COMMENTARY:
In southern New Mexico, there is a small but powerful place along the Rio Grande called the La Mancha Wetlands. It is a year-round pocket of water, wildlife, and community stewardship—restored not by outside interests, but by local families who decided their neighborhood deserved better.
At Nuestra Tierra, we’ve watched young people pull tumbleweeds away from beaver dens, remove invasive plants, test water samples, and return year after year to see skunks move back in and habitat restored. When kids put their hands in the soil and see the results of their work over time, something shifts. The outdoors stops being something that is “maintained by someone else.” It becomes something they belong to—and are responsible for.
That sense of ownership and belonging is exactly what the New Mexico Outdoor Equity Fund (OEF) makes possible.
Nuestra Tierra was founded in 2017 by Latino community members who felt excluded and tokenized in traditional conservation spaces. We believed then—and still believe—that conservation must be rooted in community, culture, and justice. That belief led us to help advocate for the creation of the Outdoor Equity Fund, the first program of its kind in the nation.
Today, we are proud to be new OEF grantees.
Through OEF, Nuestra Tierra is expanding youth programming connected to La Mancha Wetlands, pairing hands-on conservation with outdoor learning, citizen science, and exposure to real career pathways. With nearby partners like New Mexico State University, Boys & Girls Clubs, and Girl Scout troops, kids aren’t just visiting nature—they’re realizing that studying water quality, biology, or land management can lead to a future right here at home.
That’s what makes OEF so effective: it gets funding directly into communities. Not through top-down systems, but through trusted, local organizations that know how to reach families who have been historically excluded from outdoor spaces.
And the demand for this work is growing—fast.
As more youth and families begin to feel comfortable outdoors, new layers of need emerge. Transportation. Equipment. Mentorship. Intergenerational learning. You don’t undo generations of exclusion with a one-time experience. You do it by investing consistently, at scale.
That’s why the Outdoor Equity Fund continues to be oversubscribed. It’s not a failure—it’s proof that the program works.
A recent University of New Mexico study confirms what communities already know: for every $1 invested in outdoor equity, New Mexico sees a $6 social return. That return shows up in better health, stronger community ties, a sense of belonging, and long-term economic stability.
During this 30-day legislative session, lawmakers have a rare and timely opportunity to respond with a one-time special appropriation of $4 million for the Outdoor Equity Fund in FY27. This investment would allow programs across urban, rural, and Tribal communities to keep up with demand and continue delivering real returns for New Mexicans.
This is not an abstract policy decision. These dollars support people who are born in, live in, and serve their own communities.
New Mexico has led the nation before. The Outdoor Equity Fund set the standard for what community-led conservation and outdoor access can look like. Now, we have the chance to lead again—by fully funding what we already know works.
Adrian Angulo is the Programs and Campaigns Director at Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project, a proud steering committee member of the Coalition for Outdoor Equity Fund New Mexico, a statewide movement that secures public sustainable, recurring funding for the New Mexico Outdoor Equity Fund, supporting equitable outdoor access for all youth in New Mexico — today and for generations to come.
Adrian Angulo's opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of KRWG Public Media or NMSU.