The letter was submitted for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee’s upcoming hearing on the Land and Water Conservation Fund this Wednesday, April 22nd. The full letter can be viewed at: http://tinyurl.com/pnjgjrd.
The Alliance points out that in the last 50 years, no government program has been more successful in preserving our country’s precious natural resources and improving access to the outdoors, which is essential to the Latino community’s health, culture and the future of its children, on a national scale than the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
Created 50 years ago, LWCF takes a portion of royalties from offshore oil and gas development and invests that money in protecting America's most important lands for future generations – whether that be our iconic national parks or an urban neighborhood playground. Based on the simple premise that as we extract natural resources – offshore oil and gas – we should in turn protect and invest in other resources for future generations, LWCF has led to the protection of land in every state and contributed financial support to more than 41,000 state and local park projects, despite only receiving a fraction of its intended funding.
Additionally, the Alliance notes that “LWCF funding has preserved public lands that are critical to the Latino community, from the Santa Fe National Forest and Watershed, a National Park Service Latino Heritage Site, significant for its history as the home to Hispano settlers and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the recently established Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge that provides critical outdoor and educational opportunities to Latino communities in Bernalillo and Valencia Counties in New Mexico. In California, Latino communities in L.A. and San Diego enjoy outdoor recreation and celebrate the history of Mexican and Spanish settlers of the state at the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and the Cabrillo Beach Development. In New York, Latino communities in New York City enjoy a variety of recreational and cultural activities in the Bronx year-round at the Roberto Clemente State Park.”
Members of the Alliance include: Green Latinos, Hispanic Access Foundation, Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting, and the Outdoors (HECHO), Hispanic Federation, La Madre Tierra and Latino Outdoors.