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Secretary Vilsack addresses the crowd at the June 2010 Recreation Exchange

Washington, D.C. – Recreation community leaders, allies, friends groups and government agency partners gathered in Washington, D.C. to participate in briefings, events and celebrations of the many significant contributions of the recreation community during Great Outdoors Week 2010 (June 7-12).

Achievements of the Beacon Award winners, accomplishments of the Recreational Trails Program, the third annual National Get Outdoors Day, the need to build the connection between outdoor recreation and healthier Americans (with the help of some of the nation’s leading physicians), and more were addressed during the week. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack also served as the special guest at the June Recreation Exchange luncheon and helped present the American Recreation Coalition’s Legends Awards to exemplary federal agency employees.

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. The week is a key component of Great Outdoors Month, a month-long celebration of outdoor recreation in America that also features National Trails Day (June 5), National Fishing and Boating Week (June 5-13), National Get Outdoors Day (June 12), the Great American Backyard Campout (June 26) and for the first time in June, National Marina Day (June 12).

To read the full report, click here.

Will Shafroth, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, was the special guest at the April 2010 Recreation Exchange hosted by the American Recreation Coalition. Prior to taking his position at the Interior Department, Mr. Shafroth was a founder and executive director of the nonprofit Colorado Conservation Trust from 2000 to 2008. The group increased the pace and effectiveness of land and wildlife habitat conservation in Colorado, raising $18 million in private contributions, spurring the investment of $35 million into conservation projects, and leveraging $200 million in public funds. His efforts helped preserve 30,000 acres of wildlife habitat and open space.

Additionally, Mr. Shafroth was a key player in the Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund (GOCO), serving as its first executive director. During his time with GOCO – which is funded by Colorado lottery proceeds – Mr. Shafroth oversaw the granting of $250 million for 1,600 projects that preserved 300,000 acres of wildlife habitat, ranchland and open space. The initiative built diverse partnerships with ranchers, sportsmen, conservationists, businesspeople and government officials, including state administrators and legislators. GOCO also established parks, trails, environmental education centers, a statewide cattlemen's land trust and youth conservation corps across the state. GOCO grants leveraged more than $1.5 billion in additional funding, said Mr. Shafroth, and became a catalyst in increasing the importance of the great outdoors in the lives of Coloradans. He noted that in 1992 there were only a handful of land trust groups in Colorado. Today, there are over 40. He explained that the Obama Administration is hoping to replicate Colorado’s success in increasing the relevance of the outdoors – but this time on a national level – with its first Administration-wide outdoors initiative – America’s Great Outdoors.

Senate confirmation hearings for National Park Service Director nominee Jon Jarvis began on July 28. Mr. Jarvis was questioned on a wide variety of issues that he will likely face as NPS Director, including snowmobiles in Yellowstone, helicopters over Crater Lake and guns in the national parks. ARC will continue to continue to post updates on the progress of Mr. Jarvis' nomination.

To read Mr. Jarvis' July 28 statement to the U. S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources, click here.

Below is the text from the New York Times article covering the hearing:

To combat the threats posed by today’s indoor, inactive lifestyles – such as the growing obesity epidemic and the projection that today’s kids will live shorter lives than their parents due to lifestyle choices – several hundred local, state and federal agencies, diverse nonprofit organizations in the health and youth-services fields, the recreation community and media interests teamed up to host the second annual National Get Outdoors Day (GO-Day) on June 13, 2009. The national effort was again led by the U.S. Forest Service (FS) and the American Recreation Coalition (ARC), but the number and diversity of the organizations involved nationally and locally increased sharply. Uniting these partners was a shared belief in the Mission of National Get Outdoors Day:

Unify public and private-sector interests in efforts to influence American lifestyles, especially among youth, in ways that maximize the physical, mental and other benefits derived from activities in the Great Outdoors through a focused effort to invite Americans to designated sites on a single day, as well as to highlight and assist the efforts of National Get Outdoors Day partners year-round.

GO-Day 2009 was built around offering opportunities for American families to experience traditional and non-traditional types of outdoor activities, regardless of past experience, skills or ownership of equipment. Those Americans currently underserved by visits to public lands and waters and youth – especially urban youth – were priority targets for the events. GO-Day organizers accepted a challenge: making the appeal of the great outdoors equal that of shopping malls and video games. And they met this challenge with exceptional results.

President Barack Obama spoke passionately about the importance of connecting America’s children to their public lands during his address at the 160th Anniversary of the Department of the Interior on March 3. The President told the group that America’s long-term prosperity depends upon the faithful stewardship of our natural resources, but that this trust cannot be measured in protected acres, preserved rivers or energy reserves.

“It's a child wandering amidst ancient redwoods, a love for science stirred as she looks skyward. It's a young man running his hand along the walls at Ellis Island, where his grandmother once carried her every possession and the hope of a new life. It's a family hiking along canyons carved by ancient floods, or mountains shaped by shifting continents -- finding peace in the beauty of the natural world. These are experiences that enrich our lives and remind us of the blessings that we share.”

