Even in times of crisis, we’re called to take the long view to preserve our national heritage; because in doing so, we fulfill one of the responsibilities that falls to all of us as Americans, and as inhabitants of this same small planet. - President Barack Obama, April 16, 2010

America’s Great Outdoors Initiative Promotes and Supports Community-Level Efforts to Conserve Open Space

If you only follow the mainstream media you probably didn’t hear, but on April 16, 2010, President Barack Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum establishing the America’s Great Outdoors Initiative to promote and support innovative community-level efforts to conserve outdoor spaces and to reconnect Americans to the outdoors. 

The Initiative will support a 21st century conservation agenda that builds on successes in communities across the country, and will start a national dialogue about conservation that supports the efforts of private citizens and local communities.

Potential Leap Forward in Preserving Outdoor Spaces

As every sportsman, backpacker, camper and outdoorsman knows, America’s open spaces are shrinking at an alarming rate. Victim to urban sprawl and big-box-retail blight, our precious resources are being gobbled up, as rural and backwoods America gives way to the Mc Mansion. Victim to internecine political squabbles and budget cuts, our state and local parks are under siege and closing at an alarming rate.

Regardless of you political affiliations if you love the outdoors, you have to applaud the sentiments of this effort!

In a statement, the White House gave its reasoning for this new America’s Great Outdoors Initiative:

From mountains to deserts and from sea to shining sea, America's great outdoors have shaped the rugged independence and sense of community that define the American spirit. Our working landscapes, cultural sites, parks, coasts, wild lands, rivers, and streams are gifts that we have inherited from previous generations.

They are the places that offer us refuge from daily demands, renew our spirits, and enhance our fondest memories, whether they are fishing with a grandchild in a favorite spot, hiking a trail with a friend, or enjoying a family picnic in a neighborhood park.

They also are our farms, ranches, and forests -- the working lands that have fed and sustained us for generations. Americans take pride in these places, and share a responsibility to preserve them for our children and grandchildren.

Today, however, we are losing touch with too many of the places and proud traditions that have helped to make America special. Farms, ranches, forests, and other valuable natural resources are disappearing at an alarming rate. Families are spending less time together enjoying their natural surroundings.

Despite our conservation efforts, too many of our fields are becoming fragmented, too many of our rivers and streams are becoming polluted, and we are losing our connection to the parks, wild places, and open spaces we grew up with and cherish. Children, especially, are spending less time outside running and playing, fishing and hunting, and connecting to the outdoors just down the street or outside of town. 

“Today, with 80 percent of Americans living in cities and suburbs, it is more important than ever for people to have access to outdoor space,” said CEQ Chair Nancy Sutley. “Just as we cherish our childhood memories of hiking and sledding, fishing and camping, and just as we enjoy spending time outdoors with our families, we must guard these places and traditions for new generations.”

Preserving the Great Outdoors to be a Team Effort

The President spoke before leaders representing the conservation, farming, ranching, sporting, recreation, forestry, private industry, local parks and academia communities from all 53 states and territories.  He called on the Secretaries of the Interior and of Agriculture, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to lead the Initiative.

“President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors Initiative will start a much-needed dialogue about conservation in our country so that we can hear directly from Americans about the places they care about and how they are working to protect them, said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar.  “This is about listening, learning, and finding common-sense ways to support the good work that is happening in communities across the country.”

These leaders are to work in coordination with the Departments of Defense, Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Labor, Transportation, Education, and the Office of Management and Budget. 

“This effort will bring Americans from across the country together to look for new approaches to protect our national treasures,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.  “And it will highlight the importance of working across ownership boundaries to restore and conserve both private and public lands in a way that recognizes that conservation and economic vitality are inextricably linked.”

Write Your Congressmen and Local Leaders in Support!

GettingOutside.com applauds this effort wholeheartedly and sincerely hopes that the leadership fulfills the promise of the lofty words spoken in initial support of America’s Great Outdoors Initiative. Let’s keep a watchful eye and lend our support so that our many natural treasure will be here for us, our children, our grandchildren and generations beyond.

“Since President Theodore Roosevelt held the first White House conference on conservation in 1908, we as Americans have taken extraordinary steps to protect our land, water, wildlife, and history for future generations, but today the places we love face new challenges that require new ideas and new strategies to solve,” said  Ken Salazar. 

Ultimately, it’s up to us. Do we want to live in a world where there is no game to hunt, no remote trails to hike, no edible fish to catch?

Said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.  “It makes me proud that generations to come will know that we took action to preserve, restore and protect vital natural treasures.”

Let’s make it so.