We All Belong Outside.

Western states are known for breathtaking landscapes and world-class recreational opportunities; however, there is a proven unequal distribution of access to these outdoor experiences. The report’s efforts were best-spent understanding program opportunities' existing frameworks and realities. This analysis resulted in a top- down understanding of state-level recreation and education programs and grant availability.

GRIST - Gabe Vasquez first visited New Mexico when he was 8 years old, during a fishing trip to the Rio Grande with his father and older brother. They traveled from their home just south of the border in Ciudad Juárez and planned to camp in state parks along the river. Even now, Vasquez recalls the air of excitement in the car as he and his brother fought over who would get the Superman fishing rod and who would get Spiderman, both purchased for the occasion. (He wound up with Supe.) They had tossed their lines into the water once or twice when a game warden arrived and asked to see their fishing licenses. They didn’t know they needed such a thing, a point the elder Vasquez could not convey because he didn’t speak English and the officer did not speak Spanish.

SANTA FE NEW MEXICAN - In the spring of 2019, visionary organizers and community leaders from New Mexico joined forces to create the New Mexico Outdoor Equity Fund, the first-of-its-kind grant program that breaks down the barriers standing between disadvantaged youth and the great outdoors. Today, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich is taking this initiative to the national level by introducing legislation to create the Outdoor F.U.T.U.R.E. program.

ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL - Estrella Weikel, a student at Mesa Vista High School in Ojo Caliente, grew up gardening. To her, clean water and healthy land weren’t abstractions – they were visible necessities. Her family had gardens and crops at home, while her father worked in construction and sold firewood. That lifestyle, she says, where she spent so much time outdoors with dirt under her fingernails, “helped me learn that there are other things in life than sitting around and not caring about the environment. It helps me in my life because I think of ways to make our environment and lifestyle better.”

Diverse outdoor and environmental leaders from across the nation come together to increase access to public lands for underserved youth and communities of color; Senator Heinrich prepares to introduce national outdoor equity legislation…

BACKPACKER MAGAZINE - Launching on January 14, the Outdoor Fund for Underrepresented, Tribal, Urban, and Rural Equity, or Outdoor F.U.T.U.R.E. Initiative, plans to create a program to invest in organizations, states, and tribal nations that provide underserved youth across the country with meaningful outdoor recreational and educational opportunities. The funding will help these groups with necessary expenses such as transportation and gear.