Land, Latinos and FLPMA: We Demand Protections for Wilderness Study Areas

GreenLatinos is calling on the Biden administration and Secretary Deb Haaland to protect up to 29 million acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands by designating them as Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs) under Section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA). The organization argues that arid ecosystems in the Western U.S., specifically in Utah and Nevada, provide critical carbon sequestration and climate adaptation benefits that are currently threatened by oil, gas, and mineral extraction. The statement highlights that 83% of Latinos support the 30x30 initiative to protect 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030. It further notes that no new FLPMA § 202 WSAs have been established since 2003 due to an out-of-court agreement with the State of Utah, which the authors argue is not legally binding.

• GreenLatinos requests that Secretary Deb Haaland utilize Section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) to protect up to 29 million acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands that possess wilderness characteristics.
• Arid public lands in the Western U.S. serve as significant carbon sinks; for example, 9 million acres of BLM-administered arid lands in Utah currently store 241 million metric tons of organic carbon, a figure projected to reach 271 million metric tons by the end of the century.
• Designating lands as Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs) provides a mechanism to prevent climate-damaging pollution because these areas are legally prohibited from new oil and gas leasing.
• The establishment of new FLPMA § 202 Wilderness Study Areas has been stalled since 2003 because of an out-of-court agreement between the Interior Department and the State of Utah.
• There is strong support among the Latino community for the 30x30 initiative, which aims to protect 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030, with polls indicating 83% support.

APA

GreenLatinos (2021). Land, Latinos and FLPMA: We Demand Protections for Wilderness Study Areas. GreenLatinos. https://www.greenlatinos.org/land-latinos-and-flpma-we-demand-protections-for-wilderness-study-areas/

Chicago

GreenLatinos. Land, Latinos and FLPMA: We Demand Protections for Wilderness Study Areas. GreenLatinos, 2021. https://www.greenlatinos.org/land-latinos-and-flpma-we-demand-protections-for-wilderness-study-areas/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=GreenLatinos |title=Land, Latinos and FLPMA: We Demand Protections for Wilderness Study Areas |publisher=GreenLatinos |date=11 May 2021 |url=https://www.greenlatinos.org/land-latinos-and-flpma-we-demand-protections-for-wilderness-study-areas/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{greenlatinos2021land, author = {GreenLatinos}, title = {{Land, Latinos and FLPMA: We Demand Protections for Wilderness Study Areas}}, publisher = {GreenLatinos}, year = {2021}, month = may, url = {https://www.greenlatinos.org/land-latinos-and-flpma-we-demand-protections-for-wilderness-study-areas/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }