California's San Gabriel Mountains a national monument on Friday, vowing that he is "not finished” preserving the nation’s wilderness.

While celebrations can take different forms, several Latino youth from the Indio, CA area got back to basics in early Nov. 2014 as they hiked and camped throughout the California desert and wilderness -- Joshua Tree National Park and Mojave National Preserve -- to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the California Desert Protection Act and the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act.

As an Orange County resident, I have firsthand experience of the effects of light pollution. When we have the chance to see stars they are few and far between. However, I recently had the opportunity for the first time in my life to go stargazing. While peering at the night sky in Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico, I finally understood why we need to protect some of our nation’s public lands.

For many, economic opportunities like employment or cost of living can have significant bearing on where we choose to live. But, the results of the new Colorado College State of the Rockies Project Conservation in the West Poll tell a different story.

The Latino Conservation Alliance – a group of six national Latino organizations dedicated to promoting conservation priorities in our communities – has sent a joint letter to Chairman Lisa Murkowski and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell, of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, encouraging the committee to recommend the reauthorization and full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Noah’s Ark Whitewater Rafting and Adventure Company partnered with Hispanic Access Foundation to introduce forty urban Hispanic youth to newly designated Browns Canyon National Monument in a multi-day educational program. This adventure experience included a day of whitewater rafting down Browns Canyon—the number one rafted stretch of water on the Arkansas River—and a morning playing on the Noah’s Ark Browns Canyon Adventure Park, one of Colorado’s largest aerial adventure parks.

Between global warming, pollution, rainforest destruction and a host of other threats to our environment, planet Earth may be in serious jeopardy. According to Sara Benitez, community outreach and partnerships manager for the nonprofit group Hispanic Access Foundation (HAF), everyone has a responsibility to participate in conservation efforts that will protect our local area, and our world, long into the future.

Last Friday, President Barack Obama signed into law legislation protecting Idaho’s Boulder-White Clouds as a wilderness area, which will help preserve water sources – it provides the headwaters to most of Idaho’s clean water – ecosystems and wildlife for generations to come.

Here in the High Desert, we enjoy many landscapes and natural wonders that are the envy of many throughout the country. With the desert’s unspoiled geologic features, recreation opportunities, unique wildlife, and starry skies in our national parks, wilderness areas, and other public lands, we are truly fortunate.