The Continental Divide Runs Through Our Communities—Outdoor Equity Must, Too

In this piece, Teresa highlights how the Outdoor Equity Fund helps communities across New Mexico—particularly rural and historically underrepresented communities—access the health, cultural, and economic benefits of the outdoors. Drawing from her work stewarding the 850 miles of the Continental Divide Trail that pass through New Mexico, she urges lawmakers to fully invest a one-time $4 million appropriation in the Outdoor Equity Fund during the current 30-day legislative session.

The Continental Divide Runs Through Our Communities—Outdoor Equity Must, Too
By Teresa Martinez

The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail runs more than 3,100 miles from Mexico to Canada. Here in New Mexico, 800 of those miles pass directly through our state—through small towns, Tribal lands, rural communities, and places people have called home since time immemorial.

Yet for many of the people who live along the trail, the outdoors has not always felt like it was meant for them.

At the Continental Divide Trail Coalition (CDTC), we work alongside federal land managers, Tribal nations, local governments, and communities to steward this iconic trail and ensure it benefits everyone it touches. That work goes far beyond maintaining tread or signage. It means helping communities see the trail not as something for "visitors from somewhere else," but as a living part of their own backyard—one that supports health, culture, economic opportunity, and connection.

The New Mexico Outdoor Equity Fund (OEF) has been critical to making that vision real.

As an Outdoor Equity Fund grantee, CDTC has been able to create safe, welcoming, and free opportunities for families—many of whom have never accessed the trail before—to experience the Continental Divide in ways that feel culturally grounded and supportive. Through partnerships with groups like Latino Outdoors, we've helped remove barriers such as transportation, equipment, and perceptions of safety that often prevent people from accessing public lands, even when those lands surround their communities.

Outdoor equity is not just about access. It's about pathways.

When young people and families feel welcome outdoors, they build memories that last generations. They develop confidence and skills. And for many youth, those experiences plant seeds for future stewardship, advocacy, and even careers in conservation and land management. This is especially meaningful in New Mexico, where so many communities have deep cultural and spiritual connections to the land, but have historically been excluded from shaping how it is managed.

Since its creation, the Outdoor Equity Fund has shown what's possible when resources are placed directly in the hands of communities that already understand their own needs. The growing number of applications for OEF funding is not surprising—it's proof that communities across New Mexico have ideas, solutions, and energy ready to be put to work.

New Mexico was the first state in the nation to create an Outdoor Equity Fund, and our leadership has sparked similar efforts across the country. That didn't happen by accident. It happened because our state chose to be bold and invest in young people, community health, and long-term opportunity.

Today, lawmakers have the chance to reaffirm that leadership.

During this 30-day legislative session, New Mexico can make a one-time special appropriation of $4 million for the Outdoor Equity Fund in FY27—a critical investment that would help meet growing demand, stabilize proven programs, and ensure that innovation continues to flourish in communities statewide.

The Continental Divide Trail connects landscapes across New Mexico. The Outdoor Equity Fund connects people to those landscapes—and to one another.

I urge New Mexico lawmakers to fully fund $4 million for the Outdoor Equity Fund in FY27. By doing so, we can continue to lead the nation, invest in our youth, and ensure that the outdoors truly belongs to all of us.

Teresa Martinez is the Executive Director of the Continental Divide Trail Coalition, a proud steering committee member of the Coalition for Outdoor Equity Fund New Mexico, a statewide movement that secures public sustainable, recurring funding for the New Mexico Outdoor Equity Fund, supporting equitable outdoor access for all youth in New Mexico — today and for generations to come.