President Obama signed a declaration establishing Americans Great Outdoors Initiative at a one-day conference Friday that embraces much of the outdoor industrys agenda.


Among those in attendance at the event were: Sally Jewell, president & CEO, REI; Will Manzer, CEO, Eastern Mountain Sports; Sam Solomon, president & CEO, The Coleman Company; Dan Templin, VP & CFO, VF Outdoor, Inc. (Vanity Fair) and Frank Hugelmeyer, president & CEO, Outdoor Industry Association.

 

The initiative calls on the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to lead a plan to promote community-based recreation and conservation and advance job and volunteer opportunities related to conservation and outdoor recreation.

 

Much of the language at the event appears to come from Sec. of Interior Ken Salazar, who helped craft Great Outdoors Colorado and is a two-time recipient of Outdoor Industry Association’s Friend of the Industry award.

 

In remarks at the conference Obama recalled the conservation legacy left behind by President Theodore Roosevelt, who created the first national park.

 

I do intend to enrich that legacy, and I feel an abiding bond with the land that is the United States of America, Obama said. I do, for the same reasons that all of you do; for the same reason families go outside for a picnic or campers spend a night in a national park, and sportsmen track game through the woods or wade deep into a river.  Its a recognition passed down from one generation to the next, that few pursuits are more satisfying to the spirit than discovering the greatness of Americas outdoors.

Americas Great Outdoors Initiative calls for:


  • Creating corridors and connectivity across state, local, private and tribal lands that enhance neighborhood parks.
  • Creating federal partnerships that facilitate such projects.
  • Using science-based management practices to restore and protect land and water.

There are roughly 1,600 privately run land trusts in this country that have protected over 10 million acres through voluntary efforts, the President said. And by working with farmers and ranchers and landowners, the Department of Agricultures Conservation Reserve Program has protected over 30 million acres, and its Natural Resource Conservation Service -– a service that is 75 years old this year –- has protected almost 3 million more.  So together, we are conserving our working lands in a way that preserves the environment  and protects local communities. And thats the kind of collaborative spirit at the heart of the Americas Great Outdoors Initiative that were launching today.


The initiative will conduct listening and learning sessions nationwide to learn about innovative local conservation initiatives with special attention on groups that have brought young Americans into the conversation.

 

The initiative requires completing a report by Nov. 15 that reviews: successful nonfederal conservation policies; federal resources that could be used to complement such programs; policy options for achieving initiative goals and an action plan reflecting constraints in the federal budget and opportunities to leverage nonfederal public and private resources and nontraditional conservation programs.