funoutdoors.com - Great Outdoors Month 2010

GIS technology for maps trails -- Lake Ouachita Focus Committee

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 11:22:51 -0400

The Partner to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Lake Ouachita Focus Committee's GIS technology for maps trails

Off-Highway Vehicle

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 11:19:24 -0400

The Bureau of Land Management's Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area Off-Highway Vehicles

ATV Washer

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 09:55:35 -0400

The U.S. Forest Service's San Dimas Technology and Development Center's ATV Washer

Great Outdoors Week 2010

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 11:01:09 -0400

Secretary Vilsack with Legends Award Winners during Great Outdoors Week celebrations

2010 Legends Awards

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:31:46 -0400

Secretary Vilsack with 2010 Legends Award winners representing six federal agencies

Secretary Vilsack

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:17:12 -0400

Secretary Vilsack addresses the crowd at the June 2010 Recreation Exchange

Agriculture Secretary Vilsack discusses AGO Initiative, praises outdoor recreation leaders at June Recreation Exchange

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:35:23 -0400

Tom Vilsack, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was the special guest at the June 2010 Recreation Exchange, hosted by the American Recreation Coalition (ARC). Top federal agency representatives and recreation enthusiasts gathered on Agriculture’s Whitten Patio to hear the Secretary’s remarks about the Obama Administration’s America’s Great Outdoors (AGO) Initiative and for the presentation of ARC’s 2010 Legends Awards.

Harris Sherman, Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and the Environment, introduced the Secretary and praised his key role in implementing President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors Initiative. Mr. Sherman recognized the importance of outdoor recreation, particularly its ability to connect people to the environment, its contribution to the health of Americans, and its economic importance. He also noted that the upcoming National Get Outdoors Day (GO-Day) – which introduces children and families, many of them first-time public land users, to fun outdoor activities and outdoor recreation skills – was a prime example of the great work that can be accomplished through partnerships between land management agencies and non-governmental organizations, and he cited GO-Day as a wonderful way to connect people to their local national forests.

ARC Announces 2010 Beacon Award Winners

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 11:38:27 -0400

Washington, D.C. – The 2010 recipients of the American Recreation Coalition’s Beacon Awards, which recognize outstanding efforts by federal agencies and partners in harnessing the power of technology to improve public recreation experiences and federal recreation program management, will be honored during Great Outdoors Week on Monday, June 7. Winners of the 2010 Beacon Awards are:

ARC Salutes 2010 Legends Award Winners

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 18:02:21 -0400

Washington, D.C. – The American Recreation Coalition (ARC) will present its 2010 Legends Awards to six federal managers in recognition of their outstanding work to improve outdoor recreation experiences and opportunities for the American people. The awards will be presented on June 10, 2010 during Great Outdoors Week – ARC’s celebration of the value and importance of outdoor recreation. Initiated by ARC in 1991, the Legends Award program calls on federal land management agencies to each nominate an individual whose extraordinary personal efforts have made a real difference in enhancing outdoor recreation programs and resources. The 2010 Legends Award recipients will represent the Bureau of Land Management, Federal Highway Administration, National Park Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Forest Service.

Winners of the 2010 Legends Awards are: William Boggs, Bureau of Land Management; Robert Morris, Federal Highway Administration; Dan B. Kimball, National Park Service; James E. Lynch, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Nancy Haugen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and Floyd Allen Thompson III, U.S. Forest Service.

Great Outdoors Month 2010 Logo

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 18:19:17 -0400

President Obama and State Governors Proclaim June as Great Outdoors Month

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 18:37:41 -0400

Washington, D.C. – President Barack Obama and nearly all of America’s governors have proclaimed June as Great Outdoors Month. The proclamations, requested by a coalition of outdoor recreation and conservation organizations, celebrate the many special events held during June, including National Trails Day®, National Fishing and Boating Week, National Get Outdoors Day, National Marina Day and the Great American Backyard Campout, and the benefits of time outdoors to the health of Americans, young and old.

President Obama’s proclamation states, “America’s vast and varied outdoor spaces are a source of great national pride, and we have long strived to protect them for future generations. Our lands provide countless opportunities for exploration, recreation, and reflection, whether in solitude or with family and friends. During Great Outdoors Month, we renew our enduring commitment to protect our natural landscapes, to enjoy them and to promote active lifestyles for ourselves and our children.” Referring to America’s great outdoor spaces, the proclamation goes on to say, “These places are especially important today, as an increasing number of Americans, especially children, fall into unhealthy sedentary lifestyles.”

