GreenLatinos

Tag: press releases

  • Stewardship of Greater Chaco is Nonnegotiable

    Stewardship of Greater Chaco is Nonnegotiable

    America the Beautiful For All Coalition Admonishes Proposed Mineral Withdrawal Revocation

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4/2/2026

    MEDIA CONTACT: Cumbia Padilla, GreenLatinos Communications Coordinator, [email protected]

    Washington – On Tuesday March 31, the U.S. Department of Interior proposed revoking the 2023 20-year mineral withdrawal encompassing the Greater Chaco Region of New Mexico where the Chaco Culture National Historical Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located. If revoked, lands within 10 miles of the national park would become subject to oil and gas leasing. Interior has opened an insufficient 7 day public comment window ending April 7, 2026 for consideration of the mineral withdrawal revocation. 

    The mineral withdrawal is the result of a robust public process spanning 150 days and resulting in over 160,000 public comments calling for the withdrawal. In November 2025, the New Mexico delegation issued a formal letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, preceded by the April 2025 reintroduction of the Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act which would permanently withdraw the region from leasing and extraction of oil, gas and minerals. On June 17, 2025, The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) adopted a resolution calling on Congress to ratify this legislation. The All Pueblo Council of Governors, representing 19 Pueblo nations in New Mexico, has consistently called for a mineral withdrawal in this area of immense cultural significance. NCAI has also supported the withdrawal since at least 2017. 

    In response, members of the America The Beautiful For All Coalition issue the following statements:

     “We are appalled at the utter lack of respect for New Mexico’s lands, people, and cultures that the Trump Administration continues to exhibit. By removing protections from the sacred lands of the Greater Chaco region, the administration is showing a disregard for our people and lands in favor of wealthy corporate donors profiting from extracting from these beautiful and holy lands. We admonish this terrible decision to forego the wishes of Pueblo communities as well as our own Congressional Delegation,” said Carlos Matutes, GreenLatinos New Mexico State Director.

    “Tens of thousands of citizens spoke up for Chaco’s mineral withdrawal because this is the kind of place that we want in our children’s future: places for healthy air, thriving wildlife, twinkling night skies, and learning about this landscape’s extraordinary history spanning thousands of years in Chaco Canyon, evidenced by geographic formations and ancestral great houses, kivas and landmarks. Great Chaco is sacred to the Pueblo communities. We will continue to defend it from this administration,” said Shantha Ready Alonso, America The Beautiful For All Coalition Executive Director.

    “The Chaco Culture National Historical Park represents a significant part of the cultural history of this continent and must continue to be preserved and protected. The administration’s attempt to short-circuit federal law with a reduced public comment period represents a significant betrayal of the promise of America: we must honor and defend significant historical sites like Chaco Canyon, defend Tribal sovereignty, and not sell public lands off to the highest bidder for oil and gas drilling that will endanger the remarkable evidence of an important native culture that thrived there. Defiling Chaco Canyon in this way will send a signal that nothing in this country is precious and everything is worth only what it can be sold for, and it will deprive all people from learning the stories of the Native people who have lived here since time immemorial,” said Charlotte Overby, New Mexico-based Vice President of Conservation Field Programs at the Conservation Lands Foundation.


    “Chaco Canyon and the Chaco Region are treasured and significant cultural, spiritual, and historic sites. Protection of landscapes must extend far beyond the protection of ecologically, geologically, or environmentally significant areas—it must also consider the essential and time immemorial sacred connection of humans to landscapes,” said Teresa Martinez, Executive Director of the Continental Divide Trail Coalition.

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    The America The Beautiful For All Coalition is the largest and most representative national coalition working to stem nature loss for communities with the most at stake through community-led solutions for the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and access to nature.

