America’s 

Great Outdoors: 

A Promise to Future Generations 

February 2011 

NPS - J. CHAKRIN PHOTO
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Letter to the President

Dear Mr. President,

On April 16, 2010, you introduced America’s Great Outdoors, an initiative aimed at reigniting our historic 

commitment to conserving and enjoying the magnificent natural heritage that has shaped our nation and its 

citizens. We are pleased to present you with the America’s Great Outdoors report to begin implementation 

of this 21st-century conservation agenda. The report was created in consultation with the American people. It 

reflects their ideas on how to reconnect people with America’s lands, waters, and natural and cultural treasures, 

and it builds on the conservation successes in communities across the nation.

To develop this plan, you asked us to travel outside of Washington, D.C., and to listen and learn from the 

American people. We embarked on what has become one of the most robust conversations about conservation 

in our history, convening 51 public listening sessions in cities and communities across the country, including 21 aimed at youth. More than 10,000 citizens participated in person and we received more than 105,000 

comments. Citizens from across the country, including farmers, ranchers, hunters, anglers, outdoor recreation 

enthusiasts, parents, teachers, and young people, as well as representatives of conservation organizations, state, 

local, and tribal governments, historic preservation groups, faith communities, and businesses, shared specific 

and creative ideas. We heard from all ethnic and age groups, political parties, and thousands of young people.

The message was clear: Americans care deeply about our outdoor heritage and want to enjoy and protect it. 

They want to join us in taking responsibility for ensuring that this invaluable legacy is passed along to their 

children and grandchildren. Americans also understand the interdependence of a healthy environment and a 

strong economy. Many participants extolled the positive impacts that conservation has on our economy and 

jobs, including recreation, tourism, economic redevelopment, and public health. 

This America’s Great Outdoors agenda builds on the stewardship legacy championed by President Theodore 

Roosevelt more than 100 years ago. Now, as then, the basis for our proposed actions is the value that 

Americans place on conserving the extraordinary and diverse lands and waters that sustain, restore, nourish, 

and support us. This initiative is about the government empowering and partnering with people and communities to protect and restore the places they cherish. In formulating this plan, we reviewed the comments and 

ideas from the public, analyzed existing federal programs, and reviewed successful non-federal approaches to 

produce a set of recommendations that will support conservation partnerships and reconnect Americans to our 

natural landscapes and our history. 

We stand ready to continue the national conversation you initiated and to work together with the American 

people to achieve the goals of America’s Great Outdoors.

Sincerely,

Ken Salazar

Secretary of the Interior

Lisa P. Jackson

Administrator of the 

Environmental Protection Agency

Thomas J. Vilsack

Secretary of Agriculture

Nancy H. Sutley

Chair of the Council on 

Environmental Quality
 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE - HOWK PHOTO / APOSTLE ISLANDS NATIONAL LAKESHORE, WISCONSIN

ii
 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations 

Contents

America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

Connecting Americans to the Great Outdoors

1. Provide Quality Jobs, Career Pathways, and Service 

Opportunities

2. Enhance Recreational Access and Opportunities 

3. Raise Awareness of the Value and Benefits of America’s Great 

Outdoors

4. Engage Young People in Conservation and the Great 

Outdoors 

Conserving and Restoring America’s Great Outdoors

5. Strengthen the Land and Water Conservation Fund

6. Establish Great Urban Parks and Community Green Spaces

7. Conserve Rural Working Farms, Ranches, and Forests 

Through Partnerships and Incentives

8. Conserve and Restore Our National Parks, Wildlife Refuges, 

Forests, and Other Federal Lands and Waters 

9. Protect and Renew Rivers and Other Waters

Working Together for America’s Great Outdoors

10. Make the Federal Government a More Effective Conservation 

Partner

Youth and America’s Great Outdoors

Appendices

A-What Went Into the Report

B-List of Acronyms

1

7

11

15

21

25

29

 31

35

43

53

67

73

73

79

101

105

iii
 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

THE NATURE CONSERVANCY - © GODFREY PHOTO / PINEY GROVE PRESERVE, VIRGINIA 

iv
Introduction 1

America’s Great Outdoors: 

