On Tuesday, Mar. 12, in a historic demonstration of bipartisan governing President Donald J. Trump signed into law the John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management and Recreation Act, protecting millions of acres of land and hundreds of miles of wild rivers across the country, establishing five new national monuments and permanently reauthorizing the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and NOAA Fisheries recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the National Marine Manufacturers Association, the American Sportfishing Association, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation to improve communication and engagement around sustainable recreational fishing and boating activities.

Our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions and resulting climate change are leading to higher temperatures, record-setting heat waves, and drier and more arid conditions in the West. These conditions, matched with underfunded forest management, outdated land use practices, and more people living in fire-prone areas have led to catastrophic wildfires that affect more people. Almost 59,000 wildfires burned over 7 million acres in 2021, and more than 10.3 million acres burned in 2020.

These conditions have severe consequences on public health and access to services, job security, and economic productivity. Latino communities are more vulnerable to experiencing these wildfire impacts, and Latino voters are not only aware of these impacts, but are ready for Congress to take action to address climate change, provide more funding for forest management, and ensure communities have access to the services they need to respond to wildfires.

Why is this important to Latino communities?

Latino Health

• Wildfire potential correlates with places with high Latino populations, in part because of the affordable housing crisis - homes are cheaper in wildfire-prone areas. Latinos are twice as likely to be affected by wildfires than others in the U.S. Socioeconomic vulnerabilities and lack of resources turn hazards into disasters and drastically reduce the ability for these communities to prepare and recover from wildfires.
• Latinos have the highest uninsured rates in the United States - 52% of Latinos do not have private insurance coverage. This means Latinos are less likely to have access to healthcare services to prevent and treat health threats caused by wildfires and smoke.
• The poverty rate among Latinos in 2020 was 17.0%, compared to the national poverty rate of 11.4%. This means that 1 in 6 Latinos do not have the economic resources to prepare, adapt, or cope with health issues associated with wildfires and poor air quality.
• Low-income Latino communities are not only exposed to higher temperatures and wildfire risk, but also worse air quality due to smoke.
• 12% of Latinos do not have access to a car, almost double the percentage of their white counterparts, and 27% of Latinos use public transit on a daily or weekly basis. Latinos are more likely than any other group to live in a multigenerational household with young and/or aging family members who can’t drive themselves to school, work, healthcare and other services. This limits their ability to prepare and respond to wildfires.

Latino Jobs & Economy

• The effects of wildfires range from access to emergency response, disaster relief, and physical and mental health services to job security, economic productivity, land use planning and affordable housing.
• Latinos make up the highest percentage of natural resource laborers. These high rates of outdoor employment leads to higher risks by Latino workers of being exposed to unhealthy levels of smoke and air pollution during and after a wildfire.
• Certain factors create additional barriers and challenges for Latino communities before, during, and after a wildfire. These may include distrust of government agencies, emergency responders or service providers; language and cultural barriers; access to information and alerts; or socioeconomic factors, such as access to transportation, adequate and affordable housing, income, and eligibility for insurance or government services.

Latino Public Opinion

• 69% of Latino voters in the West agree that wildfires are more of a problem than ten years ago.
• 84% of Latino voters are concerned about more frequent and severe wildfires.
• 80% of Latino voters support updating zoning and building codes for new homes and development near forests or other fire-prone areas so homes are farther from or can better withstand fires.
• 91% of Latino voters agree with increasing the use of controlled burns to safely reduce the amount of fuel for fires.

Higher temperatures and heat waves are leading to a disproportionate impact on Latino laborers. For many Latinos, staying indoors during high-heat days is not an option. Hazardous conditions are routine for farmworkers and include pesticide exposure, heat stress, lack of shade and adequate clean drinking water. Regardless of 100°F or higher temperatures, unhealthy air quality, and lack of proper protection, many farmworkers continue to work in these hazardous conditions to support their families.

The frequency of extreme heat days is increasing as the climate warms. It is critical that we provide Latino workers with the necessary resources to not just survive, but prosper in these adverse environments, while also limiting climate change to mitigate this increasing risk.