  • Public Land Leader Nominee Unwavering on Privatization

    Public Land Leader Nominee Unwavering on Privatization

    Bureau of Land Management Director Nominee Steve Pearce Heard in Senate Committee

    Washington, DC – On Tuesday, February 25, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing to consider the nomination of former Congressman Steve Pearce to serve as the Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). This agency administers 245 million acres of national public lands, including 14.9 million acres in California, 13.5 million acres in New Mexico, 12.1 million acres in Arizona, 8.35 million acres in Colorado, and 22.8 million acres in Utah. These lands encompass numerous national monuments, areas of cultural, ecological, and historical significance, and other federal recreational lands. Pearce attended the hearing apparently unprepared to respond to critical questions pertaining to regulations enforced by the BLM and unwilling to disavow his long supported efforts to sell off public lands, which are opposed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority.

    In response, GreenLatinos urged Senators to oppose his nomination and issues the following statements:

    “New Mexico is unfortunately very familiar with how massively unqualified Mr. Pearce is to steward public lands under the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). He has personally made millions of dollars from questionable oil and gas lease sales, has shown utter disregard for the law by illegally cutting trees in the Lincoln National Forest, and openly advocates to sell public lands to extractive corporate interests. Mr. Pearce is an imminent danger to our environment, preservation of public lands, and the multifaceted mission of the BLM,” said Carlos Matutes, Albuquerque, NM-based New Mexico State Director for GreenLatinos.

    “On Chuckwalla National Monument, Pearce missed the bullseye. When asked to meet with the Chuckwalla Inter-Tribal Commission, Pearce recalled becoming a voice for Tribes in DC. This is an inappropriate and incorrect view of the United States’ government-to-government relationship with sovereign tribal nations. Mr. Pearce legally is not, nor would anyone want him to be, a voice for another sovereign nation. GreenLatinos unequivocally supports the Inter-Tribal Commission’s relationships with Chuckwalla. We thank Senator Padilla for his commitment to kinship values with the Commission members and applaud Senator Gallego for asking assurance for honoring Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni-Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, ” said Pedro Hernández, Fresno, CA-based California State Program Director for GreenLatinos.

    “Polluter Pearce is exceeding the expectations that come with this name. Mr. Pearce claimed unfamiliarity with the broadly supported Methane Waste Prevention Rule administered by the agency he is nominated to lead because he is unwilling to admit that pollution is his prerogative. The BLM Director should deliver unequivocal certainty that this rule will be abided by,” said Meisei Gonzalez, Salt Lake City, UT-based Climate Justice and Clean Air Advocate for GreenLatinos.

    “When pressed on his past statements supporting the sale of public lands, Steve Pearce said, ‘I’m not so sure that I’ve changed.’ It is clear that he would follow the lead of the foremost public land sell-off proponent, Senator Mike Lee. Mr. Pearce should have said, loudly and clearly, that he does not support the sale or transfer of public lands. He did not. As Senator John Hickenlooper remarked, ‘If someone reveals themself, believe them.’ If the pro-public land majority was expecting Mr. Pearce to soften their concerns about his nominations, today’s hearing was a failure,” said Ean Thomas Tafoya, Denver, CO-based Vice President of State Programs for GreenLatinos.

    “Steve Pearce is a threat to Hispanic and Latino community traditions of cooking carne asada with loved ones, seasonal hunting, and telling stories around the campfire on public lands. Senator Ruben Gallego articulated the danger of selling off public lands: nearby, quality places for working-class people to go fishing, hunting, and camping are being fenced off as private second- and third-home estates for the wealthiest. This threat is aided by the Department of the Interior’s moves to prevent immigrants and the 22% of Americans who speak a language other than English at home from accessing federal recreational lands. We deserve a BLM Director who will act with the responsibility to deliver public land access to our children, great-grandchildren, and generations to come; Steve Pearce is not that person,” said Olivia Juarez, Salt Lake City, UT-based Public Land Program Director for GreenLatinos.

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    GreenLatinos (NOTE: GreenLatinos is ONE WORD) convenes an active comunidad of environmental, conservation, and climate justice leaders rooted in the power and wisdom of our culture, united to uplift our priorities, and driven to secure our political, economic, cultural, and environmental liberation.