A Promise to Future 

Generations

From the snow-capped peaks of Washington’s Cascade Mountains to 

the white sand beaches of Florida’s Gulf Coast, and the vast expanses 

of forests, grasslands, rivers, lakes, farms, and rangeland that lie 

between, America boasts a stunning array of magnificent lands and 

waterways. Our appreciation for these special places is rooted in the 

natural environment as well as in the rich diversity of people, stories, and 

traditions that have become associated with them over the course of our 

history. Since our earliest beginnings, the lands, coasts, rivers, forests, 

and mountains and the resources they hold have helped to define who we 

are as a people and as a nation. They have also been a source of America’s 

wealth, providing places to reflect, relax, recreate, and create lasting 

memories with friends and family.

However, Americans today have become increasingly disconnected 

from our great outdoors. We find ourselves cut off from the natural and 

cultural inheritance that has shaped our lives and history. Our natural 

resources remain central to our economic vitality, yet they are under 

intense pressure from development and fragmentation, unsustainable use, 

pollution, and impacts from a changing climate. 

On April 16, 2010, President Obama launched the America’s Great 

Outdoors (AGO) Initiative and charged the Secretaries of the 

Departments of the Interior and Agriculture, the Administrator of 

the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Chair of the White 

House Council on Environmental Quality to develop a 21st-century 

conservation and recreation agenda that addresses these challenges.1 

AGO takes as its premise that lasting conservation solutions should rise 

from the American people—that the protection of our natural heritage 

is a non-partisan objective shared by all Americans. Through listening 

1 President Obama instructed the lead agencies to coordinate with the Departments of Defense, 

Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Labor, Transportation, 

and Education; and the Office of Management and Budget to develop this report.
2 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

sessions and outreach, AGO launched a robust public conversation about 

the future of conservation in America. 

The result is a call for a grassroots approach to protecting our lands 

and waters and connecting all Americans to their natural and cultural 

heritage. AGO seeks to empower all Americans—citizens, young people, 

and representatives of community groups; the private sector; nonprofit 

organizations; and local, state, and tribal governments—to share in 

the responsibility to conserve, restore, and provide better access to our 

lands and waters in order to leave a healthy, vibrant outdoor legacy for 

generations yet to come. 

A Conservation Legacy

The AGO report builds on the legacy of Americans who have taken 

up the mantle of conservation to protect our unique natural heritage. 

Throughout our history, conservation actions have been grounded in the 

premise that our natural heritage belongs to the people and that access 

to it and its protection are basic American values. Communities have 

long been catalysts for and champions of action to protect the places 

they cherish, whether majestic national parks and forests, iconic working 

lands, or city green spaces. 

America’s leaders have acted to secure the future of our natural heritage 

out of a keen awareness that it inspires us as a people and sustains us as 

a nation. During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln protected 

the magnificent resources of California’s Yosemite Valley by setting aside 

lands that would eventually become part of our third national park. At 

the turn of the 20th century, President Theodore Roosevelt furthered 

the concept of federal protection of public natural and cultural resources 

by protecting some 230 million acres as national forests, parks, wildlife 

refuges, and preserves and by establishing national monuments. President 

Franklin Delano Roosevelt championed conservation and development 

of our natural resources in the 1930s and 1940s to put Americans back to 

work during the Great Depression.

Conservation in the 21st Century 

America’s Great Outdoors builds on this nation’s long history of actions 

taken to conserve our natural heritage. What has resulted is a nationwide 

system of public lands—both large and small and including parks, 

wildlife refuges, forests, wilderness areas, scenic seashores, hiking trails, 

protected waters, and recreation areas. America’s homesteads, farms, and 

ranches have contributed to our heritage as well by preserving working 

landscapes, supplying food and fiber, protecting woods and watersheds, 

keeping air and water clean, and providing wildlife habitat. Historic and 

cultural sites have helped to educate us and to remind us of our roots. 

Together, our public, private, and tribal lands and waters embody one of 

our nation’s founding principles: the right of all Americans to enjoy and 

benefit from America’s natural treasures and the obligation to pass that 

heritage along to future generations. 
Introduction 3

Fulfilling that promise—and the shared obligation—to preserve 

and protect our natural and cultural heritage for present and future 

generations is one of the daunting challenges for 21st-century America. 

