In recent weeks, we’ve witnessed the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, along with the targeted harassment of Christian Cooper—all dramatic examples of systemic racism that too often goes unnoticed or ignored in our country.
In the wake of these events, we stand in solidarity with those who are calling for justice and accountability in Wisconsin and across the United States.
The American tradition of conservation in which we work has protected America’s most stunning and iconic landscapes, but too often, that work has excluded people of color.
We can and must do better to fight structural and societal injustices.
We all must stand up and speak out when we see hatred and recognize the very real harm that bigotry has on our friends, our neighbors, and our communities.
As Wisconsin’s Alliance for Land Trusts, we serve to support and sustain land trusts — community-based organizations that protect land with the intent of benefiting all of society. Simply put, this work has not benefited everyone, and it won’t until we can build a more inclusive movement, one that involves more than just white faces and white voices.
We know that we need to do so much more.
At Gathering Waters, we are committing to making our work and the work of land trusts more inclusive and trying to make a difference in the healing that is so desperately needed in our local communities. We are joining with our Board of Directors, our colleagues in conservation, and community leaders across the state to show up, to listen, and to do the work that is necessary for real change.
We don’t have all the answers, but we recognize that it is our responsibility to join with millions of others in speaking up and refusing to settle for a culture that tolerates inequality, injustice, and violence.
– Mike Carlson, Executive Director, Gathering Waters: Wisconsin’s Alliance for Land Trusts