  • Retroceso federal en protecciones contra el mercurio pone a los contaminadores por encima de la salud pública

    Retroceso federal en protecciones contra el mercurio pone a los contaminadores por encima de la salud pública

    La EPA elimina las actualizaciones de 2024 a las normas de Mercurio y Tóxicos del Aire

    PARA PUBLICACIÓN INMEDIATA: 2/23/2026

    CONTACTO DE PRENSA: Edder Díaz Martínez, Communications Director, 602-832-6039, [email protected]

    Washington — El 19 de febrero de 2026, el administrador de la Agencia de Protección Ambiental de Estados Unidos, Lee Zeldin, firmó una regla final que elimina partes clave de las actualizaciones de 2024 a las Normas de Mercurio y Tóxicos del Aire, conocidas como MATS.

    Esta decisión elimina el estándar actualizado de partículas contaminantes para plantas de carbón ya existentes, quita la obligación de usar monitores continuos de partículas para cumplir con la ley y vuelve a aplicar un estándar más débil de emisiones de mercurio para plantas que queman lignito.

    Con este cambio, regresan las normas originales de MATS de 2012, que limitan las emisiones de mercurio y otros contaminantes peligrosos de plantas eléctricas que usan carbón y petróleo. La EPA argumenta que eliminar las actualizaciones de 2024 generará ahorros económicos para la industria en los próximos años.

    Las Normas de Mercurio y Tóxicos del Aire se establecieron por primera vez en 2012 bajo la Ley de Aire Limpio para reducir emisiones peligrosas como mercurio, arsénico, cromo y otros metales pesados provenientes de plantas eléctricas.

    GreenLatinos se opone firmemente a este retroceso. El Marco de Justicia Climática Latina 2025 a 2028 exige reducir la contaminación de los combustibles fósiles, invertir recursos en comunidades que ya cargan con demasiada contaminación y acelerar una transición justa hacia energía limpia y accesible. Las comunidades latinas tienen más probabilidades de vivir cerca de infraestructura contaminante y de estar expuestas a aire tóxico. Debilitar estas protecciones nos aleja aún más de esos objetivos.

    Tras el anuncio, Meisei Gonzalez de GreenLatinos, defensora de Justicia Climática y Aire Limpio, emitió las siguientes declaraciones:

    “El mercurio es una neurotoxina muy peligrosa que puede causar daños permanentes en el desarrollo de bebés y niños, incluyendo problemas de aprendizaje y daños neurológicos. Debilitar estas normas pone en mayor riesgo a personas embarazadas, bebés y comunidades vulnerables, al aumentar su exposición a contaminación tóxica que ya sabemos que daña la salud pública.

    En un momento en que muchas familias ya enfrentan una crisis de altos costos, eliminar estas protecciones no reduce gastos para las comunidades. Lo que hace es trasladar el costo al sistema de salud, a las escuelas y a las familias trabajadoras, que terminan pagando las consecuencias de enfermedades causadas por la contaminación. Deberíamos estar enfocados en reducir la contaminación y prevenir daños, para que las familias no tengan que cargar con los costos de salud y económicos a largo plazo mientras la industria sigue ganando.”

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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.

    GreenLatinos (NOTA: GreenLatinos es UNA PALABRA) es una comunidad activa de líderes latinos/a/e, envalentonados por el poder y la sabiduría de nuestra cultura, unidos para exigir equidad y desmantelar el racismo, con recursos para ganar nuestra justicia ambiental, batallas de conservación, climáticas e impulsados a asegurar nuestra liberación política, económica, cultural y ambiental.

  • Federal Rollback of Mercury Standards Prioritizes Polluters Over Public Health

    Federal Rollback of Mercury Standards Prioritizes Polluters Over Public Health

    EPA Finalizes Repeal of 2024 Updates to Mercury and Air Toxics Standards

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 2/23/2026

    MEDIA CONTACT: Edder Díaz Martínez, Communications Director, 602-832-6039, [email protected]

    WASHINGTON — On February 19, 2026, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin signed a final rule repealing specific 2024 amendments to the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, known as MATS. The rule repeals the revised filterable particulate matter standard for existing coal-fired power plants, removes the requirement that facilities use continuous particulate matter monitoring systems for compliance, and reinstates the prior mercury emission standard for lignite-fired power plants.

