Conservation groups are circulating an online petition asking the Department of Interior, Department of Agriculture and Department of Homeland Security for broader access for Latinos to National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands.
Specifically, the petition points to an proposal that would give "America the Beautiful National Parks and Recreation Lands" passes to new citizens at their naturalization ceremony.
"Underrepresented communities of color, including immigrant communities, encounter numerous barriers when attempting to access the best America has to offer: our National Parks and other conservation lands", says the online petition organized by Green Latinos and Friends of the Inyo. It then goes on to list some of the most significant barriers:
"these barriers include distance, as National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands are often several hours away from urban areas, where people of color are largely concentrated; cost, as it can be expensive to recreate in nature; lack of familiarity with the National Park System and outdoor recreation activities; and technology, as more and more National Parks, National Forests and BLM Lands are requiring recreationists to make reservations ahead of time, often using difficult-to-navigate, English-only websites or apps."
In an interview with Public News Service, Louis Medina, communications and philanthropy director with the nonprofit Friends of the Inyo, said about the gift pass to the National Parks that "it would be a great way of giving them the best that America has to offer," adding that "it could instill greater patriotism and pride, and it could create new allies in the environmental movement."
The pass normally costs $80 per year and gets one car with up to four adults into all national parks and monuments. Last year, more than 878,000 people became U.S. citizens.
Besides the aforementioned pass, the petition also proposed two more solutions, aimed at democratizing access to the parks:
- Cooperate to host swearing-in ceremonies for naturalized citizens on public land recreation sites.
- Consider the barriers that cashless entry to National Parks and other recreational sites impose on unbanked individuals
About the cashless barrier, Medina was quick to point out that although parks may save money by requiring everyone to pay by card, such a measure risks turning people without credit or bank accounts away: "for communities of color and immigrant communities that already are having issues in accessing our national parks, because of costs, because of distance, or because of lack of familiarity, then cashless entry creates yet another barrier."
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
