I recently received the following Twitter message, “why does it matter the race of the people protecting our desert? I am so tired of bias.” The Tweet was in response to photos we posted of a Latino faith-leader at the White House for an event to mark the designation of new national monuments in California.

Arizona Democratic Reps. Raul Grijalva and Ruben Gallego joined other lawmakers and civil rights groups Thursday urging President Barack Obama to implement more inclusive policies on the nation’s public lands.

On Thursday a coalition of civil society organizations have urged President Barack Obama to ensure greater participation and involvement of Hispanics, Asians, and African Americans citizens in national parks and public lands of the United States.

Today, more than 20 Latino faith leaders joined the public celebration of the new California Desert National Monuments demonstrating their intention to serve as stewards and connect the greater Latino community with these special places. The designation of the Mojave Trails, Sand to Snow and Castle Mountains National Monuments marked the outcome of a multi-year effort to permanently protect these public lands of the California Desert for present and future generations.

As America’s National Park Service celebrates its centennial this summer, we have a responsibility to create a vision for the next century that focuses on the importance of public lands for all Americans.

Thirty fourth-grade students from Escuela de Guadalupe, a Catholic, dual-language school, will take part in the National Park Service’s Every Kid in a Park (EKIP) initiative this Thursday at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.  

Our country this year is celebrating the centennial of the National Park Service. To mark this milestone, I’m calling on our community to reflect on what the next 100 years will hold for our national parks and public lands. It’s especially fitting that we engage in this conversation in the California Desert, where public lands are woven into our way of life.

On June 4, 12 youth from Indio Spanish Seventh Day Adventist Church camped overnight in the new Sand to Snow National Monument, which was designated by President Obama in February.

On June 27, 9 youth and two volunteers from El Nuevo Comienzo Church in Adelanto, CA, did a day hike in the new Sand to Snow National Monument.

The third annual Latino Conservation Week starts Saturday and runs through July 23, and its backers want everyone to get outside and enjoy California's open spaces. There are 18 separate events planned across the state, including six in the southern California desert, where President Obama created three new national monuments in February.