CULTURA, ENVIRONMENT AND #PUBLICLANDS
“Borders are set up to define places that are safe and unsafe, to distinguish us from them. A border is a dividing line, a narrow strip along a steep edge. A borderland is a vague and undetermined place created by the emotional residue of an unnatural boundary. It is in a constant state of transition. The prohibited and forbidden are its inhabitants.”
— Gloria Anzaldúa, Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza (1987) –
Across the Southwest, too many of our communities are left without access to basic outdoor recreation opportunities, and left out of decisions about how our public lands and waters are managed — even though these are the places that sustain wildlife and clean water, and tell our own human stories. These places are owned by all… and they should be managed so we can all benefit from them.
A person’s household income should never determine whether they get to enjoy clean air, water and the outdoors, and pass these traditions on to future generations. Prioritizing public lands conservation and mitigating the environmental impacts from development in our communities can move us toward that reality. Our organizing principles and advocacy issues are decided by and led by people of color and our local communities because the best people to protect these places and natural resources are the people who live there.
Current Campaigns
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Caja del Río Protections
From dramatic geologic features and diverse wildlife, to millennia-old petroglyphs and Pueblo cultural resources, to traditional Spanish land grant communities, to the original path of the modern day Route 66, the Caja del Río plateau tells the story of human journey in this part of the world.
This sacred plateau, situated between the Rio Grande and Santa Fe Rivers, connects us to the past, the future, each other, and ourselves. It’s a continuum of human journey within and alongside the natural world. It deserves our protection.
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Castner Range National Monument
Beloved by El Paso, Castner Range is 7,081 acres full of prehistoric significance, important habitats for endangered species, and potential opportunities for outdoor recreation. It’s time to make this unique place a national monument and we’re working to make it happen.
The permanent protection from future development will illustrate a significant step to expand conservation education to marginalized communities who disproportionately bear the brunt of climate impacts and traditionally have less access to nature.
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The Gila River
The Gila River and its tributaries are the lifeblood of Southwest New Mexico communities. More than $16 million from the Arizona Water Settlement Act (AWSA) was spent on a failed attempt to dam, divert, and sell water from the Gila River, an attempt to continue to use our peoples’ water to benefit a handful of irrigators who don’t represent the community at large. Nuestra Tierra was part of the fight to stop the unjust Gila Diversion project and today, we continue the fight for environmental justice by getting it designated as a Wild & Scenic River.
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New Mexico's Bootheel
New Mexico's bootheel is as ecologically diverse as its history and the people who come visit. The heart of Apacheria, this southwest corner of New Mexico, which borders the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora, is one of North America's greatest natural treasures! We are leading the fight for permanent protection of the Apachelands in the face of the militarization of our borders.
MORE WAYS WE’RE ADVANCING THIS VISION
Permanently protecting public and tribal lands on the US-Mexico border while working on repairing and restoring the area destroyed by the previous administration’s short-sighed border wall campaign
Working to change the way federal dollars and taxes are spent in a way that invests in the engagement of Hispanic and Latinx communities as new hunters and anglers and equitably distributes funding to open up hunting and fishing opportunities for Hispanic communities
Narrative change: Featuring the voices, stories, images, and videos of Hispanic and Latinx outdoor enthusiasts in digital media
Working to protect and conserve critical wildlife habitat surrounding majority Latinx and Hispanic communities to ensure they have sustainable access to hunting and fishing opportunities
Restoring the lower Rio Bravo in New Mexico to a living river
Working toward a just transition away from extractive industries and supporting the development of a clean energy economy in New Mexico and across the West
SEE US IN ACTION
