June 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 23

By Richard J. Dolesh

advo cacy update

A Conservation Agenda
for the 21st Century
Why and How You Should Participate in
America's Great Outdoors Initiative

A

''

seminal event in the history of the conservation movement " is how the

White House Historical Society described the first White House Conference
on Conservation in 1908 hosted by President Teddy Roosevelt. One hundred
years passed before a similar White House conference on conservation was convened
by President Obama April 16 at the Department of the Interior.

This historic gathering brought together 500
attendees, including a number of NRPA leaders,
members, and staff, as well as a nationwide online
audience to participate in a day-long conference on
the future needs for recreation in America and the
conservation challenges facing our nation. The goal
of this Presidential initiative is to determine what
should be contained in a vision for conservation and
outdoor recreation for the 21st century and then to
develop and implement a plan to achieve this vision.
The President signed an Executive Memorandum directing the secretaries of Interior and Agriculture, the Administrator of EPA, and the Chair
of the Council on Environmental Quality to work
with all federal agencies in developing a plan to reshape conservation policy in the United States, and
to present a report to the President by November.

were not fully identified as this issue went to press,
but Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Delta Area,
Central Florida, and one or two other sites were
tentatively named. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar,
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Environmental
Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson and
Chair of the White House Council on Environmental
Quality Nancy Sutley will spend time this summer
conducting listening and learning sessions around

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

What you can do to participate
According to the President's Memorandum, " The
Initiative shall conduct listening and learning sessions around the country where land and waters
are being conserved and community parks are
being established in innovative ways. " It goes on
to identify who should be engaged, and it especially encourages " bringing young Americans into the
conversation. "
The America's Great Outdoors initiative is your
opportunity to add your voice and your advocacy to
this conversation about the needs of parks, conservation, and outdoor recreation in your community,
your state, and for the nation as a whole.
The sites for the listening and learning sessions

	

President Barack Obama signs a memorandum establishing the America's
Great Outdoor Initiative, Friday, April 16, 2010, at the White House
Conference on America's Great Outdoors, at the Interior Department in
Washington. Behind the president, from left are, Environmental Protection
Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, and
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

www.NRPA .ORG

JUNE 2010

Parks & Recreation	

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June 2010 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of June 2010 - Parks & Recreation
