The Obama Administration will hold a listening session for its America's Great Outdoors (AGO) intiiative at the Outdoor Nation Youth Summit and Festival in New York City this weekend, according to Outdoor Industry Association. 


Top federal agency representatives from the Department of Interior, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, and from the White House Council on Environmental Quality will host the session.

 

The AGO Initiative was established in April by President Obama to help reconnect Americans, especially youth, to the outdoors. These listening sessions will enable administration officials to gather information and ideas on how to promote conservation and re-engage Americans with nature. Administration officials traveled to Montana two weeks ago to hold the first AGO listening session.

The New York listening session presents an opportunity for young representatives of the outdoor recreation community to share their views on getting youth active in the outdoors and what the barriers and bridges between youth and the outdoors might be.


Federal agency officials will also attend the June 25 AGO listening session in Annapolis, MD. Hosted by the Department of Interior, the public meeting will primarily focus on the Chesapeake Bay restoration project. Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) has submitted a list of OIA member companies based in the Mid-Atlantic region to the organizers of the session to ensure that leaders from the outdoor recreation industry are invited.