Donate

Tag: Conservation Cultura

Public Lands Belong to All of Us

From the U.S. Capital to Public Lands Across the Nation

Por Latino Outdoors

This summer, Latino Outdoors traveled to Washington, D.C., joining GreenLatinos and partners for a Congressional Hispanic Caucus briefing honoring America’s 250th anniversary. The gathering offered an opportunity to celebrate Latino contributions to our nation’s parks and public lands, while confronting the challenges shaping their future.

Public lands are lands and waters managed by federal, state, and local governments for the public, including many of the national parks, monuments, forests, wildlife refuges, and other outdoor spaces. These places hold stories of celebration and loss, including slavery, migration, genocide, stewardship, familia, leadership, cultura, recreation, opportunity, and belonging. The people, ecosystems, wildlife, origin stories, native plants, and histories connected to these landscapes all contribute to their meaning.

The Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., USA.

For Latino communities, access to the outdoors also means seeing our gente reflected in the places we visit and in the stories our country chooses to tell. What is happening in communities across the United States, including on our public lands, raises concerns about whitewashing, manipulated power, and attempts at erasure, or rewriting parts of our shared history. We recognize there is privilege in being able to speak up and speak out, but many of us can hold a united front to protect others and hold public servants accountable. Policies and enforcement should not be controlled by the few at the cost of the many. The connection between place, people, and belonging remains especially important as changes unfold across our public spaces.

In Washington, D.C., changes to nationally significant places, such as the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, have raised questions about how historic public spaces are altered without public input, clear funding sources, or transparent management practices. But the concerns extend beyond physical infrastructure to what people can learn while visiting public lands. The Center for American Progress analysis documented efforts affecting the interpretation and representation of Black history, Indigenous history, immigration, women, labor, LGBTQ+ history, and science. When signs, images, language, exhibits, and interpretation are removed or rewritten, communities can lose opportunities to see themselves represented in places that belong to all of us.

Protecting these places also requires defending the laws that make conservation possible. The Antiquities Act of 1906 has long been one of the nation’s most important tools for safeguarding places of cultural, historical, ecological, and scientific significance. For 120 years, presidents from both parties have used the Act to establish national monuments and protect significant federal lands. Defending the Antiquities Act is about more than policy in Washington; it is about ensuring that significant landscapes, histories, and cultures endure for future generations.

The urgency is clear at Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah, where efforts to reduce protections threaten much more than acreage on a map. Bears Ears is a living cultural landscape shaped by generations of Indigenous stewardship, with sacred places, cultural resources, and histories deeply connected to Tribal Nations today. Grand Staircase-Escalante likewise protects significant cultural, ecological, paleontological, and scientific resources. Latino Outdoors recently joined more than 300 Tribal and Indigenous entities, organizations, businesses, faith communities, veterans, scientists, and conservation partners in opposing reductions through the Monuments for All effort. Standing with Tribal Nations and communities reflects our shared commitment to protecting these landscapes and the cultural connections they carry.

Big Bend National Park. Photo Credit: Jeanette M. Honermann

More than a thousand miles away, the fight to Protect Big Bend National Park shows why these issues matter beyond any one region. Latino Outdoors has supported efforts to prevent physical barriers and construction from disrupting Big Bend National Park and access to the Rio Grande. The Latino Outdoors short documentary Yo Cuento: Entre Ríos y Desiertos explores this borderland and its connections to ecology, binational history, migration, people, and culture.

“Big Bend isn’t just a place we visit, it’s a place that holds our history. For Latino communities across Texas and beyond, these lands carry the stories of our families, our ancestors, and the generations who called this borderland home long before it was a national park. When we protect Big Bend, we’re protecting more than desert and river and mountain, we’re protecting a sense of belonging. Every child who gets to stand under that big Chihuahuan sky and feel like it’s theirs too, that’s the work. That’s what Latino Outdoors is here for.”

Jeanette M. Honermann, Latino Outdoors Board Member and Texas resident

Big Bend National Park feat. Jeanette M. Honermann

Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Big Bend may be separated by state lines, but the challenges facing them are connected. Weakened monument protections in Utah, physical barriers through a culturally significant landscape in Texas, reductions in the public lands workforce, and the removal of history from national parks all raise a larger question about what we choose to protect and pass on. Latino Outdoors’ commitment to our comunidades and the outdoors stretches across the country. Public lands should remain protected, accessible, and reflective of the people and histories that make up this country.

