Latino Conservation Week & Avi Kwa Ame Updates

With summer coming, it means more time outside for most, summer road trips usually to the mountains and higher ground especially in July and in the Southwest. The Sierra Club has been supporting getting Latinx people outdoors and connected with nature by participating in Latino Conservation Week for the past 8 years. Latino Conservation Week was created to support the Latino community getting into the outdoors and participating in activities to protect our natural resources. Latino Conservation Week: Disfrutando y Conservando Nuestra Tierra is an initiative of Hispanic Access Foundation (HAF).

During this year's week, community, non-profit, faith-based, and government organizations and agencies will hold events throughout the country. From hiking and camping to community roundtables and film screenings, these activities promote conservation efforts in their community, and provide an opportunity for Latinos to show their support for permanently protecting our land, water, and air. Latino Conservation Week has also resulted in broader coverage of the Latino role in conservation in both English and Spanish media. It’s led to recognition from local, state and national elected officials of the important role Latinos play as stewards. Latino Conservation Week has emphasized the Latino community’s passion for the outdoors.
We will send out another email and blog post with more information about what events we have planned for this year, but we want you to save the dates of this year’s Latino Conservation Week from July 16th to 24th. We will connect folks with Nevada’s Public Lands and educate the community about the proposed Avi Kwa Ame National Monument.

Spirit Mountain -- or Avi Kwa Ame in the Mojave language -- is much closer to permenant protection thanks to the efforts of the community and volunteers like you. In the past few months we had an Earth day Bio Blitz with the Nevada Department of Wildlife, connecting several dozen people with the spectacular Joshua Tree Forest surrounding Walking Box Ranch. We also heldan huge Antiquities Act Anniversary Celebration celebrating the 116th anniversary of the Antiquities Act, the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Lehman Caves National Monument, what is now Great Basin National Park.

Even with this momentum, Avi Kwa Ame needs more help. Please consider writing a letter to the editor, and if you haven’t already, please sign our petition to make Avi Kwa Ame a national Monument. Please join upcoming in person events, and consider helping us create other opportunities to inform your friends, family, and community about the proposed Avi Kwa Ame National Monument.