The President fondly recounted memories of his own transformational childhood vacation to see America’s flagship national parks with his family. He described seeing our nation’s natural wonders as “an experience I will never forget. It's an experience I want for my daughters, and for all of our daughters and sons, to see the incredible beauty of this nation.”

To read a transcript or watch a video clip of the President’s moving speech, click here.

Washington, D.C. (January 15, 2009) A consortium of federal agencies and nonprofit organizations and the recreation industry today announced details for National Get Outdoors Day 2009, an annual event to encourage healthy, active outdoor fun across the nation. On June 13, 2009, participating organizations will offer sites for American families to sample both traditional and new types of outdoor activities. Prime goals of the day are reaching first-time visitors to public lands and reconnecting our youth to the great outdoors, and then invite those taking part in the day to visit specific sites for fun “EChO-Events” for opportunities to hike with rangers, learn to fish, and go mountain biking.

In June 2008, more than 60 National Get Outdoors Day events were held, drawing tens of thousands of youth and their families. The events included climbing walls, chances to have pictures taken with Smokey Bear, introductions to fishing and new activities like geocaching and much more.

For the first time, all Partners Outdoors materials are available electronically as part of an effort to be more environmentally friendly. By eliminating our traditional meeting books, we will save multiple thousands of sheets of paper. Each meeting participant will instead receive a Partners Outdoors 2009 flash drive or CD pre-loaded with the following meeting materials.

Making Great Outdoors Month Bigger and Better

• 37 State Governors and the President Proclaim June as Great Outdoors Month
• 2008 Great Outdoors Month Proclamations Powerpoint Presentation
• Great Outdoors Month 2008 Proclamations
• National Get Outdoors Day 2008 Overview
• National Get Outdoors Day 2009 Overview
• National Get Outdoors Day 2009 Site Nomination Form
• Great Outdoors Month 2007 and Wonderful Outdoor World on the Road
• Connecticut’s No Child Left Inside and the Great Park Pursuit
• Pennsylvania Governor's Outdoor Conference Report
• American Hiking Society’s National Trails Day Information
• National Wildlife Federation's Great American Backyard Campout
• Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation Promotes National Fishing and Boating Week

Reaching Special Publics – Youth, Seniors, People with Disabilities (including wounded military), and New Citizens

• California Children's Outdoor Bill of Rights
• Forest Service’s More Kids in the Woods 2008 Award Recipients
• Wonderful Outdoor World Description
• National Forum on Children and Nature Endorses 30 Projects That Get Kids Outdoors
• Bureau of Land Management’s Take It Outside Fact Sheet
• Green Corps Vision Document
• HEART - Honoring the Efforts of America's Returning Troops
• Coleman Supports Wounded Warrior Project's New National Parks-Based Program
• American Recreation Coalition Announces This Land Is Your Land Initiative
• National Park Service Director at Ellis Island – This Land Is Your Land

Redesigning the Toolbox for Tomorrow (visit the Toolbox at www.tools4outdoors.us)

• Scenic Byways Program Background from Toolbox
• National Forest Scenic Byways Program Partnership Successes
• Transportation Enhancements Background from Toolbox
• Recreational Trails Program Background from Toolbox
• Coalition for Recreational Trails’ Economic Stimulus Request to Obama
• Bureau of Reclamation Business Plan Guidebook
• The Value of Voluntourism
• Popularity Grows for Voluntourism
• Katrina Voluntourists Make Labor a Vacation

Background Readings and Information

• Impact of Recreation on Society
  • Fish and Wildlife Service Measures Wildlife Watching's Contribution to Nation's Economy
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Recreation Program Statistics FY08
  • National Park Service Visitor Spending Impacts 2007

• Outdoor Resources Review Group
  • Membership Directory
  • Membership Biographies
  • Outdoor Resources Review Group Description

• Outdoor Recreation Trends 2009
• Perspectives on Obama Administration and Recreation Program Prospects
• Recommendations from the Economic Summit of Travel and Tourism Sector Leaders
• Get Outdoors, It's Yours News Release
• How the City Hurts Your Brain
• National Park Hospitality Association’s Letter to new Interior Secretary Salazar

Federal Information

• 111th Congress
  • House List 111th Congress
  • House Natural Resources Committee Membership
  • Agenda for House Natural Resources Committee – 111th Congress
  • Senate List 111th Congress
  • Senate 2009 Calendar

• National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission
• Geotourism Accord
• National Park Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration “Talking Buoys” Partnership
• National Park Service Centennial Challenge Grants – Round One
• Reforming and Improving the National Wildlife Refuge System
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Recreation Strategy – February 2008
• Supporters of the Corps Recreation Program Action Plan Cover Letter – September 10, 2008
• Supporters of the Corps Recreation Program High Priority Actions
• National Wildlife Refuge System: Making a "Birder Friendly" Refuge