    The action reinstates the 2012 MATS standards that limit emissions of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants from coal- and oil-fired power plants. The EPA argues that repealing the 2024 updates will result in cost savings to industry over the coming decade.

    Mercury and Air Toxics Standards were first established in 2012 under Section 112 of the Clean Air Act to reduce emissions of hazardous air pollutants, including mercury, arsenic, chromium, and other heavy metals, from power plants. 

    GreenLatinos strongly opposes this rollback. The Latino Climate Justice Framework 2025–2028 calls for reducing fossil fuel pollution, directing resources to overburdened neighborhoods, and accelerating a just transition to clean, affordable energy. Latino communities are more likely to live near polluting fossil fuel infrastructure and face disproportionate exposure to toxic air pollutants. Weakening mercury and air toxics protections moves the country further away from those goals.

    Following the announcement, GreenLatinos’ Meisei Gonzalez, Climate Justice & Clean Air Advocate, issued the following statements:

    “Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that can cause permanent developmental damage in babies and children, including learning disabilities and neurological harm. Weakening these standards puts pregnant people, infants, and vulnerable communities at greater risk of exposure to toxic pollution that we know harms public health.

    At a time when families are already facing an affordability crisis, rolling back protections does not lower costs for communities. It shifts the burden onto our health care system, our schools, and working families, who end up paying the price for pollution-related illness. We should be focused on cutting pollution and preventing har,m so families are not forced to absorb the long term health and economic costs, while industry profits.”

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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.

    GreenLatinos (NOTA: GreenLatinos es UNA PALABRA) es una comunidad activa de líderes latinos/a/e, envalentonados por el poder y la sabiduría de nuestra cultura, unidos para exigir equidad y desmantelar el racismo, con recursos para ganar nuestra justicia ambiental, batallas de conservación, climáticas e impulsados a asegurar nuestra liberación política, económica, cultural y ambiental.

  • Scrubbing Non-English Content From DOI Websites Is an Erasure of Culture and Public Land Access

    Scrubbing Non-English Content From DOI Websites Is an Erasure of Culture and Public Land Access

    Scrubbing Non-English Content From DOI Websites Is an Erasure of Culture and Public Land Access

    Washington, DC — Recent directives from the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) ordering IT departments to scrub all non-English content from agency websites mark a drastic shift in federal communication policy. This move has already led to the removal of Spanish-language translation tools from Recreation.gov, the primary portal for the public to reserve campsites and obtain federal recreation permits and follows the exhaustive removal of the Department of Agriculture’s bosque.gov on August 27, 2025.

    The Interior Department manages millions of acres of ancestral lands and historic sites where non-English languages—including Spanish and dozens of Indigenous languages—have been spoken for centuries. This digital purge creates a significant barrier for the 22% of Americans who speak a language other than English at home, effectively restricting their ability to engage with and steward public lands.

    In response, GreenLatinos Founding President and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Magaña, issued the following statement:

    “The Department of the Interior stewards lands that are inseparable from innumerable languages: from the Northern New Mexico Spanish dialect of the cerros of Taos; to the unique Gullah Geechee creole language; to the languages of the Havasupai, Hopi, and Navajo Nation, whose homelands incorporate the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni-Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. Interior is going beyond whitewashing history. This move actively seeks to erase the cultures and lifeways of people who speak languages that have been uttered across our lands and waters before the English language ever echoed across the country.

    “This move will have an impact on daily life for the 1 in 5 Americans who speak a language other than English at home. We’ve already seen the removal of the Spanish language translator from Recreation.gov, the primary portal for the public to reserve campsites and access federal recreation permits. While this administration allows immigration enforcers to harass and detain anyone with an accent or speaking in a language other than English, they are also working to exclude our communities from accessing public lands at all. Public lands belong to all of us, and no one should be screened out because of the language they speak.”

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    About GreenLatinos

    GreenLatinos (NOTE: GreenLatinos is ONE WORD) is an active comunidad of environmental, conservation, and climate justice leaders rooted in the power and wisdom of our culture, united to uplift our priorities, and driven to secure our political, economic, cultural, and environmental liberation.