Connecting Community to Conservation

Our Defiende Nuestra Tierra (Defend Our Land) program started in 2018 and focuses on engaging the Latinx community in the Roaring Fork and Colorado River Valleys to become advocates for public lands. In addition the program, advocates for equitable and just public land conservation and management, building new partnerships with community members nonprofits, municipalities, and federal agencies, and provides opportunities for members of our Latinx Community to connect with public lands through hikes, events, and restoration projects.

Over the last 7 years, Defiende has increased the baseline knowledge of public lands and their management, built and expanded upon a conservation ethos, and focused on specific concerns of local Latino communities regarding public lands. A key component of the program has been providing equal access opportunities for members of our Latino Community to enjoy, lead and enjoy public lands through hikes, events, and restoration projects. Community members who join us for events on public lands become advocates for those places.

The Defiende program is lead by Alejandro Jaquez-Caro, our Latino Community Organizer; you can find Defiende on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

Defiende members at an event with the Aspen Art Museum atop Aspen Mountain.

  • Discover our Wild for Good Landscapes, special places our community is protecting together.
  • Join us at upcoming events, which sometimes include hikes, celebrations, restoration projects, and family-friendly outings.
  • Stay connected! Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and join our WhatsApp group to be part of the conversation.
  • Raise your voice for our public lands. Act now!
  • Explore our local trails with our Camino Latino map, a bilingual guide made by and for our community.

The success of Defiende depends upon building strong, authentic and long-lasting relationships with local Latino communities and identifying the community-based conservation issues that matter most to these communities. The Defiende program aims to achieve the following:

  • Build a local environmental and conservation movement that prioritizes Latinx issues and elevates Latinx leadership.
  • Develop strategic partnerships with Latinx-led organizations, businesses, formal and informal leaders who can act as ambassadors, public land, and environmental advocates.
  • Host a series of hikes and restoration projects that get people out onto the land, educate them on relevant issues facing those areas, and inspire action to preserve and protect the land.
  • Educate community members about public lands history, management, and how to get involved in protecting public lands, while continuing to build and expand a conservation ethos.
  • Track and engage in state and national environmental justice and equitable access priorities that affect WW’s work.

Our Advisory Board members actively engage with various segments of the Latinx community, possessing insights into its social dynamics, interests, and exhibiting a genuine commitment to conservation and the preservation of public lands.

Current Advisory Board Members:

  • Alan Munoz, Voces Unidas
  • Alex Garcia Bernal, Garfield County Public Libraries
  • Brisa Chavez, Garfield County Public Health
  • Bryan Alvarez-Terrazas, Growing Home
  • Gladys Arango, City of Glenwood Springs
  • Jasmin Ramirez, Roaring Fork School District Board
  • Liz Velasco, Colorado State Representative, District 57; WW Board Member

Learn more about our Advisory Board.

Read more:

Community shows up for Latino Conservation Week (Aspen Daily News, Sep 2025)

In a climate of fear and uncertainty, Latino Conservation Week celebrates heritage and the outdoors
(Rocky Mountain Community Radio, Sep 2025)

Defiende Nuestra Tierra celebrates bilingual signage in the White River National Forest (Sopris Sun, Jul 2024)

Defiende Nuestra Tierra launches first-of-its-kind Spanish language map
(Jul 2023)

Looking forward with Defiende Nuestra Tierra in 2023 (Sopris Sun, Jan. 2023)