The climate crisis cuts across all sectors of society, from the pollution generated by oil and gas usage to the natural disasters that are intensified by a warming planet. Efforts to address it must be similarly large-scale and cross-cutting, with an urgent need for investment in communities experiencing environmental injustices. The two overlapping streams of climate action are 1) mitigation of fossil fuel emissions, including oil, gas, and coal restrictions and a just transition to a clean energy economy, and 2) resilience to climate hazards and natural disasters, enabling communities to prepare, withstand, and bounce back from the heightened risks we face in a warmer world. Climate solutions can cover one or both of these streams and could encompass renewable energy development, healthy agriculture practices, energy efficiency, public transit, nature protection and restoration, pollution reduction, green buildings, and much more.

Why is this important to Latino communities?

Latino Health

• Air pollution from fossil fuel emissions increases asthma risk and severity. Latinos are twice as likely to go to the emergency room for asthma, and Latino children are twice as likely to die from asthma as white children. Over 3.6 million Latinos suffer from asthma.
• Latinos and other communities of color are disproportionately exposed to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution. This type of pollution is the largest environmental cause of human mortality. Over 56 million Latinos live in the 15 worst urban areas for ground-level ozone pollution.
• Air pollution from agriculture kills almost 18,000 Americans per year. 80% of farmworkers are Latino.
• Communities of color and low-income communities are disproportionately located near fracking wells that contaminate the local area with toxic pollutants, leading to heart defects, infant mortality, and childhood cancer.
• Latinos have the lowest rate of health insurance, hindering their ability to access care when afflicted by illnesses and injuries caused by climate impacts. Immigrants of all statuses are less likely to be offered employer-sponsored health insurance, and undocumented immigrants are not able to use public insurance like Medicare and Medicaid. In addition, there are often language or affordability barriers preventing access.
• Most Latinos live in the three states experiencing the most serious effects related to climate change: historic droughts and wildfires in California, record-breaking heat and power outages in Texas, and increased sea level rise and flooding in Florida.
• Climate change worsens mental health in Latinos and increases risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, attachment disorders, and substance use.

Latino Disaster Preparedness and Response

• 71% of Latinos say climate change is affecting their local community.
• Latino and Black communities receive disproportionately less aid following natural disasters than white communities, and are the hardest hit in terms of property and income losses.
  • 11 million undocumented Hispanic and/or Latino immigrants are not eligible for disaster aid.
• Latino communities face many barriers when dealing with disasters, many of which are caused by government agencies’ failure to consider diverse languages, housing and transportation situations, access to information technology, and other needs. The barriers include:
  • Lack of inclusion in disaster planning, e.g. the lack of planning for socially and/or geographically isolated communities and unstable housing situations
  • Lack of access to clear, multilingual information on disaster preparedness and response, such as emergency alerts and signage, and lack of culturally competent service providers
  • Lack of understanding of the ways information disseminates, and the role of trusted information sources, in Latino and Spanish-speaking communities
  • Failure to inform immigrants of their right to disaster aid
  • Failure to address fears of deportation and distrust of government
  • Discrimination and racial profiling leading to exclusion of individuals from shelters and aid and inquiries about immigration status
  • Lack of transportation assistance, especially for migrant workers
  • Unclear process for responding to loss of documents
  • Failure to acknowledge structural inequities and different social structures in diverse, rural communities
  • Lack of coordination between different government agencies and tiers in disaster response
  • Recommendations for overcoming these barriers can be found in the Emergency Manager’s Tool Kit: Meeting the Needs of Latino Communities.

Latino Jobs & Economy

• 81% of Latino voters in the West said it’s very important for the U.S. to help jumpstart the economy by prioritizing clean energy jobs in wind and solar.
• 84% believe it’s very important to help jumpstart the economy by investing in green infrastructure.
• Latinos are more likely to work in the industries that are deeply affected by climate change, such as agriculture, manufacturing, and construction.
• Many Latinos depend on the agricultural sector for their livelihoods. Extreme weather hampers farm productivity and can mean lost jobs and incomes for many Latino farmers and farmworkers in the United States.
• Black and Latino neighborhoods have disproportionately few rooftop solar installations compared to white neighborhoods, even controlling for income and home ownership. In addition, among senior executives at solar companies, only 2% are Black and 6% Hispanic. There is large potential for solar growth in the Latino market and a need for Latinos in the clean energy industry.

