A new study out this week suggests that more people of color are interested in public lands than previously thought. FM89’s Ezra David Romero reports.
In a new study by New American Media and the NEXT 100 Coalition 900 African-American, Asian and Hispanic voters were polled. The groups found that four out of five voters of color like the idea of President Obama’s goal to protect public land like National Parks. Anthony Williams is the special projects director for the company that conducted the poll.
WILLIAMS: “Seventy percent are already participating in some level of outdoor activity, whether that be camping, fishing, hunting.”
The poll also found that 57 percent of these voters have already visited at least one national park. Even still those polled want better access to parks and culturally diverse activities in public lands because of the perception that public lands are far from home.
WILLIAMS: “When you really lay it all out on a map there is some national public land within a very short drive of almost everyone in the country.”
In order to break that cycle the groups behind the poll hope to push the federal government to be more proactive in marketing public land to people of color as well as the creation of new parks that are focused on the contributions of minorities.