Busy lives and limited access to clean, safe, open spaces discourage 

many Americans from taking part in outdoor activities. The nearly 80 

percent of Americans who live in or near cities find it particularly difficult 

to connect with the outdoors.2 The outdoors has increasingly lost its 

relevance in the lives of our children, who now spend only half as much 

time outside as their parents did, but who spend an average of seven hours 

a day using electronic devices. Studies show that access to the outdoors 

can help reverse the obesity epidemic that has tripled among our children 

in the last generation. They show that time spent in nature can reduce 

stress and anxiety, promote learning and personal growth, and foster 

mental and physical health.

We have also grown from a nation of 92 million people 100 years ago to 

308 million today, and the Census Bureau projects that our population 

will grow to nearly 400 million in the next 40 years. Land and natural 

resource development have fragmented our lands, disrupted natural 

systems, and imperiled productive farmland and woodlands. One out of 

three acres that has been developed in the United States was developed 

from 1982 to 2007.3 Annually, we now lose about 1.6 million acres of our 

working farms, ranches, and forests to development and fragmentation.4

Many of our rivers, lakes, coasts, and streams are polluted. Fish advisories 

and beach closures occur frequently. Our natural legacy faces new 

challenges, including new types of pollution and a changing climate, 

whose full consequences are yet to unfold.

A National Conversation about Conservation and Stewardship

Over the summer of 2010, AGO launched extensive public conversations 

about conservation. Senior administration officials held 51 public 

listening sessions all across the nation, 21 of them specifically with youth. 

More than 10,000 Americans participated in the live sessions and more 

than 105,000 comments were provided. Americans from across the 

country shared specific and creative ideas about conservation, recreation, 

and connecting people to the outdoors. They were farmers, ranchers, 

teachers, parents, young people, and representatives of land trusts, 

recreation and conservation organizations, historic preservation groups, 

faith communities, the private sector, as well as state, local, and tribal 

governments. All ethnic groups, political parties, and age groups joined 

the public listening sessions or submitted their ideas in letters, online, or 

through social media sites.

Through the AGO listening sessions and public input process, we 

learned that there is a powerful consensus across America that outdoor 

spaces—public and private, large and small, urban and rural—remain 

2 United Nations World Urbanization Prospects: The 2007 Revision.

3 USDA Summary Report: 2007 National Resources Inventory. 

4 Ibid.
4 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

essential to our quality of life, our economy, and our national identity. 

Americans communicated clearly that they care deeply about our outdoor 

heritage, want to enjoy and protect it, and are willing to take collective 

responsibility to protect it for their children and grandchildren. In fact, 

they are already doing so. They are restoring rivers and streams, building 

and improving hiking trails and bike paths, ensuring the long-term 

conservation of their private lands, sponsoring beach and roadside 

cleanups, planting trees and gardens, and restoring migratory bird habitat 

and populations. 

Tens of thousands of young people are participating in youth conservation 

organizations taking hold from coast to coast. State governments, tribes, 

and local communities are working together to establish parks, trails, and 

environmental education centers. Farmers and ranchers, conservation 

organizations, hunters and anglers, private businesses, public agencies, 

and others are forming innovative partnerships to conserve millions of 

acres that benefit communities, wildlife, recreation, and local economies. 

But we need to do more.

Americans today are calling for a 21st-century approach to conservation. 

That approach must help us to protect the places and the resources 

that we value. It must help us achieve greater health and well-being 

as individuals and as a nation. It must also recognize the economic 

challenges we face as a government and a nation. We must be wise in how 

we spend taxpayer dollars, and also recognize the significant economic 

benefits produced by protecting and restoring our natural and cultural 

heritage and by promoting outdoor recreation and land stewardship. 

Today, Americans recognize that pitting a healthy environment against 

a healthy economy is a false choice—we must and can have both. By 

investing in our natural wealth and heritage, we can create jobs associated 

with recreation and land stewardship, while passing on a vital natural 

legacy to our children and grandchildren. 