Now is the time to turn that connection into action.

Take Action:

  1. Contact the U.S. Congress.
    1. Ask your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators to defend the Antiquities Act, protect national monuments, and support H.R. 8523, the Public Lands Workforce Stability Act.
    2. Find your representative, find your senators, or call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121.
  2. Stand with communities protecting national monuments. Take action through Monuments for All and learn more from the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition and Grand Staircase Escalante Partners.
  3. Help protect Big Bend. Visit Protect Big Bend to learn about threats facing Big Bend and the Rio Grande and how you can speak up, no matter where you live.
  4. Share your story. Our stories build belonging and show the many ways our comunidades connect with the outdoors. Share your experiences and relationship with public lands through Latino Outdoors’ Yo Cuento blog.

A call, an email, an action, or a story can make a difference. Protecting our public lands, their stories, and the people who steward them takes us all.

Resources:

  • Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition. (n.d.). Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition. Bears Ears Coalition
  • Center for American Progress. (2026). Censored: Erasing 250 years of American history on public lands. Center for American Progress
  • Center for Western Priorities. (2026, August). Doug Burgum’s Reflecting Pool lies lead to an Oval Office showdown. Center for Western Priorities
  • Congressional Hispanic Caucus. (n.d.). Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Congressional Hispanic Caucus
  • Congress.gov. (2026). H.R. 8523, Public Lands Workforce Stability Act, 119th Congress. H.R. 8523
  • Earthjustice. (2026). Trump administration works to erase Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments. Earthjustice
  • Grand Staircase Escalante Partners. (n.d.). Grand Staircase Escalante Partners. Grand Staircase Escalante Partners
  • GreenLatinos. (n.d.). GreenLatinos. GreenLatinos
  • Latino Outdoors. (n.d.). A guide to writing your Yo Cuento blog post. Yo Cuento submission guide
  • Monuments for All. (2026). Over 330 Tribal entities, businesses, faith communities, veterans, science and conservation organizations speak out against evisceration of protections for Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments. Monuments for All
  • Mr. Beat. (2026, July 17). All the “woke” history that Trump is trying to erase [Video]. YouTube. YouTube video 
  • National Park Service. (n.d.). Antiquities Act of 1906. U.S. Department of the Interior. Antiquities Act
  • National Park Service. (n.d.). Big Bend National Park. U.S. Department of the Interior. Big Bend National Park
  • National Park Service. (n.d.). Rio Grande. Big Bend National Park, U.S. Department of the Interior. Rio Grande
  • PBS NewsHour. (2026). Crews are draining the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool again as part of Trump’s troubled revamp. PBS NewsHour
  • Protect Big Bend. (n.d.). Protect Big Bend. Protect Big Bend
  • U.S. Department of the Interior. (n.d.). America’s public lands explained. U.S. Department of the Interior 

How Searching for Killer Whales Connected My Roots to Community Science

Por Gianna Haro Vallazza

Most of my memories feel like a dream, shaped by flawless white sand beaches edged with black lava rock, turquoise waters stretching endlessly into the horizon, and a landscape alive with endemic plants and animals. Much of it happened barefoot, in a place many consider the world’s most ideal natural laboratory. For me, it was simply home.

I grew up on Santa Cruz Island in the Galápagos Archipelago. The Galápagos is world renowned for its role in shaping Darwin’s theory of evolution, but as a child, I did not think about scientific legacy. I thought about wonder. I played with wildflowers, hunted lizards, shared my ice cream with sea lions, and chased iguanas along dusty paths. I collected insects in jars, inventing names for them and carefully cataloging them in a makeshift basement inventory. I spent nearly every day at the beach, snorkeling in crystal clear water and investigating what lived beneath the surface. I brought home hermit crabs and pencil sea urchins, not to keep, but to observe, study, and better understand.

