The exclusion of Indigenous people and other non-white communities in environmental and conservation work is, unfortunately, nothing new. “What counts as being an ‘environmentalist?’ And what counts as ‘environmentalism?’” The vast majority of Americans believe that people of color do not feel strongly about environmental causes. Black, Latino, Asian, and white respondents in a 2018 survey overwhelmingly associated environmentalism with whiteness and underestimated environmental valuation in their own communities. Those living within the Tobé-Kpobidon forest, for example, did not feel welcome in forest management, which led to unsustainable resource use and degradation of the land. To establish newfound hope for sustainable forest management and community involvement, a team of researchers, led by Rodrigue Castro Gbedomon implemented a “community forestry approach” in 2016.