Mountain West voters weighed in on the Trump administration’s priorities for managing the use and protection of public lands in a new Colorado College State of the Rockies Project Conservation in the West Poll released today. The poll, now in its eighth year, surveyed the views of voters in eight Mountain West states on some of the most pressing issues involving public lands and waters, including proposals to eliminate or alter national monuments. Hispanic Access Foundation highlighted the Latino results during today’s press conference.

Today, over 45 Latino faith leaders representing communities from California to Florida submitted comments in opposition of the proposed repeal of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan. Their comments urged EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to uphold the Clean Power Plan and protect the health of Latino communities and future generations. The Clean Power Plan seeks to reduce carbon pollution from power plants, the nation’s largest source, while maintaining energy reliability and affordability.

Por la Creación Faith-based Alliance (PLC), which develops stewards of God’s creation by educating and engaging this generation to leave a legacy for the future, has released its “Top 5 Conservation Priorities” and is encouraging Latinos nationwide to share their support for national monuments in response to the Trump Administration’s recommendations to reduce the size of multiple monuments and open up others to commercial use.

Following the Washington Post report that Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke is recommending that at least four monuments should be reduced in size and several other should be opened up for commercial activities -- in direct contrast to the 2.8 million comments submitted where 99 percent were in support of maintaining or expanding the existing national monuments -- Maite Arce, president and CEO of Hispanic Access Foundation, released the following statement:

Maite Arce, President and CEO of the Hispanic Access Foundation, released the following statement in response to yesterday’s announcement the Bureau of Land Management will suspend parts of the rule designed to reduce natural gas waste on federal public and tribal lands:

Maite Arce, President and CEO of the Hispanic Access Foundation, released the following statement in response to the U.S. Senate vote outcome that maintains the Bureau of Land Management’s Methane and Waste Prevention Rule, which curbs natural gas waste by requiring existing oil and gas operations on public lands to use the most up-to-date technology to capture wasted natural gas that is either released into the atmosphere or burned off and repair leaks from equipment:

Sure, we all know about endangered species, but did you know there are endangered rivers, too?

The Hispanic Action Foundation (HAF) alongside 17 leaders from other Latino advocacy groups, sent a letter urging members of the U.S. Senate to the protect the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Methane and Waste Prevention rule, which aims to curb methane pollution from oil and gas activities on our public lands and helps to protect Latinos across the country.

Many would agree that Congress has a moral obligation to listen to voters and protect our cherished outdoor heritage. Unfortunately, some in the U.S. Senate are attempting to overturn a popular rule that reduces the waste of taxpayer-owned natural gas on public and tribal lands. As if that wasn’t enough, overturning the rule would stifle the agency’s ability to enact similar rules in the future, permanently harming taxpayers and our health.

On Saturday, March 18th, we’ll be celebrating the one year anniversary of the Sand to Snow, Mojave Trails and Castle Mountains National Monuments with a pop-up photo exhibition at Division 9 Gallery that I am curating as part of my internship with the Hispanic Access Foundation.