117 HRES 1235 IH: Recognizing the importance of engagement with the Latino community to get into the outdoors and participate in activities to protect United States natural resources, and expressing support for the designation of the third week of July as “Latino Conservation Week”. U.S. House of Representatives 2022-07-20 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IV117th CONGRESS2d SessionH. RES. 1235IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESJuly 20, 2022Ms. Barragán (for herself, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. San Nicolas, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Gomez, Mr. Gallego, Mr. Cárdenas, Ms. Escobar, Mr. Ruiz, and Mr. Grijalva) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Natural ResourcesRESOLUTIONRecognizing the importance of engagement with the Latino community to get into the outdoors and participate in activities to protect United States natural resources, and expressing support for the designation of the third week of July as Latino Conservation Week.

Whereas Latino Conservation Week was created by the Hispanic Access Foundation to support the Latino community getting into the outdoors and participating in activities to protect United States natural resources; Whereas, during this week, Latino community, nonprofit, faith-based, and government organizations and agencies across the United States will go on hiking or camping outings in National Conservation Lands, national monuments, and parks and other public lands, learn about conservation efforts in their community, and show their support for permanently protecting United States land, water, and air; Whereas local activities include communitywide public events, private events, film screenings, discussions, ground hikes, birdwatching, picnics, neighborhood cleanups, and more; Whereas national monument designations celebrate the Latino community’s contribution to this country, contribute to local economies, and provide beautiful spaces for outdoor recreation; Whereas 78 percent of Latinos say they have directly experienced the effects of climate change; Whereas two-thirds of Latinos say air pollution and contaminants in drinking water are serious threats to the health of their families; Whereas Latino children in the United States are twice as likely to die from asthma attacks due to the disproportionate pollution burdens their communities are exposed to; Whereas Latinos are more likely to lack access to health insurance and thus are less able to treat health ailments caused by exposure to poor air quality; Whereas access to natural spaces— (1)provides mental and physical health benefits; (2)can save almost three dollars in health care on every dollar spent on creating and maintaining park trails; and (3)helps mitigate climate change, extreme heat, and air pollution, and can aid economic recovery; Whereas communities of color in the United States are 3 times as likely as White communities to live in nature-deprived places, which means there are far fewer parks, forests, streams, beaches, and other natural places near Black, Latino, and Asian communities; Whereas Latinos are 21 percent more likely than non-Hispanic Whites to live in urban heat islands, or areas dominated by asphalt and concrete without access to parks that provide shade for urban cooling; Whereas public lands are a key component of the Latino identity, and they weave a narrative of the diverse and complex history of the Nation; Whereas 84 percent of Latino voters in the West, and 89 percent in the Chesapeake region, agree that the United States should create new national parks, national monuments, national wildlife refuges, and Tribal protected areas to protect historic sites or areas for outdoor recreation; Whereas 87 percent of Latino voters in the West, and 89 percent in the Chesapeake region, support setting a national goal of conserving 30 percent of United States land, waters, and ocean by the year 2030; Whereas 89 percent of Latino voters in the Chesapeake region support the creation of new marine sanctuaries to protect ocean waters and wildlife; Whereas 92 percent of Latino voters support addressing the backlog of infrastructure repairs, reducing risk of wildfires, and natural resource protection on national public lands such as national parks by providing jobs and training to unemployed people; Whereas Latinos are the largest minority group in America, with over 60,500,000 people making up 18 percent of the Nation’s population, and are projected to become nearly one-third of the population by 2050; Whereas 4,400,000 Latinos participate in fishing, averaging more outings per year than the general fishing population; Whereas all communities should have equitable access to nearby green space, the ability to reach it, and features that honor and welcome diverse languages, inclusive histories, and uses of parkland; and Whereas the third week of July is an appropriate week to designate as Latino Conservation Week: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives— (1)recognizes the Latino community’s commitment to conservation and the importance of access to nature and getting outdoors; (2)recognizes that the future of public lands depends on engaging and welcoming diverse youth and Latino communities that already deeply care about the environment and feel a moral obligation to take care of it; and (3)supports the designation of Latino Conservation Week.