Latino Public Opinion

• Compared to other groups, Latinos are more worried about the climate crisis, more willing to take action and more likely to say they will vote for a candidate because of their stance on climate change.
• Almost 90% of Latino voters in key districts and battleground states say climate change should be a priority for the President and current Congress, and 55% agree that opposition to climate legislation is a dealbreaker for them at the voting booth.
• 87% of Latinos support legislation creating jobs in the renewable energy sector, and 86% support a legislative package that provides tax incentives to make clean energy sources available at lower costs.
• 83% of Latino voters support gradually transitioning to 100% of our energy being produced from clean, renewable sources like solar and wind over the next ten to fifteen years.
• 60% of Latinos would vote for a candidate for public office because of their position on global warming.
• Two-thirds of Latinos say they have personally felt the impacts of climate change.
• 85% of Latino voters in the West are concerned about ozone and smoke worsening air quality.

Latino Education

• Children exposed to air pollution are more likely to have lower inhibition skills and poor academic skills, including spelling, reading comprehension, and math. Latinos and other communities of color are disproportionately exposed to air pollution.

The ocean is a part of Latino lives. It is a source of food, jobs, medicine, spirituality, family memories, and the very air we breathe. Its coral reefs protect us from storms, as do the adjacent wetlands that filter our waters. There isn’t a facet of our lives that isn’t touched by the ocean.

Coastal communities are ever more susceptible to the results of pollution and climate change: sea level rise, dead zones, flooding, and coastal disasters. These same communities are experiencing significant growth in Latino populations, many of which are among the most vulnerable to coastal threats increasing in severity and frequency.

Latinos and other communities, traditionally underserved, should have equitable access to a clean and safe ocean and coast for recreation, livelihoods, and culture. Wetland, coastal, reef, and underwater ecosystems should be protected and restored to improve coastal resilience to sea level rise, floods, and other effects of climate change. The ocean should be pollution- and plastic-free, as well as free of the threats of offshore drilling and mining that harm local communities and the global climate alike.

Why is this important to Latino communities?

Latino Health

• 49% of Latinos lived in coastal shoreline counties in 2010.
• The health impacts of sea level rise are disproportionately felt by Black and Hispanic communities and those who are un- or under-insured, unemployed, or residing in substandard housing. Sea level rise increases the risk for drowning, injury, indoor mold outbreak, respiratory illnesses, housing instability, disruptions to infrastructure, adverse pregnancy outcomes, mental health impacts, and disease transmission.
• Latinos are 47% more likely to live in high-impact coastal flooding areas, particularly in the Southeast- Atlantic region.
• Beach and fishery advisories and closures–or a lack thereof–disproportionately impacts Latinos. Latinos are among the most susceptible to health issues following visits to polluted beaches remaining open for recreation. Latino anglers and consumers, including subsistence fishers, are less likely to be aware of fishery advisories.
• Climate change poses an increasing threat to subsistence fishers, many of whom are immigrants, people of color, and/or low-income: causing damage to docks, shorelines, and vegetation; changing migratory patterns and loss of wildlife from damaged habitats, increasing temperatures, and ocean acidification; storms that damage or wash out access points to fishers; and increasing pollution.
• Reduced access to safe outdoor areas contributes to nature-deficit disorder, limits opportunities for exercise and may present obstacles to doctor-prescribed outdoor recreation.
• Systemic and environmental racism have caused poverty, economic instability, health challenges, and reduced access to social and political resources among many Latinos. This lack of resources puts coastal Latinos into an “elevated coastal hazard risk category” with increased vulnerability to the consequences of climate change.
• The ongoing loss of estuarine wetlands contributes to Latinos’ increased susceptibility to coastal hazards, including sea level rise and storms.