Most profoundly, Americans have called for a new vision of conservation 

for the 21st century—one that builds on the traditions of the last century 

but also recognizes the challenges and changing circumstances of the new 

century. 

This report to the President contains three chapters: Connecting 

Americans to the Great Outdoors; Conserving and Restoring America’s 

Great Outdoors; and Working Together for America’s Great Outdoors. 

It also includes a special section, Youth and America’s Great Outdoors: 

What We Heard from America’s Young People. Each chapter includes goals, 

recommendations, and actions that aim to deliver on this vision in real 

and tangible ways. Woven throughout is the basic tenet that the federal 

government must be a better partner and supporter of local conservation 

efforts. It must empower communities to realize their conservation goals 

through technical assistance, access to resources, and the science for 

sound decision-making. It must maximize conservation benefits from 

taxpayer dollars; catalyze private sector investment; and reconnect with 

and engage Americans about the importance of our outdoor resources. 
Introduction 5

Continuing the Conversation, Fulfilling the Promise

The national conversation President Obama began in April will 

reinvigorate America’s enjoyment, conservation, and stewardship of our 

outdoors. It will also join the ingenuity, passion, and grounding of the 

American people with the leadership responsibilities and resources of the 

federal government to achieve the shared vision. Working together, we 

will ensure that our children and their children have the opportunity to 

enjoy and benefit from America’s irreplaceable natural legacy. 

In the coming months and years, as we work together to implement the 

recommendations in this report, the conversation with Americans will 

continue and broaden. We will honor those who have come before us, and 

we will leave a lasting legacy for those who will come after us.

This report does not change or substitute for any law, regulation, or any other 

legally binding requirement and is not legally enforceable.

America’s Great 

Outdoors Vision 

Statement

Americans envision a future

in which:

All children, regardless of 

where they live, have access 

to clean, safe outdoor places 

within a short walk of their 

homes or schools, where they 

can play, dream, discover, and 

recreate. 

Americans participate in the 

shared responsibility to protect 

and care for our unique natural 

and cultural heritage for the 

use and enjoyment of future 

generations.

Rural lands—our working 

farms, ranches, and forests—

are conserved and restored 

through incentives and local 

partnerships. 

Our national parks, national 

wildlife refuges, national forests, and other public lands and 

waters are managed with a 

renewed commitment to sound 

stewardship and resilience. 

Our natural areas and waterways, whether publicly or 

privately owned, are reconnected, healthy, and resilient 

and support both human needs 

and the wildlife that depend 

on them.

Communities work together 

to restore and protect healthy 

rivers and lakes to provide 

recreational opportunities and 

to contribute significantly to a 

vibrant economy.
6 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE PHOTO / CAPE COD NATIONAL SEASHORE, MASSACHUSETTS
Connecting Americans to the Great Outdoors 7

Connecting Americans 

to the Great Outdoors

America’s natural heritage has defined the nation and shaped American 

culture. Since our earliest beginnings, our relationship with the outdoors 

has influenced our national character. Both our strong sense of community and our rugged individualism are products of our interactions with 

nature. Today, even a walk in the woods, a family picnic in a city park, 

a jog along an urban waterfront, or a fishing trip with a grandchild can 

restore our connection to the outdoors and create lasting memories that 

contribute to who we are as a people. Each camping trip to a park or forest or visit to a historic battlefield can strengthen our sense of individual 

pride and shared responsibility for our lands and waters and the history 

they contain. 

Listening session participants across the nation spoke of their desire for 

a deep connection with the outdoors. They described spiritual renewal, 

better mental and physical health, quality time spent with families and 

friends, and opportunities for employment and for public service as 

some of the tangible and intangible benefits of being outdoors. People 

shared inspirational stories of their grassroots efforts to improve their 

outdoor surroundings. One community converted an illegal dump into 

a community garden. Revitalizing their urban area provided community 

members with job training, outdoor learning experiences, green space, 

and locally grown food. 

