“Environmental protection regulations ensure the preservation and integrity of our lands, which supply Latino communities with clean air and water, jobs, buffer the impacts of extreme weather events and provide access to much-needed green spaces. Latino communities are disproportionately affected by the nature gap—the unequal access to parks, green spaces, and outdoor recreation opportunities. 67% of Latinos live in nature-deprived areas, as opposed to other communities. National monuments help reduce the nature gap and also create jobs, enhance communities, and help boost local outdoor recreation economies.

“Numerous polls consistently show Latino support for preserving national monuments and public lands and waters. According to the 2024 Conservation in the West Poll, a bipartisan poll, 78% of Latino voters think more emphasis should be placed on conserving wildlife instead of on oil and gas production in those areas, and 78% prefer that leaders place more emphasis on protecting water, air, wildlife habitat, and recreation opportunities over maximizing the amount of land available for drilling and mining. The 2024 Oceana Offshore Drilling Survey found strong support amongst Americans for protecting U.S. waters. 64% of American voters support their elected officials protecting U.S. coastlines from new offshore drilling, with 66% support among registered voters in coastal states. This data serves as compelling evidence of broad public backing for maintaining the existing protection regulations. 

“Since the Department of Interior manages national monuments through the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, and National Parks Service, over 160 monuments and marine sanctuaries face potential risks. These include Castner Range National Monument, Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, San Gabriels Mountain National Monument, Chuckwalla National Monument, and Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary–sites that Latino communities supported for years in their designations.

“Reliable, diversified, and affordable energy supply for our nation can be attained through other strategies that do not put national monuments at risk and pose less negative impacts to Latino communities. As we move forward, solutions to balanced energy development need to be created with the needs and concerns of Latino communities, ensuring their voices are considered in policies that impact public lands, environmental protections, and community well-being.”

Secretarial Order 3418 revokes multiple environment-focused executive orders from the previous administration, eliminates regulations that limited energy exploration and directs all Interior Department agencies to reassess policies that could hinder fossil fuel production. The secretarial order also includes other public lands withdrawals, including those made under FLPMA (Federal Land Policy and Management Act), which aren’t connected to national monuments.