As news broke that the U.S. Senate passed the Sawtooth National Recreation Area and Jerry Peak Wilderness Additions Act (SNRA+) and the bill would be sent on to President Obama for signing, Idahoans throughout the state, including the Latino community, rejoiced.

If you could – without costing taxpayers a single dime – create a program that pumps more than $17 billion into the protection of land in every state, contributes support to more than 41,000 state and local park projects and improves access to the outdoors for millions of people, why wouldn’t you?

As Congress prepares to hear from Pope Francis, Latinos throughout the nation are calling on our elected officials to not just listen to his words, but also act on them.

In June, Pope Francis's encyclical letter focused on climate concerns, as well as the connection between human health and the environment. Much of what he outlined in this letter is expected to be part of this historical meeting - this will be the first time the head of the Roman Catholic Church has addressed the U.S. Congress.

For 50 years, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) has enhanced our country and our culture through projects that have improved our communities and created beautiful places where our citizens can thrive.  It has protected our country's most precious natural resources, like the Great Sand Dunes National Park, the tallest sand dunes in North America and Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge that provides critical outdoor and educational opportunities to Latino communities in Bernalillo and Valencia Counties in New Mexico.  LWCF funding benefited nearly every county in America and stood the test of time in terms of being both popular and bipartisan.  

Its namesake is our state. The Colorado River starts near Rocky Mountain National Park, before flowing down from the mountains and into several other states. It also winds its way through the Hispanic roots of the American Southwest.

Up close the waters of the Colorado, the red-colored river, have no color. From afar, the river’s tones are many… Nor does it understand the nature of ethnicities and nationalities. All these human concepts are left behind when, as we go upstream on the Colorado, we arrive and find ourselves facing the vast panorama of the Grand Canyon. However, there is a population group in the United States, the Hispanics, who have claimed ownership of the cause for protecting this river. Are we really able to talk about this community’s special bond with the Colorado’s water? Is it true, as the surveys indicate, that Hispanics are showing greater concern for environmental issues?

This past Saturday, November 21, pastors from the Por la Creación Faith-based Alliance, which develops stewards of God’s creation by educating and engaging this generation to leave a legacy for the future, took 32 family members and congregants on a trip to Amboy Crater.  Amboy Crater is just south of historic Route 66 near the desert community of Amboy and lies within the proposed Mojave Trails National Monument.

A large group of California religious leaders released a letter to President Obama on Tuesday, asking him to use his powers under the Antiquities Act to create three new national monuments in the southern California desert.

Latinos in Riverside and San Bernardino counties are thrilled that President Obama recently designated our nation’s three newest national monuments – Sand to Snow, Mojave Trails, and Castle Mountains – in the California desert.

One hundred years ago, President Woodrow Wilson signed the bill establishing the National Park Service. From day one, the goal was "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and wildlife therein, and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."