GreenLatinos denounces scheme to force public land sell off and surveil citizens
WASHINGTON— U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Burgum signed Secretarial Order 3442 imposing procedural changes to the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a 60 year old national investment in stewarding quality places for outdoor recreation and wildlife habitat. It was permanently authorized with bipartisan support upon the signing of the Great American Outdoors Act in 2020 – a remarkable step forward in providing critically underserved communities with access to our nation’s parks, public lands and open spaces. The Secretarial Order contains harmful policies that: block NGOs from participating in public outdoor recreation and wildlife habitat stewardship; undermine the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from providing outdoor access opportunities; increase surveillance in outdoor recreation areas; infringe upon property owners rights to sell their property for public benefit; and provide an unprecedented pathway for selling-off of our national public lands.
In response, GreenLatinos Public Land Program Director, Olivia Juarez, issues the following statement:
“Secretary Doug Burgum’s Order is a betrayal of the Great American Outdoors Act intended to take public lands out of our world, and the world of future generations. Utahns have seen the State waste taxpayer money on failed attempts to sell off public lands while forcing Utahns to pay to play in state Wildlife Management Areas. The State’s aim is to generate revenue from the land it manages, which blocks many from enjoying our great outdoors. National public lands must remain in the public trust to uphold freedom and equal opportunity.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund has poured more than $90 million into Bureau of Land Management projects securing wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation access across Grand, Emery, Washington, Garfield, Kane, Iron, San Juan and Uintah counties. Under the Secretarial Order, the BLM is barred from investments similar to those that have ensured access to hiking the Kanarraville Canyon Falls or waterfowl hunting at the Pariette Wetlands Area of Critical Environmental Concern.
Safe parks create health and dignity for all–they provide water, shade, vegetation, rest, play, and accessibility. But under this order, surveillance systems may be installed within and near recreation areas, creating unwelcoming and unsafe parks. By now ICE has detained tens of thousands of black or brown residents because of their skin color through the use of surveillance technology. The Secretary’s move makes parks more dangerous for people of color who are vulnerable to being stopped or detained by immigration enforcement because of the color of their skin.”
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Acerca de GreenLatinos
VerdeLatinos (NOTA: GreenLatinos es UNA PALABRA) es una comunidad activa de líderes latinos, envalentonados por el poder y la sabiduría de nuestra cultura, unidos para exigir equidad y desmantelar el racismo, con recursos para ganar nuestras batallas ambientales, de conservación y de justicia climática, y motivados para asegurar nuestras políticas, Liberación económica, cultural y ambiental.
