Washington—Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla (both D-Calif.) today introduced the Western Riverside National Wildlife Refuge Act, a bill that would establish the Western Riverside County Wildlife Refuge.

Since launching in 2014, Latino Conservation Week has served as an important time to both celebrate the contributions of Latinos in the conservation movement and recognize the inequitable access to the outdoors Latino communities face. Through panels, community roundtable discussions, hiking excursions and more, hundreds of local and national organizations participate each year to support the Latino community’s passion for the outdoors and inform policymakers and the public about Latino perspectives on conservation.

If you have ever been to Western Riverside County in Southern California, you might not believe that a plan to create a refuge for wildlife could be possible in this rapidly developing area. Hispanic Access Foundation and Defenders of Wildlife have teamed up to advocate for a new Western Riverside National Wildlife Refuge in southern California, which would provide access to a rapidly-disappearing natural landscape for some 12 million people within 25 miles of the area, as well as vital habitat for many vulnerable species of plants and animals.

STATE — To commemorate Latino Conservation Week, the California Botanical Garden hosted a guided walk highlighting Baja California's native plants.

Amado Castillo se sentía privilegiado cada vez que sus padres le llevaban desde su casa del centro-sur de Los Ángeles a visitar las maravillas naturales de los parques nacionales de Yosemite y Sequoia.

Latino Outdoors DC-MD-VA invite you to celebrate Latino Conservation Week. Hope you can join us!

Comenzamos la Semana Latina de la Conservación en un momento crucial cuando todas las voces que exigen justicia ambiental y conservación son más necesarias que nunca. Un momento en el que la acción climática en el Congreso se ha estancado, y la oportunidad de que el Congreso logre una legislación para mitigar el cambio climático y justicia ambiental parece estar más lejana.

This week is a great chance to enjoy the great outdoors – with more than fifty free events, up and down the state of California, as part of Latino Conservation Week.

People can go paddle boarding, hiking, take nature walks, attend film screenings and more.

Juan Rosas is a conservation program associate with the Hispanic Access Foundation – which organizes the event with the help of dozens of community, non-profit, faith-based, and government organizations and agencies.

He said the program dispels the misconception that Latinos don’t care about the outdoors.

“A lot of the Latino community do live in nature-deprived areas,” said Rosas. “So, to be able to take them hiking and fishing, camping – have virtual events, webinars, educational resources that they can firsthand experience – is the goal of Latino Conservation Week.”

An event on Saturday, July 23 will promote the proposed Western Riverside County National Wildlife Refuge.

Rep. Ken Calvert – R-Corona – and Rep. Mark Takano – D-Riverside – recently reintroduced a bill in Congress to officially create the new urban refuge. They say the idea is to improve access to nature for millions of people living in Southern California.

Find out more about all the events online at ‘LatinoConservationWeek.com.’

This year’s event slogan is “Disfrutando y Conservando Nuestra Tierra,”which mean

“Enjoying and Conserving Our Land.” According to Rosas, this annual event has really caught on, growing significantly over the years.

“It started in 2014 with nine events,” said Rosas. “And this year, in year nine, it looks like we’re just nearing 200 events that are going on, all around the United States. So, we’re so excited.”

Many of the events touch on environmental justice themes, since so many Latinos in California labor in manufacturing and agriculture – industries that often pollute the air and water in nearby communities.

Written by Suzanne Potter for El Reportero. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Along with the RV Industry Association (RVIA) and other organizations, the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable (ORR) praised Thursday’s (July 21) announcement by the Biden Administration on the revival of the Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation (FICOR).

It's an attempt to make this all feel more organic. The U.S. Forest Service, Aspen Institute, and the Wilderness Workshop's Defiende Nuestra Tierra are bringing together Latino community leaders, food, live music and family activities and games on July 23 at Two Rivers Park in Glenwood Springs.