The focus on our climate is ramping up within the Latino community. Climate change is leading to higher temperatures and record-setting heat waves, drier and more arid conditions in the Southwest, and more frequent and severe droughts. These conditions are having troubling consequences on public health and access to services, job security and economic productivity.

Following the release of American River’s report America's Most Endangered Rivers® of 2019 in which New Mexico’s Gila River was ranked #1 due to a proposed water diversion project that would tax the already threatened waterway, Maite Arce, president and CEO of Hispanic Access Foundation, released the following statement:

On Tuesday, Apr. 16, President Trump signed a law authorizing the Drought Contingency Plan (DCP) to protect the Colorado River, following the bill’s passage through Congress with bipartisan support. The law, which follows years of negotiations and effort among the seven Colorado River basin states — California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming — reduces each state’s river use as a way to protect against catastrophic water shortages in Lake Mead. Now, that the DCP has been signed into law, the U.S. and Mexico will have approximately 100 days to work on their international version of the DCP, called the Binational Water Scarcity Plan, also known as Minute 323.

On Sunday, Apr. 28, Hispanic Access Foundation, Inland Empire Resource Conservation District, San Bernardino County Special Districts, Supervisor Rutherford’s Office, Rancho Cucamonga Foothill Preservation Alliance and Por la Creación Faith-based Alliance took 40 congregation members from Fontana de la Esperanza SDA Church to the North Etiwanda Preserve for an educational and interactive hike. This was an opportunity to celebrate the preserve’s anniversary of becoming a protected public land and to witness the importance of protecting our cultural and outdoor heritage.

Fabiola Torres is a young Puerto Rican who at an early age learned from her family to love the great outdoors. Nowadays, she is an enthusiastic nature advocate that works to engage the Latino community in conservation initiatives.

While California is known for its incredible natural diversity and majestic public lands, the San Gabriel Mountains play a vital role in our economy, recreation and relaxation. The recreational “backyard” for more than 17 million southern Californians, the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument is also the source of one-third of Los Angeles County’s drinking water.

As an American evangelical Christian leader and a strong advocate of our public lands, I am pleased to see our Congress taking charge of the environmental and conservation challenges we are facing and acting to protect our sacred public lands.

The Por La Creación: Faith-Based Alliance is a bipartisan partnership of Hispanic pastors who believe in a common-sense approach to managing our natural resources. In February, 20 of us from Arizona gathered together in the Grand Canyon to talk about the Colorado River and the need for us to take action to protect this precious resource provided by God. This river provides water for one-third of Latinos in the United States. Latinos make up the bulk of agricultural workers harvesting the produce this river waters. We boat, fish, swim and recreate along its banks.

On Tuesday, May 14, the House Appropriations Committee released the draft fiscal year 2020 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies funding bill. The legislation includes funding for programs within the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other related agencies. The draft bill provides $523.9 million for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), including $244 million for the federal program and $280 million for state programs.

U.S. Rep. Diane DeGette of Colorado has introduced a bill to reinstate Obama-era controls on the venting and burning of methane gas on federal land. The gas is a byproduct of oil and gas extraction. The Methane Waste Prevention Act of 2019 would reinstate rules that the Trump administration rolled back saying they were a burden on industry.