Latino Cultural Heritage and History

• Coastal sites throughout the U.S. safeguard and honor Latino heritage. Contemporary Latino culture also thrives at other sites, existing and emergent, fostering strong coastal communities and connection to place.
  • These sites include San Diego’s Friendship Park, Cumberland Island in Georgia, Chicago’s Paseo Boricua, Miami’s Jose Marti Riverfront Park, Padre Island National Seashore in Texas, Assateague Island in Maryland, San Juan Island in Washington, Monterey Bay in California, and many more.

Latino Recreation

• 4.4 million Latinos participate in fishing, averaging more outings per year than the general fishing population. 17% of Latinos participate in fishing, and 12% in boating.
• The Californian Latino beachgoer is typically a millennial parent with children visiting the beach as part of a large group. Their beach-going concerns are related to parking costs, overnight accommodations and the lack of public transportation options enabling their trips to the beach.
• In Oregon, half of the Latino population participates in coastal activities.
• Latino or Spanish-speaking people are enthusiastic visitors to parks in the Chesapeake Bay, and at some sites they comprise a significant proportion or majority of park users. At Maryland’s Sandy Point State Park, for example, a 2015 survey showed that 80% of users identified as Spanish-speaking but only 3% were aware of the facility’s nature programs.

Latino Jobs & Economy

• More data on the role Latinos play in the marine economy is needed, but it’s reasonable to infer the role is significant. The states with the largest Latino populations–California and Texas–are also the states with the greatest contributions to the U.S. ocean and coastal economy. Three of the top five largest states with Latinos–California, Florida and New York–are among the five largest contributors to ocean-based tourism and recreation.
• More than 18 million people in the U.S. visit estuary and coastal waters each year for recreation and tourism. Ocean-based tourism and recreation alone, contributes approximately $124 billion in GDP and 2.4 million jobs.
• Nationwide, the leisure and hospitality industry is 24% Hispanic and/or Latino. Nearly one third of workers in the U.S. construction industry are Hispanic and/or Latino; as marine construction is concentrated in California, Florida and Texas, Latinos are taking a large part in this ocean and Great Lakes economic sector.
• Latinos are 50% more likely to live in areas with the highest estimated increases in traffic delays due to coastal flooding.

Latino Public Opinion

• 83% of Latino voters in the West, and 89% in the Chesapeake region, support setting a national goal of conserving 30% of U.S. land, inland waters, and ocean by the year 2030 (known as 30x30).
• 89% of Latino voters in the Chesapeake region support the creation of new marine sanctuaries to protect ocean waters and wildlife.
• Relative to other demographics, Latinos are most likely to find the ocean very important for their emotional well-being.
• Latinos are 73% in agreement that the health of the ocean is essential to human survival.
• In California, Latinos are more likely than other adults to see plastics and marine debris as a big problem along their local coast, and view urban development as a big problem for wildlife habitats and endangered species.
• 62% of Latinos in California are in favor of wind and wave energy projects off the coast.

The health of Latino communities is intimately tied to the health of our waterways, which also play a role in Latino livelihoods, culture, history, and spirituality. Rivers flow through nearly 640 million acres of public lands in the US. Our public lands and waters are deeply connected to our stories, provide a place for families and friends to connect and relax, offer ample opportunities to create memories with loved ones, and are economic drivers from coast to coast.

Our rivers and streams are a priceless resource—they provide drinking water for a growing population, irrigation for crops, habitat for aquatic life, and countless recreational opportunities. In addition, water recreation has mental health benefits and relieves stress. But pollution from urban and agricultural areas continues to pose a threat to water quality. Since the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972, federal, state, and local governments have invested billions of dollars in reducing the amount of pollution entering streams and rivers. Yet more than half of the nation's streams have ecosystems in poor condition.

The urgency to protect our rivers and watersheds is imperative. Healthy waterways are needed to ensure clean water access for all, access to freshwater recreation for traditionally underserved communities, and resilience to droughts and flooding, which Latino communities are particularly vulnerable to.

