Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project

NUESTRA TIERRA CONSERVATION PROJECT'S (NTCP) CORE MISSION IS TO ENSURE THAT HISTORICALLY AND DELIBERATELY EXCLUDED COMMUNITIES HAVE ACCESS TO THE OUTDOORS AND THAT OUR PEOPLE, HISTORY AND VALUES ARE AUTHENTICALLY REFLECTED IN PUBLIC LAND AND CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT DECISION MAKING.

IN 2021, NUESTRA TIERRA LAUNCHED THE OUTDOOR F.U.T.U.R.E. INITIATIVE (OFI), WHICH SEEKS TO CREATE A NATIONAL EQUITY FUND THAT WILL ENSURE LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS IN PROGRAMS TO SERVE ALL YOUTH WITH OPPORTUNITIES TO EXPLORE THE GREAT OUTDOORS. BUILT ON THE HEELS OF OUTDOOR EQUITY FUNDS IN NEW MEXICO, CALIFORNIA AND COLORADO, OFI SEEKS TO INTRODUCE THE OUTDOOR F.U.T.U.R.E. ACT BY JULY 2022. OFI OUTDOOR EQUITY EFFORTS ARE LED BY THE PEOPLE WITH LIVED EXPERIENCES IN RACIALLY AND ETHNICALLY DIVERSE COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY. IN ITS FIRST YEAR, OFI HAS GROWN A NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION LIST OF 754 SUBSCRIBERS ALONGSIDE A SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWING OF THOUSANDS OF INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS. AS A FISCAL SPONSOR, NUESTRA TIERRA IS COMMITTED TO GROWING THIS EFFORT IN 2022 AND WILL SOON RELEASE A LEGISLATVE DRAFT OF THE OUTDOOR F.U.T.U.R.E. ACT FOR PUBLIC FEEDBACK.

IN LATE OCTOBER 2021, NUESTRA TIERRA LAUNCHED THE MONUMENTAL SHIFT COALITION. THROUGH ANALYSES AND RELATIONSHIP-BUILDING, MONUMENTAL SHIFT IS ENDORSING THE MONUMENT CAMPAIGNS THAT GENUINELY REPRESENT AND HONOR LANDS AND PLACES SACRED TO THE COMMUNITIES WHICH THEY BELONG TO. THROUGH COMMUNITY-LED ADVOCACY, ORGANIZING, AND STORYTELLING, OUR COALITION SUPPORTS AND FURTHERS THE CREATION OF NEW NATIONAL MONUMENTS THAT MEET THOSE PRINCIPLES. NUESTRA TIERRA IS WORKING TO ESTABLISH MONUMENTAL SHIFT AS A KEY PLAYER IN THE DESIGNATION OF FUTURE MONUMENTS ALONGSIDE STANDARDIZING INCLUSIVE AND EQUITABLE PRACTICES ACROSS NATIONAL MONUMENT CAMPAIGNS IN OUR NATION. CASTER RANGLE, IN EL PASO TEXAS HAS BEEN OF CENTRAL IMPORTANCE DUE TO ITS PROXIMITY TO OUR HOME BASE IN LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO. WE HAVE BEEN WORKING CLOSELY WITH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AND LOCAL POLITICIANS IN EL PASO TO GET THIS MOUNTAIN RANGE PERMANENTLY PROTECTED.

OTHER ACHIEVMENTS INCLUDE, 1) LAUNCHED THE DAVID SOULES CONSERVATION MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP, 2) STOCKING THE TREES LAKE IN DEMING, NEW MEXICO SO THAT CHILDREN IN THE CITY COULD EXPERIENCE FISHING FOR THE FIRST TIME AND, 3) PROMOTION OF THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGMENT'S PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD ON THEIR PROPOSED WITHDRAWAL OF FEDERAL LANDS FROM FUTURE MINING LEASING WITHIN APPROXIMATELY TEN MILES SURROUNDING THE GREATER CHACO LANDSCAPE FOR A PERIOD OF TWENTY YEARS. FINALLY, IN LATE 2021, THE SOUTHWEST ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER BEGAN THE PROCESS OF HANDING OVER STEWARDSHIP RESPONSIBILITES OF THE LA MANCHA WETLAND RESTORATION PROJECT TO NUESTRA TIERRA. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO RESTORE THE ECOLOGICAL RICHNESS OF THE RIO GRANDE (RIVER) AND PROTECT THIS SPACE AS A PLACE WHERE THE PUBLIC CAN COME TO GAIN AN UNDERSTANDING AND APPRECIATION OF THE HISTORY OF THE RIVER.