As a researcher for the Colorado Latino Leadership, Advocacy and Research Organization (CLLARO), I had the recent honor of participating in the first-ever convening of civil rights, environmental justice, conservation and community organizations around a singular goal: encouraging greater diversity and inclusion in America’s public lands.
Colorado is known for national parks and other public lands such as Rocky Mountain National Park, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge, Mesa Verde National Park and the newly-protected Browns Canyon National Monument. These public lands and others provide habitat for wildlife, economic benefits for small business owners and local communities, and healthy recreational opportunities for families.
Yet too many Coloradans, particularly in Latino communities, don’t yet feel connected to these places – even though they belong to all of us. So a group of us met in the nation’s Capital, Washington, D.C., in March to try and change that. As my fellow participant Loretta Pineda of the Colorado nonprofit Environmental Learning for Kids commented, it was one of the most diverse meetings about the Great Outdoors any of us had likely ever attended; Latinos, African Americans, and Native Americans were the majority.
In addition to Ms. Pineda, the meeting included such diverse leaders as Dr. Carolyn Finney of the University of Kentucky; Audrey and Frank Peterman, Co-Founders of Diverse Environmental Leaders Speakers Bureau; Juan Palma, Chief Conservation Officer at Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors (HECHO); Mark Masaoka, Policy Director of the Asian Pacific Planning and Policy Council, based in Los Angeles; William Anderson of the Moapa Band of Paiutes; and Rue Mapp, Founder of Outdoor Afro, among others. A guest speaker was Charles Person, the youngest Freedom Rider on the original 1961 Freedom Ride.
Together, we discussed priority issues in landscape-scale conservation, workforce diversity, and enhancing recognition of historical, spiritual and cultural significance in our national parks, monuments, forests, recreation areas and wildlife refuges.
Based on our conversations in that meeting, and others that followed, we developed a set of policy recommendations for a system of public lands that is welcoming and accessible to all families, and reflective of our nation’s diversity. Specifically, we are asking President Obama to issue a Presidential Memorandum to encourage federal land management agencies to reflect the demographic and ethnic diversity of our nation; respect the historic, cultural, and spiritual stories and unique contributions of all Americans; and actively engage all people in their protection.
We want to see the President issue this Memorandum on August 25 of this year, as that day is the Centennial of the National Park Service. This is a great opportunity for the President to lay out a vision for what the next 100 years of conservation will look like in America. We urge the President to heed our vision of a more inclusive system of public lands that reflect the diversity of America itself.
Luke Straka is a researcher for the Colorado Latino Leadership and Research Organization (CLLARO), a 52-year-old organization, previously known as LARASA. Though environment is a new focus area for CLLARO, it is an important one. Climate change, air and water pollution, lack of open space, and other environmental challenges facing our communities warrant our engagement. Ensuring that all Latinos can benefit from and enjoy our public lands is a central part of our goals. It has been an honor to be a part of this initiative and I look forward to helping to see its historic goals through. Please join me by signing our petition at: https://www.change.org/p/public-lands-for-all-americans.