Participants also discussed youth stewardship programs for the next 

generation. They talked about programs that engage Americans with the 

outdoors through biking, hiking, hunting, canoeing, off-roading, skiing, 

and other recreational activities. They described initiatives that encourage 

parents to get their children outside. One listening session was devoted 

to the cutting-edge topic of the connections between outdoor experiences 

and improved mental and physical health. Other sessions focused on the 

special relationship that tribal communities have with nature, culture, 

and the outdoors. 
8 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

At all of the listening sessions, people spoke about the realized and 

potential economic benefits provided by the outdoors, including 

recreation and tourism, rural and urban economic redevelopment, and 

lower health-care costs. Recreation and tourism and related businesses 

and enterprises have become powerful elements of rural and urban 

economic development. In 2006, recreationists spent $122.3 billion on 

their activities, including equipment, licenses, user fees, and trip-related 

expenses. This is one percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).5

Spending by recreation visitors in areas around national forests is 

estimated to be nearly $13 billion annually, sustaining more than 224,000 

full and part-time jobs.6 Recreation-related visits to Department of the 

Interior (DOI) lands were estimated to support over 316,000 jobs and 

create nearly $25 billion in economic value to surrounding communities.7

Despite the current economic downturn, the number of recreation visits 

to national parks increased from 205 million in 1979 to 286 million 

in 2009.8 Every year approximately seven million anglers, two million 

hunters, and many millions of birders visit national wildlife refuges.9

Visitors spend some $18 billion annually on lakes and other facilities 

managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), leading to 

350,000 jobs added to the nation’s economy.10 Tourism and recreation 

are also highly significant outdoor activities in the coastal zone. Public 

lands along U.S. coastlines offer access to seashores, bays, and estuaries 

for fishing and birding, boating and surfing, and other coastal activities 

within aesthetic landscapes. Over 180 million people visit beaches and 

other coastal habitats every year, and coastal recreation and tourism 

generate $8 billion to $12 billion annually.11

In his remarks at the April 2010 White House Conference that launched 

the America’s Great Outdoors Initiative, President Obama cautioned that 

“[w]e are losing our connection to the parks, wild places, and open spaces 

we grew up with and cherish. Children, especially, are spending less 

time outside running and playing, fishing and hunting, and connecting 

to the outdoors just down the street or outside of town.” For many 

Americans, particularly young people, the outdoors and open spaces 

are neither accessible nor inviting today. Many of our citizens worry 

about their safety while outdoors and while making their way to outdoor 

locations. Simply getting there is another obstacle for many of our 

citizens, especially our youth and our disadvantaged communities. Many 

cannot afford transportation to reach outdoor destinations and may not 

have parks or green spaces close to home. Environmental problems can 

further complicate the picture. Some communities cannot enjoy outdoor 

activities because of contamination on nearby land or unhealthy air 

5 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation. 

6 USDA National Visitor Use Monitoring Results: 2005 - 2009. 

7 Economic Impact of the Department of the Interior’s Programs and Activities.

8 National Park Service visitation statistics. http://www.nature.nps.gov/stats/park.cfm.

9 Banking on Nature 2006: The Economic Benefits to Local Communities of National Wildlife Refuge Visitation

10 US Army Corps of Engineers fact sheet. http://corpsresults.us/recreation/receconomic.htm.

11 NOAA Fact Sheet. http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/abouthabitat/keyfacts.html.
Connecting Americans to the Great Outdoors 9

quality. Swimmers and sunbathers encounter thousands of beach closures 

and health advisories each year.12 In 2008, fish advisories were issued for 

43 percent of the nation’s total lake acreage and 39 percent of the nation’s 

total river miles.13

This disconnection from nature and the outdoors is a serious threat facing 

America’s great outdoors—and it is costing us. Americans’ increasing 

disconnection from the outdoors is one factor in the skyrocketing obesity 

rates across the nation, which has tripled among our children over the 

past 30 years.14 Children today spend less than half as much time outside 

as their parents did, but instead are “plugged in” to electronic devices for 

more than seven hours a day.15 Studies show that access to the outdoors 

can help turn the tide on the obesity health epidemic.16 They show that 

play and relaxation in nature can reduce stress and anxiety, promote 

learning and personal growth, and provide overall mental and physical 

restoration. This disconnect also weakens the commitment to stewardship 

of our shared natural legacy.