Exciting Plans for Great Outdoors Week and Great Outdoors Month 2010

Wed, 05 May 2010 11:52:20 -0400

Washington, D.C. – Excitement is growing across the nation about plans for Great Outdoors Week and Great Outdoors Month 2010. Great Outdoors Month celebrates a variety of important events and actions that occur during June, and highlights the benefits of active fun outdoors and our magnificent shared resources of forests, parks, refuges and other public lands and waters. Great Outdoors Week (June 7-12) showcases efforts enhancing outdoor recreation for all Americans in the 21st century through awards, briefings and other events in the Nation’s Capital.

Great Outdoors Week is coordinated by the American Recreation Coalition (ARC) and includes events co-hosted by more than a dozen federal agencies and national organizations. Great Outdoors Week's action-packed schedule will feature a special presentation of the Beacon Awards – honoring innovative uses of technology in public lands management – at the Patuxent Wildlife Refuge, an ice cream social with “celebrity scoopers” from the public land management agencies followed by a walk on the National Mall, a presentation of the Legends Awards honoring outstanding public land management employees, the Recreational Trails Program award ceremony and briefing, a Recreation Exchange Luncheon, and a youth fishing event on the National Mall.

Great Outdoors Month 2010 Proclamations

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 16:12:54 -0400

June is a special time to celebrate America’s Great Outdoors. Presidential recognition of Great Outdoors Week was begun in 1997 by then-President Clinton and has continued ever since. Since 2004, Presidential proclamation of Great Outdoors Month has come annually, celebrating a variety of important events and actions that occur during the month. Great Outdoors Month highlights the benefits of active fun outdoors and our magnificent shared resources of forests, parks, refuges, and other public lands and waters. Media attention to the proclamation triggers actions by millions of households and prompts public discussion of important issues linked to outdoor recreation, including volunteerism, health, and outdoor ethics.

Additionally, the majority of governors issue proclamations declaring June as Great Outdoors Month in their states, and many take further actions ranging from Governor’s Outdoor Conferences to hosting campouts for local kids on their state capitol grounds.

State proclamations of Great Outdoors Month 2010 will be posted here as they arrive.

To download the Great Outdoors Month 2010 Proclamations Powerpoint, click here.

ED OUT

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:16:35 -0500

An exciting new initiative aims to incorporate environmental education, both in and out of the classroom, into the last few days of the school year. ED OUT is an optimal partnership opportunity for many federal agencies, and they are eager to join a program that provides an exciting learning experience in the final days of the school year, introduces students to careers within their agency while building an appreciation for how those careers are important to the nation, challenges the trend toward sedentary, indoor lifestyles, and offers students concrete and stimulating ways to keep learning during the summer months and gain knowledge directly tied to the subsequent academic year's curriculum.

Nationally led by the U.S. Forest Service and the American Recreation Coalition but with a broad and growing team of partners, the ED OUT’s 2010 pilot highlights Prince William County Schools, Virginia’s second largest school system with 80,000 students and the state’s fastest growing system. The school district is located in an area with abundant federal, state and local recreation sites and is a national leader in remote learning and application of technology to classrooms. Since ED OUT is by design affordable and scalable, and addresses key needs of both federal agencies and education systems, we expect that the ED OUT model will be showing up in several large school districts across the country in 2011.

To read the solicitation letters sent out to various federal agencies and partners, see the links below:

Bureau of Land Management
Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Minerals Management Service
National Aeronautic and Space Administration
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Park Service
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation
Smithsonian Institution
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
U.S. Department of Education
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Marine Corps
U.S. Public Health Service

Great Outdoors Month, National Get Outdoors Day Gain Exciting New Partner in National Marina Day

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:31:58 -0500

Washington, D.C. – Americans celebrating Great Outdoors Month in June 2010 will have another exciting event to enjoy – National Marina Day. The Association of Marina Industries has announced that it will move its annual event to the second Saturday in June and take advantage of the strategic partnership offered by becoming part of Great Outdoors Month, which is coordinated by the American Recreation Coalition. Last year, President Obama and 46 state governors joined in issuing proclamations for Great Outdoors Month and convening various related activities, and that number is expected to grow further in 2010. National Marina Day will now help mark the start of the peak boating season and showcase summer-long opportunities for water fun, even for non-boat owners.

The new date for National Marina Day also will coincide with the third annual National Get Outdoors Day event on June 12. Begun in 2001 and observed until 2010 in August, National Marina Day celebrates and promotes recreational boating and the marina industry by inviting elected officials, civic leaders and the public to marinas across the nation for a day of fun and learning. Marina visitors see firsthand the important role marinas play as family-friendly gateways to boating and water fun and learn about the commitment of marina personnel to being stewards of the environment. These efforts are perfect components for the growing National Get Outdoors Day, which invites all visitors to public lands – and especially first-timers – to take advantage of the fun and healthy activities that public lands have to offer.