America's Great Outdoors Initiative

On July 16th I attended a Federal listening session for the President's America's Great Outdoors Initiative. The purpose of the meeting was to hear the concerns citizens have with conservation, recreation, and reconnecting people to the outdoors.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar attended and shepherded the proceedings. Eighteen years ago he and Harris Sherman formed Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO). (A portion of lottery proceeds fund GOCO grants for waterways, bikeways, parks, and similar amenities. The LaGae park at CoCPN recently received a GOCO grant.) While this approach is unique to Colorado, Secretary Salazar went to the President to ask if perhaps an initiative could be undertaken to expand such an approach throughout the country. The purpose of the listening session series is to collect public opinion prior to Salazar's request of the President on November 15th.

Remarks were made by Sherman, who is now Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment for the US Department of Agriculture, Will Shafroth, Department of Interior's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Senator Mark Udall, Congresswoman Diana DeGette, and Congressman Ed Perlmutter, as well as a representative from the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), and a panel discussion between Salazar and the executive director of GOCO, the manager of Denver Parks and Recreation, and Christine Stanley, the state representative for Summit County.

After the session, participants broke out into a number of rooms to offer opinions on the topics. The following four questions guided the discussion:

What obstacles exist to achieve your goals for conservation, recreation, or reconnecting people to the outdoors?

Please share your thoughts and ideas on effective strategies for conservation, recreation and reconnecting people to the outdoors.

How can the federal government be a more effective partner in helping to achieve conservation, recreation or reconnecting people to the outdoors?

What additional tools and resources would help your efforts be even more successful?

Amongst all the comments, the thing that really struck me was the input from the youth who are working with the Colorado Department of Natural Resources this summer. Salazar asked them what they thought should be done. They said:

a) teach kids in school about the topic

b) reinforce that teaching with TV ads and social media such as Facebook

c) give kids additional opportunities to have greater connection with the topic

d) pay special attention to, and reach out to, at-risk students.

I don't know what the big thinkers will come up with, but out of the mouths of babes.....

For further information on this initiative: http://www.doi.gov/americasgreatoutdoors/