Donate

Category: Environmental Stewardship

Jazzari Taylor at tabling event

Public Lands Need More Than Promises. They Need Accountability.

Por Jazzari Taylor

Earlier this spring, Latino Outdoors (LO) wrote that The Future of Public Lands Depends on Us.

Today, that message feels even more urgent. On May 18, 2026, the United States Senate confirmed Steve Pearce as Director of the Bureau of Land Management despite widespread opposition and concerns from conservation organizations, outdoor advocates, Tribal communities, and public lands supporters. The confirmation serves as a reminder that protecting public lands requires us to come together across districts, landscapes, and communities, from the mountains of Southern California to the deserts of the American West, and remain engaged in the decisions that shape their future.

Last month, Latino Outdoors joined partners from the Conservation Lands Foundation and Protect CA Deserts Coalition at a community event in Crestline, California, where we connected with nearly 250 residents, visitors, business owners, and community leaders. Through advocacy activation and outreach, local residents and business owners expressed interest in becoming public lands champions and in participating in future conversations with policymakers. Their message was clear: public lands matter to the communities, economies, and identities of the places they call home.

Crestline, CA (Lake Gregory)

Crestline, CA (Lake Gregory)

From the U.S. Forest Service-managed forests surrounding Lake Arrowhead and Crestline to the Bureau of Land Management deserts that define much of California’s 23rd Congressional District, public lands support tourism, outdoor recreation, local businesses, and quality of life. The San Bernardino National Forest alone attracts nearly 2 million visitors annually and generates approximately $145 million in visitor spending (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region, 2020). Together, these mountain and desert landscapes serve as both economic engines and treasured public resources.

That is why accountability matters! Congressman Jay Obernolte (CD23) recently told his constituents, “We need to support the people who keep our parks running and protect this incredible asset for our community.” We agree.

Public lands depend on people, and effective stewardship requires elected leaders who ensure federal agencies remain transparent and responsive to the communities they serve. As the Bureau of Land Management enters a new chapter under  Director Pearce, we encourage Congressman Obernolte and California’s congressional delegation to champion public lands and exercise strong oversight on behalf of the residents, businesses, and communities that depend on them.

“As a local media agency, I support many small businesses in the San Bernardino Mountains communities. My job is to use media to bring them more business. Our local businesses are overwhelmingly unique and charming. Our town is not inundated with chains and strip malls. I see firsthand how our lakes, the expansive trees, and minimal noise / light pollution are a strong draw for tourists. As the manager of The Market at Lake Gregory, which supports +30 vendors, half of our customers are not local. It is so important that we prioritize our natural resources, as they have a direct effect on the success of our local businesses.” – Alex Hancook, Company: Digital Nomad Video

We call on Representative Jay Obernolte to publicly uphold these commitments by cosponsoring H.R. 8523, the Public Lands Workforce Stability Act, to stop the firings and protect the public workers who steward our public lands. At Latino Outdoors, we believe that public lands belong to all of us. Protecting them requires more than appreciation. It requires participation. It requires leadership. And it requires holding decision makers accountable for the choices they make on behalf of current and future generations.

Take Action

  1. Find your Representative and find your Senators.
  2. Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to their office.

When you call or write, you can say:

“I’m a constituent from [city or community], and I’m asking you to fully fund our public land agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, and Bureau of Land Management.”

“Please protect our public lands from budget cuts, staffing shortages, and efforts that would weaken long-term conservation and public access.”

“Our communities depend on these lands for jobs, recreation, tourism, culture, and connection. I urge you to support strong stewardship and oversight of our public lands.”

At Latino Outdoors, we know that telling our stories is only part of the work. Acting on them and holding our elected officials accountable is how we protect the places that connect us all.

Resources

The Future of Public Lands Depends on Us

Por Jazzari Taylor

At Latino Outdoors, our stories connect us to land, community, and responsibility. Recently, our staff member Jazzari Taylor participated in a virtual town hall (Time 37:42) with Representative Jay Obernolte (CD23) and asked a question about staffing at Joshua Tree National Park.

In response, the Congressman stated, “We need to support the people who keep our parks running and protect this incredible asset for our community.” That statement reflects a shared understanding that public lands depend on people.

Across the country, public lands are essential to our communities. They support local economies, sustain small businesses, and hold cultural meaning for Latino, Indigenous, and other communities. Places like Joshua Tree National Park are not just destinations. They are part of our collective experience and identity.

Yet these lands require care, and that care requires investment. Staffing shortages at agencies like the National Park Service (NPS) are already affecting visitor safety, resource protection, and basic operations. Proposed federal cuts and policies that open lands to development or sell-offs put additional pressure on systems that are already stretched thin. Ongoing threats, including weakened resource management plans and efforts to roll back protections for places like Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monument in Utah, show how decisions made in one region are connected to the future of public lands nationwide.

Joshua Tree National Park Rally, 2025

Support for public lands must go beyond statements. It must show up in federal budget decisions, in full agency funding, and in protecting lands from short-term exploitation. Investing in stewardship strengthens local economies and protects the places that communities rely on.

We call on Representative Jay Obernolte to publicly uphold these commitments by cosponsoring H.R. 8523, the Public Lands Workforce Stability Act, to stop the firings and protect the public workers who steward our public lands.

Public lands belong to all of us, and so does the responsibility to speak up. Contact your members of Congress and ask where they stand on funding for public land agencies. Urge them to fully fund staffing and protect public lands from harmful policies and sell-offs.

Know who represents you. Stay engaged. Hold them accountable.

Take action:

  1. Find your Representative and Find your Senator
  2. Email or call their office on the Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121

When you call or write, you can say:

“I’m a constituent [city/ town/ area you live], and I’m calling to ask that you fully fund public land agencies like the National Park Service.”

“Please protect our public lands from budget cuts, staffing shortages, and potential sell-offs.”

“Our communities depend on these lands for jobs, culture, and access to the outdoors. I urge you to take action.” 

At Latino Outdoors, we know that telling our stories is only part of the work. Acting on them and holding our elected officials accountable is how we protect the places that connect us all.

Resources

Defending People and Our Lands: Why Attacks on Communities and Public Lands Are Connected

Por Latino Outdoors

This time last year, Latino Outdoors joined Tribes, community leaders, and representatives from across the country at the White House – East Wing, to celebrate and protect public lands shaped by grassroots leadership.

It was proof that community voices matter. Proof that land is worth fighting for.

Fast forward to now, across the country, we are witnessing rollbacks, budget cuts, and fear-based rhetoric being dressed up as “policy.” Harm is being normalized in real time, not only through immigration enforcement but also across environmental and public lands decisions.

Jazzari Taylor, LO’s Policy Advocate, in the White House East Wing, January 2025
President Joe Biden and former Secretary Deb Haaland, January 2025

At Latino Outdoors, we see clear parallels between these attacks. The same systems that justify surveillance, detention, and the displacement of communities are the systems that support the sell-off of public lands, the weakening of environmental protections, and the prioritization of profit over people.

This is not a coincidence. It is a strategy. Let’s be clear: people deserve protection just as much as the land does. Our communities are not separate from the outdoors. They are an extension of the land, just as the land is an extension of us. Without each other, there is no “United” States of America.

Protecting the outdoors and public lands without addressing the impacts comunidades face is irresponsible and insensitive.

As an organization, Latino Outdoors envisions a world where our comunidades experience nature as a safe, inclusive, and welcoming space, where we can share and celebrate our stories, foster leadership, and build a vibrant community of people who love and care for the outdoors.

It is not a means to an end to envision such a world, but a continuous moral compass to measure our humility, just as it is to honor Indigenous peoples, elders, and our ancestors. It means protecting land and people together, for future generations. When harm toward communities is justified in the name of “order” or “security,” environmental harm soon follows. When voices are excluded from decision-making, both people and land suffer. Latino Outdoors remains committed to defending access, equality, opportunity to learn on the land, and the many benefits it offers.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, start where you are, within your capacity and capability. Support a local family. Share trusted resources. Volunteer. Donate. Join a Latino Outdoors outing or event. Hold leaders accountable. Defend your neighbors. Defend public lands. Defend the right to live without fear. If you’re ready to take action right now, here is one immediate way to help:

  • Oppose Steve Pearce’s Nomination as Bureau of Land Management Director; the administration has nominated Steve Pearce to lead the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), an agency responsible for managing 245 million acres of public lands. Pearce has a long record of supporting the sell-off of public lands and weakening land and water protections, and his deep ties to the oil and gas industry raise serious concerns about whose interests would come first. There’s a narrow window to stop this nomination before it advances, so please contact your Senators today and urge them to oppose it.

This moment calls on us to stand firmly in our values, to protect people and land with equal care, to reject fear-based narratives, and to act with intention and responsibility. Together, through collective action and community-centered leadership, we can shape a future where belonging, dignity, and stewardship guide the path forward.

You need to add a widget, row, or prebuilt layout before you’ll see anything here. 🙂