Contact: Sharon Nance Sharon.nance@ca.usda.gov
California Amer-Asian Group Shows They CARE
The group is called CARE …and that’s exactly what they do.
It began about a year ago, when two friends decided to act on their concern for issues involving
Southeast Asian immigrant communities and natural resources. Chong Yang and Kong Yang, both avid
fishermen and hunters, worried about increasing litter and diminishing resources in the natural areas
they enjoyed so much. They were aware of conflicts involving Southeast Asians and natural resource
regulations and wanted to figure out a way to address their role in conservation issues.
The pair had the idea of forming some kind of non-profit organization to help resolve some of the
differences. They decided to approach someone they thought might be able to help them – Chu Yang, a
soil conservationist with the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Visalia, California.
According to Chong Yang, “Issues involving Asian people and natural resources stem from lack of
awareness of immigrants to their new environment.”
The Hmong are one of the largest Southeast Asian groups immigrating to the U.S. During the 1960’s,
they were recruited by the CIA and fought for the U.S. during the Vietnam War (resulting in a loss of
approximately 10% of their population). After the war, they fled persecution by the communist regime
into refugee camps in Thailand and later into the U.S. They continue to be admitted as refugees, mainly
to Minnesota, Wisconsin, and California.
With the influx of these refugees, agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service and California Department of
Fish and Game noted corresponding increases in escaped camp- or cook-fires, citations issued for
resource-related violations, and decreases in fish and wildlife populations in areas frequented by
Southeast Asian hunters and anglers. Federal and state agencies actively attempted to share important
resource conservation information with these communities, but language and cultural barriers severely
limited the success of these outreach efforts.
The problem stems from the Southeast Asian climate – these countries have tropical ecosystems where
wildlife reproduces more rapidly than here. Tropical areas are also more resistant to the spread of fire.
In their native countries, the immigrants were closely connected to the natural environment, as hunting
and fishing were important skills for survival. Because of this, there were no regulations on private lands
or designated areas for camping, fires, or hunting and fishing.
During the time the Yang’s were working to go forward, the Yosemite/Sequoia Resource Conservation
and Development (RC&D) Council had received a grant to translate resource information into Hmong.
Chu Yang hooked the pair up with the Tulare County Resource Conservation District who brought the
partners together … and CARE was born!
“A primary goal of CARE is to create an understanding in the Southeast Asian community about the
importance of sustaining natural resources,” Chong Yang says.
Some of their accomplishments include:
CARE and its partner organizations share vital natural resource information with participants at
hunter safety courses taught by Kong Yang. These courses provide interactive Q&A sessions with
verbal translation.
CARE will establish a central resource center to provide information to Southeast Asians. They
will offer translation services for land management agencies and other partners.
CARE has hosted translated radio programs, and plans to create a series of training videos in
Southeast Asian languages.
CARE will connect youth and college students with conservation activities and internship
opportunities for natural resource agencies. Chong Yang observes that Hmong youth are often
discouraged from considering this type of profession. He hopes to create bridges between
resource agencies and the community, and believes that when Southeast Asians see the
collaborative partnership, their fear and tension toward the government will be eased.
CARE is working with the California Office of Environmental Health on a Fish Mercury Project.
They are hosting focus groups to identify the types of fish people catch and the location so
Southeast Asians can be informed about the health risks of exposure to mercury. CARE is also
collecting fish to measure mercury contamination levels at popular fishing areas.
The Yosemite/Sequoia RC&D is assisting CARE with developing bylaws, a strategic plan, a
Memorandum of Understanding with the growing network of partners, applying for non-profit
status, seeking grants, and administering funds to implement projects.
And the CARE group is celebrating it many successes …
Hunter education classes taught by Kong Yang are showing positive results. Since the initiation of these
classes, the Department of Fish and Game has reported a decrease in hunting and fishing violations by
Southeast Asian hunters and anglers. The Forest Service has also seen a decrease in the number of
citations issued and the incidence of escaped campfires.
What began as a conversation between two men has grown into what looks like it will be a significant
impact on the health of the natural environment in California and the U.S. … and they have shown they
CARE.