Why is this important to Latino communities?

Latino Health

• Communities across the country – primarily low-income and communities of color – struggle to afford their water, or are faced with concerns over contamination from toxins, like lead and PFAS. What’s more, drinking water violations are more likely to occur in places where residents are people of color.
• Living rivers and healthy watersheds provide profound benefits to nearby cities. They provide water supplies, filter out water and air pollutants, build coastlines by moving sand to ocean beaches, provide critical habitat, sequester carbon and other greenhouse gasses, regulate floodwaters, and create cooling oases for relaxation and recreation.
• Challenges to drinking water vary across U.S. communities and include threats from aging infrastructure, ongoing pollution, climate change, mismanagement, dysfunctional regulatory frameworks, inadequate safeguards, and a shortage of funding to address these problems.
• Agricultural, extractive industry and urban runoff – from construction, pet waste and septic systems - contribute to the nutrient and contaminant loading of rivers and streams, as do microplastics.
• Agricultural workers sacrifice their health on the job while contributing to the nutrient and chemical loading of air, rivers and streams. Latinos, who represent most U.S. agricultural workers, are among those who experience routine exposure to pesticides. Only 57% of crop workers report receiving instruction in pesticide best practices.
• 15 million people in the U.S. experienced a water shutoff in 2016. Cities with higher rates of poverty and unemployment had the highest number of homes with water shutoffs.
• Safe access to water is a matter of life or death for Black and Latino children, who are more likely to drown due to a lack of access to swimming lessons and clean, safe water to learn to swim. 64% of African-American and 45% of Hispanic/Latino children have few to no swimming skills.

Latino Cultural Heritage and History

• Many communities are cut off from public lands and waters. A history of colonization, land theft, and centuries of racial injustice has created river landscapes that exclude Indigenous, Black and Latino people, disconnecting them from places and resources vital to their identities, culture, and survival. Those barriers also manifest themselves in the way the media is less likely to portray outdoor recreationists as people of color.
• As a result of generations of discrimination, Black, Indigenous and Latino communities are often located in floodplains, drained wetlands, or adjacent to sewage outfalls, where they are disproportionately impacted by pollution and flooding.

Latino Recreation

• Water plays an important role in participants’ preferences on where to recreate because of the activities enabled by water access.
• Latino non-visitation of recreation sites largely results from a lack of money, time, knowledge, language accessibility, and fear. Latinos often conceive of recreation as a place to gather with others in groups, which affects their decision-making on where and how to recreate.

Latino Jobs and Economy

• The Colorado River is the lifeblood of the Southwest, where one-third of the nation’s Latinos live and work. Its water sustains over 40 million people in seven states, irrigating 5.5 million acres of farmland, generating 4 billion kilowatt-hours annually and driving a $1.4 trillion economy, but over-allocation and drought have placed significant stress on water supplies and river health.
• Lakes provide fertile soil and water perfect for agricultural production. There are 2.5 - 3 million farmworkers in the United States, 80% of whom are Latino.
• The Great Lakes region is known for its bountiful and diverse agricultural production which provides ideal conditions for corn, soybeans and hay crops, as well as 15% of the country’s dairy products.
• Between the production of crops and livestock, the region produces $14.5 billion in annual agricultural sales.
• The Everglades supplies freshwater to 9 million Floridians and fuels South Dade’s $1.5 billion agriculture and horticulture industry. But the watershed is facing drought, toxic algae blooms, and wildlife die-offs threatening tourism, outdoor recreation, businesses and human health.

Public Opinion

• 93% of Latino voters in the West support restoring Clean Water Act protections for smaller streams and seasonal wetlands.
• 91% believe that it’s very important for the president and Congress to take steps to protect drinking water from contamination.
• 89% of Latino voters in Idaho support improving migration of salmon so that there are abundant populations.
• 91% of Latino voters in the West support increasing federal funding to extend running water and sanitation services to rural areas and tribal communities who currently lack access.
• 66% think that low levels of water in rivers is a very serious issue.