“Reframing Community-Based Conservation: Public lands advocacy in a changing cultural landscape” is the name of a recently published extensive report commissioned by Conservation Lands Foundation with a goal “to investigate the ways in which western communities are changing, the impacts that these changes may have on land management priorities, and how local conservation organizations can adapt to continue to fulfill their missions.” Friends of the Inyo is one of just five organizations featured in the report from among CLF’s extensive Friends Grassroots Network.
“We chose FOI as a case study because of the steady increase of the Hispanic population in their area, and for the strategies that they have used to make public lands advocacy more accessible to this population,” say the authors of the study, a team of University of Colorado Boulder Masters of the Environment Candidates in Environmental and Natural Resources Policy.
Some FOI strategies highlighted in the report include:
- Building relationships with local organizations that already have relationships within the Hispanic community
- Hiring Spanish-speaking staff and creating Spanish language outreach materials
- Utilizing existing Spanish language newspapers, and other Hispanic community organizations for outreach and information sharing
- Advocating for more inclusive practices with USFS, NPS and BLM Field Offices
Read and download the full 72-page report here.
Read and download the abridged 28-page infographic version here.
We are honored to have been featured in this study and to serve as a model for grassroots advocacy and community engagement in conservation against the backdrop of our demographically changing region and nation.