Gabe Vasquez - Advocate for Equity in the Outdoors

Jun 29, 2020

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Gabe Vasquez is the founder of the Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project and currently serves as a city councilor in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Gabe has devoted his entire career to advocacy and conservation, specifically for the people and places in the border region of New Mexico. He's worked for Senator Martin Heinrich, the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, and recently drafted New Mexico's Outdoor Equity Fund legislation, which was the first of its kind in the nation.

Growing up in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Gabe developed a childhood passion for the outdoors while fishing with his father and learning about hunting from his grandfather. The outdoors has remained a focal point of his life, both professionally and personally, whether advising lawmakers on federal land policies or hunting, fishing, and hiking in the Coronado National Forest. But most importantly, Gabe has made it his mission to ensure that people of all socio-economic backgrounds and races can enjoy the outdoors, and hopefully, one day become advocates for protecting our country's wild places.

Gabe was scheduled to be a keynote speaker at Colorado Parks and Wildlife's Partners in the Outdoors Conference, a popular gathering of some of the country's foremost experts in conservation and recreation. But because of the COVID pandemic, the in-person conference was converted into a virtual conference. And instead of an on-stage keynote, Gabe is now appearing on this podcast with me! As you'll hear, Gabe's message of balancing conservation and recreation, while ensuring equitable access to the outdoors, is a perfect fit with the conference's theme of cultivating common ground to ensure a sustainable future for Colorado's outdoors.

This was a fascinating interview, and I left the conversation better informed and inspired by Gabe's leadership and vision. We started out chatting about the formation of the Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project and talking about the history and mission of the organization. Gabe then discussed lessons learned from his time working with Senator Heinrich, and how a brief stint living and working in Washington DC solidified his love for the West. We discuss New Mexico's Outdoor Equity Fund, and how he played a significant role in creating this historic and cutting-edge, public-private program. We talk in-depth about the importance of getting kids into the outdoors, and the idea of how people need to fall in love with the outdoors before they can advocate for it. And as usual, we discuss favorite books, his favorite place in the West, and Gave offers some timely words of wisdom.

A huge thanks to Gabe for taking the time to chat, and thank you to Colorado Parks and Wildlife for inviting me to be a part of its virtual conference. Visit the episode notes for links to everything we discuss, including the full conference schedule, which will give you access to all presentations from the virtual conference. There's a ton of exciting and informative content. But in the meantime, enjoy this conversation with Gabe Vasquez.

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Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project
CPW's Partners in the Outdoors Conference
Full Episode Notes: https://mountainandprairie.com/gabe-vasquez/

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TOPICS DISCUSSED:

4:00 - Gabe’s family connection to the outdoors
6:00 - Early job with Senator Heinrich
8:30 - Moving to Washington DC
11:30 - Back out West, working for the NWF
14:00 - Formation of Nuestra Tierra
19:00 - Why Gabe chose a service-based career
24:00 - Lessoned learned from working with Senator Martin Heinrich
30:15 - New Mexico’s Outdoor Equity Fund, explained
37:00 - What Outdoor Equity Fund funds
32:30 - Alternative funding sources for recreation
44:00 - Other states’ response to the Outdoor Equity Fund
47:00 - Thoughts on privilege and the outdoors
51:00 - Creating new generations of conservationists
54:00 - Gabe’s role as a City Councilor
1:04:00 - Favorite books
1:10:00 - Favorite place in New Mexico
1:14:00 - Parting words of wisdom

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