Without realizing it, I was practicing science. More importantly, I was forming a deep, intuitive relationship with the outdoors, one rooted in curiosity, respect, and daily interaction rather than formal recreation. The outdoors was not something I visited. It was something I belonged to.

Paying with baby sea lions as a child in the Galapagos Islands.

Becoming a Biologist and Learning About Barriers

As I grew older, observation became second nature, and with time came clarity. I wanted to be a biologist. My first internship took place at the Charles Darwin Foundation, where I worked as an assistant on the Galápagos green turtle monitoring program. I spent days on Isabela Island observing nesting behavior and watching these ancient animals haul themselves across the sand to ensure the survival of their species.

It was there that I saw myself reflected in the turtles’ journey. Baby sea turtles face overwhelming odds, predators, distance, and harsh conditions, just to reach the ocean. Even after that, they navigate powerful currents to someday return to the same stretch of beach where they were born. I understood then that my own path would require navigating obstacles as well. Access to higher education, moving away from home, and navigating academic systems not designed with people like me in mind were real barriers, even if they were not always visible.

Still, that internship solidified my purpose. I knew I wanted to work in research, conservation, and eventually return to island and coastal communities like the one that raised me. To do that, I had to leave home and expand my world through education. This is why I personally funded my Biology degree at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and my Environmental Management degree at Cornell University, through a lot of hard work, multiple jobs, and the support of many generous angels along the way.


Working as a biologist in the Galapagos Islands! Showing a dolphin skull.


Redefining Outdoor Engagement

Today, outdoor engagement means something broader to me than traditional recreation narratives often suggest. It is not just about summiting peaks or logging miles. It is about listening, observing, contributing, and caring. It is about community science, stewardship, and making conservation accessible to people who already have deep relationships with place, even if they do not label them as outdoorsy.

That belief is what drew me to Adventure Scientists, and specifically to the Searching for Killer Whales project.

Southern Resident killer whales are critically endangered, with only about 74 individuals remaining. While much attention is paid to their presence in Washington waters, far less is known about their movements along the Oregon coast. This project invites coastal hikers, surfers, kayakers, sailors, and ocean explorers to collect observation data during activities they are already doing, whether or not whales are seen.

That detail matters. It reframes science as something people can participate in, not just observe from a distance.

In partnership with Oregon Shores, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and NOAA, volunteers complete a short training, use a simple survey app, and record environmental and observational data from shore or water. Importantly, the training, protocols, and survey app are fully translated into Spanish, an intentional choice I advocated for as a Latina to ensure that more people could access and participate in this work in their primary language. The result is valuable information that supports research and conservation, powered by community members.

Volunteers and Adventure Scientist team member, Gianna Haro Vallazza, Searching for Killer Whales in the Oregon Coast.

My Role and Why Representation Matters

In my role at Adventure Scientists, I support the project management team by leading cross functional planning, coordinating collaboration among diverse stakeholders, and translating complex ideas into actionable, community centered solutions. My background in biology, environmental management, GIS, and bioacoustics allows me to bridge science with lived experience.

But just as important as my technical background is where I come from.

As a Latina conservationist from the Galápagos, I know how powerful it is to see yourself reflected in conservation spaces. Representation matters not just for inspiration, but for effectiveness. When diverse communities are welcomed into environmental work, the solutions become more inclusive, resilient, and grounded in real relationships with land and water.

For many communities, barriers to outdoor engagement are not about interest. They are about access, language, time, safety, and whether spaces feel welcoming. Community science projects like Searching for Killer Whales help lower those barriers by meeting people where they are and honoring the ways they already connect with nature.


Guiding in Alaska, the only Latina in the crew.


An Outdoors for All of Us

My journey, from chasing iguanas in the Galápagos to supporting killer whale conservation along the Oregon coast, has taught me that the outdoors is not a luxury. It is a shared responsibility and a shared inheritance.

When we expand the definition of outdoor engagement, we make room for more stories, more voices, and more solutions. We build an outdoors that reflects the diversity of the people who depend on it and care for it.

The ocean raised me. Science gave me a language to protect it. Community centered conservation gives me hope that we can do this work together, equitably, inclusively, and with joy.

Searching for Killer Whales volunteer group picture, during our November field day event in Oregon.

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. 🙂