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PARK CITY — National parks, some research has shown, draw a preponderance of non-Hispanic whites and relatively few visitors of color.
"Black, Hispanic and lower-income respondents were least likely to visit (U.S. National Park Service) sites," reads the abstract of a 2021 study into the matter. "Compared to white respondents, they were also less aware of NPS units, more concerned about safety and more likely to prefer alternative vacations such as sporting events, theme parks and socially and culturally oriented destinations."
In a bid to counter such trends and bolster involvement of Latinos in outdoors activities and nature conservation, though, an array of activities are planned in Utah and across the United States as part of Latino Conservation Week, which officially kicks off on Saturday. Part of the aim of the Utah activities is "making sure nature is accessible to everyone," said Hunter Klingensmith, who's helping promote a Latino Conservation Week event Sunday at Matt Knoop Park in Park City.
The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance is hosting several events in connection with Latino Conservation Week, including a "stewardship trip" to Utah's West Desert that started Thursday and goes through Sunday. "SUWA acknowledges the structural barriers many communities face when seeking solace in wild, natural places," the organization said.
Other events will also occur in Utah, including activities at Bryce Canyon National Park in southern Utah on Sept. 21. The event Sunday at Matt Knoop Park in Park City at 4056 Shadow Mountain Drive goes from 2:30-5 p.m. and will feature a range of "family-friendly" activities, including nature walks.
The Washington, D.C.-based Hispanic Access Foundation, a Hispanic advocacy group, launched Latino Conservation Week in 2014. "It was established to break down barriers to the Latino population's access to public lands, encourage new opportunities for and outreach to this community to use public lands and inspire the next generation of environmental stewards," said Jessica Godinez, Latino Conservation Week program manager.
Nationwide, Godinez estimates 300 or more activities sponsored by local groups will be occurring, including hikes, campouts, roundtable discussions and film screenings. Historically, Latino leaders haven't been as focused in conservation and promotion of the outdoors as others, hence the focus.
"In addition to a lack of visibility, our community often faces different barriers of access — from language barriers, cultural barriers or resource barriers — when it comes to outdoor recreation on public lands," Godinez said. Latino Conservation Week, she went on, aims "to build sustainable relationships between our community members and public land sites, government agencies and other organizations to help break down some of these barriers."
According to a resolution introduced last year in the U.S. House of Representatives to mark the 10th year of Latino Conservation Week events, Black, Latino and Asian communities are three times more likely to be located in "nature-deprived places" than white communities. Moreover, Latinos are 21% more likely than non-Hispanic whites to live in areas "dominated by asphalt and concrete."
The 2021 study, "Who visits U.S. national parks (and who doesn't)?", delved into the issue of visitation to national parks, finding disparities based on race and ethnicity that have persisted for decades. It was published in the Journal of Leisure Research and carried out by Xiao Xiao, an Arizona State University professor, and KangJae Lee and Lincoln R. Larson, professors at North Carolina State University when the study was released. Lee is now at the University of Utah.
"Although previous studies vary by study site and sample, their findings have generally been consistent, showing that white individuals with high socioeconomic status are far more likely to visit national parks than other groups," it reads. According to a survey carried out as part of the study, the researchers found that 52% of white respondents reported being a "recent visitor" to a national park compared to 32% for Hispanics and 28% for Black people.
The study, tapping into prior research on the matter, suggests income disparities based on race and ethnicity may factor in the different visitation levels, as well as "cultural factors." Utah is home to five national parks.
"Studies have also documented that during contemporary recreation experiences, racial and ethnic minorities routinely experience racial remarks, hostility and physical attacks from other recreationists as well as indifference, close monitoring, profiling and excessive scrutiny from park and recreation officials. Because outdoor recreation areas have been socially constructed as white spaces with strict behavioral rules and dress codes that align with white cultural norms, people of color may feel unwelcome and even unsafe in these places," the study reads.
The result can be limited experience with parks among communities of color, a phenomenon that "can be reproduced across generations."
