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 entirely unnecessary 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–the agency which manages the largest sum of land in the United States–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 decision to undermine the Land and Water Conservation Fund is a direct betrayal of the Great American Outdoors Act. It is a blatant step towards taking public lands out of our world, and the world of future generations. National public lands must remain in the public trust free from the grip of states to uphold freedom and equal opportunity.
The purchase of security installations at and near public parks and recreation areas, such as generator-powered surveillance systems, would deteriorate quality outdoor recreation experiences and disrupt wildlife and residents, causing unwelcoming and unsafe conditions.
Safe parks create health and dignity for all–they provide water, shade, vegetation, rest, play, and accessibility. By now ICE has detained tens of thousands of black or brown residents because of their skin color through the use of surveillance technologies like security cameras. The Order will make 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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About GreenLatinos
GreenLatinos (NOTE: GreenLatinos is ONE WORD) is an active comunidad of Latino/a/e leaders, emboldened by the power and wisdom of our culture, united to demand equity and dismantle racism, resourced to win our environmental, conservation, and climate justice battles, and driven to secure our political, economic, cultural, and environmental liberation.
