Outdoor Recreation in America

A panel of seasoned natural resource and conservation leaders with experience in and out of top government posts told recreation community leaders during a special November Recreation Exchange what they expect to see as the new Obama Administration takes shape. The session was held in the venerable Occidental Restaurant, just a block from the White House as President George W. Bush and President-elect Barack Obama met in the Oval Office to discuss Transition efforts. The panel addressed both opportunities and challenges but reached a consensus that recreation and conservation issues could do well if the recreation community organizes promptly and relates recreation to Obama Administration priorities, including economic recovery and healthcare improvements.

Lyle Laverty, Interior Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, addressed the September Recreation Exchange with a call for more innovative partnerships. His remarks included an emphasis on the importance of children-and-nature initiatives and the observation that goals here and for other priorities will be best achieved by replacing talk of partnerships with “the real thing.”

Mr. Laverty championed interagency connectivity and synergy to best serve the interests of the American people. He stressed the importance of bringing the “federal family” together on recreation efforts, and cited a new “Pledge of Cooperation” on outreach to youth as demonstrating both the commitment to interagency partnerships and the ability to leverage agency strength through cooperation. Mr. Laverty also commented that the current atmosphere of financial uncertainty allows for greater incentives for federal agencies to partner with the private and nonprofit sectors and to engage volunteers in their efforts.

The work of ORRG will be funded by three foundations long associated with conservation and recreation issues, according to Henry Diamond: foundations linked to the Mellon, Packard and Rockefeller families. Staff work for the group will be led by Resources for the Future Senior Fellow Margaret Walls. The group plans three to four additional meetings in 2008 and early 2009.

Washington, D.C. (July 10, 2008) The White House Office of USA Freedom Corps, Department of Homeland Security’s Task Force on New Americans, National Park Service and American Recreation Coalition announced the creation of a public-private partnership to connect new citizens to America’s public lands. The initiative – named This Land Is Your Land – will coordinate public and private efforts to engage new Americans in volunteerism on public lands. The initiative also created the New Americans Outreach Task Force, which aims to draw newly naturalized citizens to National Parks and other public lands.

This Land Is Your Land was unveiled on July 7, 2008 at a special naturalization ceremony in Ellis Island’s Great Hall where 20 new citizens from 15 countries took the Oath of Allegiance within sight of the Statue of Liberty. Cokie Roberts, broadcast journalist and member of the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, led the event and encouraged the new Americans to vote and to volunteer on public lands. She specifically challenged them to volunteer 100 hours to earn the President’s Volunteer Service Award during their first year of citizenship. Alison Young, Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of USA Freedom Corps (USAFC), asked the new citizens to answer the President’s 2002 national Call to Service that created USAFC. “It is our hope that through this new partnership, USA Freedom Corps can create an eagerness among new Americans to engage in volunteer opportunities in the great outdoors and to enjoy the grandeur of our National Parks,” said Young.

June 14, 2008 marked the inaugural National Get Outdoors Day. Over 50 official National Get Outdoors Day sites across the nation from Anacostia Park in Washington, D.C. to the Big Bear Discovery Center in the San Bernardino National Forest welcomed thousands of new faces to the joy and benefits of the great outdoors. Participating partners offer opportunities for American families to experience traditional and non-traditional types of outdoor activities.

Each National Get Outdoors Day event offered a mix of information centers and “active fun” areas – places where guests, and especially kids, could use a fishing pole, go geocaching, help pitch a tent and more. The sites offered photo opportunities with characters like Smokey Bear, Woodsy Owl and other interesting creatures. In addition, National Get Outdoors Day events encouraged partners like the Boy Scouts of America, the Boys and Girls Clubs and the National Park Service WebRangers to recruit youth to become part of programs and organizations designed to strengthen their connection to the outdoors.

National Get Outdoors Day had tremendous support from partners across the country. They were grateful for the opportunity to combat the sedentary lifestyles that are affecting the mental, physical and spiritual well-being of today’s youth.

The inaugural National Get Outdoors Day (NGOD) accomplishments are impressive:

Children and nature, recreation and the 2008 elections, achievements of the Recreational Trails Program, the first National Get Outdoors Day, and more were addressed in productive gatherings throughout the week. Awards honoring the outstanding efforts and contributions of exemplary federal agency employees and recreation community leaders also contributed to the Week’s excitement.

President Bush’s proclamation, issued for the fifth year in succession, was released “to honor those who work to keep our natural places beautiful and to celebrate some of our country’s favorite outdoor pastimes.” The President goes on to “call on all Americans to observe this month with appropriate programs and activities, and to take time to visit and enjoy the great outdoors.”

Recipients of the 2008 Legends Awards are Mark Lowans, Bureau of Land Management; Pedro “Pete” Lucero, Bureau of Reclamation; Pete Gonzalez, Federal Highway Administration; Garry Traynham, National Park Service; Brad Keshlear, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Bennie Williams, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and Dennis Krusac, U.S. Forest Service. ARC is honored to present a posthumus Lifetime Achievement Legends Award to John Keys, former Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, in recognition of his outstanding achievements to support outdoor recreation experiences for families and especially children.