Mountain West voters weighed in on the Trump Administration's priorities for managing the use and protection of national public lands in a new Colorado College State of the Rockies Project Conservation in the West Poll released today.

With the new year comes a time of reflection for many of us. As I look back to 2016, I’m remembering a special trip I made to the California desert. Along with a group from El Nuevo Comienzo church, we explored Amboy Crater, and climbed the black cinder cone crater in the middle of the expansive, earth-toned desert.

Over the last three years, conservation and environmental advocates have taken important steps to investigate the perspectives of Latino voters on a broad range of pressing issues. This research brief highlights evidence from nine different surveysi of the Latino electorate conducted between 2011 and 2014. The results across these studies produce consistent results indicating that Hispanics have clear, established views on conservation and environmental issues. More specifically, Latino voters consistently articulate concern about pollution, and global warming, and are overwhelmingly supportive of a broad policy agenda actively addressing these problems. Furthermore, this segment of the electorate views economic growth as perfectly compatible with conservation and a clean-environment policy agenda. Hispanic voters want policy makers to take clean air and natural resource preservation considerations into account when making decisions about energy policy and other developments with a direct impact on the physical environment.

Paula is currently the Vice President of Finance at First Book, a social-enterprise organization that provides educational materials to children in need, with the belief that education is the best way out of poverty and a matter of social justice. Paula is responsible for overseeing the daily accounting and finance functions of the organization’s $130 million budget and providing strategic and leadership direction to the Finance department. Paula closely collaborates with members of the Executive team to ensure Financial functions align with strategic goals and organizational growth. Previously, Paula was the National Projects and Finance Director at Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options, a grassroots organization where she supervised all financial and administrative matters while providing strategic planning advice to the President and Board of Directors. Paula currently splits her time between Washington, DC and Manchester, MA with her husband and two daughters.

Mar Muñoz-Visoso currently serves as the Executive Director of the Secretariats for Cultural Diversity at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, DC. Formally she served as the Director of Media and Communications for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. She also formally served as the Executive Director for Centro San Juan Diego, a community based nonprofit social service agency in Denver, Colorado. Mar was born and raised in Spain. She and her husband Rafael have three children. They live in Silver Springs, Maryland.

Velma Montoya, Ph.D. is an Economist and is retired from government service and university teaching. She served in the Office of Policy Development in the Reagan White House and is University of California Regent Emerita at the University of California. She currently serves as a member (and former Chairperson) of the California Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and on the Board of UCLA's Faculty Club where she represents UCLA's Faculty Women's Club.

Christine oversees Hispanic Access Foundation’s relationships with more than 150,000 Latino churches in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. She holds a bachelor’s degree in modern languages and a master’s degree in teaching. She has also earned certificates in faith, work, and economics; pastoral advocacy and poverty alleviation; and church pastoral skills.

Before coming to Hispanic Access, Christine taught Spanish at the junior and senior high school level for seven years. While teaching, she also led and coordinated outreach events and community service trips for the student body. Christine is active with the Masterpiece Institute, which was founded by her husband, Rev. Fernando Tamara, and with the Bread for the World network, with which she has conducted on-the-ground advocacy to congressional leaders in Washington, D.C. In addition, Christine serves with her husband as Associate Pastor for the Hispanic Ministry of Orange County First Assembly of God Church.

Christine up in San Jose, California and currently lives in Eastvale, California. She and her husband are raising their eldest son Caleb, their daughter Melody, and their youngest son Jason.

Why she works for Hispanic Access..

“Equipping, empowering, and engaging the Latino community is something I am passionate about. I knew that by working at Hispanic Access Foundation I would have the opportunity and support to do all of these things.”

In her spare time…

“I enjoy reading, walking, baking, and watching movies with my family.”

Her favorite book…

“Chasing Vines by Beth Moore. I enjoy this book because it inspires the reader to live a life that cultivates both fruitfulness and rest.”

A person she finds inspirational…

“One of my favorite inspirational speakers is Priscilla Shirer, daughter of Dr. Tony Evans who was the first person of color to author a Bible commentary.  Just like her father, Priscilla has authored many books specifically for women on topics regarding whole life leadership, overcoming insecurities, and the importance of persevering during difficult seasons in life.”

This report examines the importance of environmental issues for Latino voters. Over the past few years, Latino, conservation and environmental groups have all identified the importance of environmental issues for Latinos living in the United States. A 2015 New York Times article noted that Latinos demonstrate overwhelming concern for the environment. A 2014 research brief prepared by Latino Decisions for the Hispanic Access Foundation reported that clean air and water, preserving public lands, climate change, and promoting clean energy are all matters of concern for the rapidly growing Latino population.

Colorado’s population is experiencing rapid growth, putting increased pressures on the state’s public lands, which are beloved by the vast majority of its residents, a significant driver in the state’s economy and a main draw for people moving to the state. Additional threats from development and a movement to sell off these lands to the highest bidder – closing them to the American public – are putting Colorado at risk of losing the wild.

For many Latinos and other diverse urban communities, sites funded through the Land and Water Conservation Fund, often provide the only or most accessible means to experience the outdoors. From having places to connect with nature, spend time with family, enjoy outdoor recreation or explore cultural heritage, LWCF isn’t just about protecting pieces of land or providing specific resources for development, it’s about the connection we have with these places and what they represent for each individual and communities. These sites matter to people – and the loss of the program would be felt for generations to come.