Earlier this year, Californians throughout the state’s desert region celebrated President Obama’s designation of the Sand to Snow, Castle Mountains and Mojave Trails national monuments. A diverse coalition including elected officials, veterans, Latinos, Native Americans, faith leaders, businesses, chambers of commerce, historians, biologists, and sportsmen came together in support of the effort and worked tirelessly to see it happen.

By Sally Jewell, Rue Mapp and Maite Arce Special to The Times

AMERICA’S iconic places — like the Statue of Liberty, Yosemite, Mount Rainier National Park, and more — each tell a unique story that, as preserved, help interpret our nation’s natural, cultural and historical past, present and, hopefully, our future. These treasures inspire us, put our lives in perspective and cause us to think about our place in the world.

Today, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum providing guidance to our nation’s public lands agencies on increasing the diversity and inclusion of the histories, cultures, knowledge and people represented in our public lands systems. In addition, President Obama designated three new national monuments — Freedom Riders National Monument, Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument and Reconstruction Era National Monument — that protect historic sites, histories and cultural resources important to communities of color.

Maite Arce, President and CEO of the Hispanic Access Foundation, released the following statement in response to yesterday’s confirmation hearing for Rep. Ryan Zinke, the nominee for Secretary of Interior:

For so many of us in the West, experiences such as getting lost in the beauty of a mountain vista or being made new by a clear-running river reflecting diamond sparkles of sunshine are among the prime reasons we live here. These are places where one can feel the spirit and become connected to God’s creation. And often we have set aside these places, including irreplaceable treasures such as the Grand Canyon or Yosemite National Park, as protected public lands for all Americans to enjoy.

Today, the Latino Conservation Alliance released the following statement upon the introductions of Latino Conservation Resolutions in the US House of Representatives and Senate.

In the California desert, there are many reasons to celebrate the National Park Service Centennial and all of our public lands.

Living in the Southwest, we are very fortunate to be surrounded by a diversity of God’s most beautiful natural creations. We are blessed with majestic mountain vistas, desert solitude, verdant valleys and flowing rivers, and they are much of the reason why we live here.