When consulted during the AGO listening sessions, Americans across 

the nation made it clear that they want to reconnect—or connect for the 

first time—with the great outdoors. They expressed the desire to achieve 

this through jobs and service and through recreation and education, and 

they want their federal government to help.

America’s Great 

Outdoors Vision 

Statement

Americans envision a future

in which:

All children, regardless of 

where they live, have access 

to clean, safe outdoor places 

within a short walk of their 

homes or schools, where they 

can play, dream, discover, and 

recreate. 

Americans participate in the 

shared responsibility to protect 

and care for our unique natural 

and cultural heritage for the 

use and enjoyment of future 

generations.

Rural lands—our working 

farms, ranches, and forests—

are conserved and restored 

through incentives and local 

partnerships. 

Our national parks, national 

wildlife refuges, national forests, and other public lands and 

waters are managed with a 

renewed commitment to sound 

stewardship and resilience. 

Our natural areas and waterways, whether publicly or 

privately owned, are reconnected, healthy, and resilient 

and support both human needs 

and the wildlife that depend 

on them.

Communities work together 

to restore and protect healthy 

rivers and lakes to provide 

recreational opportunities and 

to contribute significantly to a 

vibrant economy.

12 EPA Beaches Introduction. http://water.epa.gov/type/oceb/beaches/introduction.cfm.

13 National Listing of Fish Advisories, Technical Fact Sheet: 2008 Biennial National Listing.

14 Ogden, C.L., K.M. Flegal, M.D. Carroll, C.L. Johnson. Prevalence and trends in overweight among 

U.S. children and adolescents, 1999–2000. 15 Juster, Thomas F., Hiromi Ono and Frank P. Stafford. Changing Times of American Youth: 1981–2003. 16 Kuo, Frances. 2010. Parks and Other Green Environments: Essential Components of a Healthy 

Human Habitat. http://www.nrpa.org/uploadedFiles/Explore_Parks_and_Recreation/Research/

Ming%20(Kuo)%20Reserach%20Paper-Final-150dpi.pdf.
10 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE PHOTO / Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, LOUISIANA
Connecting Americans to the Great Outdoors 11

1. Provide Quality Jobs, Career Pathways, and 

Service Opportunities

The importance of job- and service-based learning opportunities related 

to protecting and restoring the outdoors was a constant theme raised 

in the listening sessions, especially in the 21 sessions devoted to youth. 

Americans are committed volunteers, and service is a powerful way to 

build skills and make a difference. According to the Corporation for 

National and Community Service (CNCS), in 2009, more than 63 

million Americans contributed 8.1 billion hours of service, valued at 

nearly $169 billion.17

During the youth listening sessions especially, people expressed a desire 

to work on America’s public lands and waters. However, they expressed 

frustration with the application and hiring processes. In some cases, they 

admitted to giving up and seeking employment elsewhere. Participants 

recommended that federal agencies streamline their hiring systems and 

coordinate better with each other and with state, local, and tribal partners 

and the private sector. 

Jobs related to natural and cultural resources help build awareness of and 

appreciation for the outdoors. In these economically challenging times, 

increasing opportunities for training and employment in America’s Great 

Outdoors can put people back to work and produce lasting benefits. These 

opportunities can strengthen local and regional economies, improve 

individual health and welfare, and build a lasting stewardship ethic 

among the American people. 

17 Corporation for National and Community Service. Volunteering in America 2010: National, State, and 

City Information. http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/10_0614_via_final_issue_brief.pdf.

“Engage parents in the 

outdoors so they can pass it 

on to their kids and create 

future stewards. Volunteer 

based groups—citizens 

science, rehabilitation trail 

work to engage communities 

to experience the value of the 

lands first hand.” (Listening 

Session Participant, Missoula, MT)
12 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

Goal A

Recommendation 1.1

Develop quality conservation jobs and service opportunities that 

protect and restore America’s natural and cultural resources.

Listening session participants frequently mentioned that jobs and service 

opportunities provide meaningful ways both to maintain and restore our 

natural resources and to make conservation relevant, especially to young 

people. Participants noted that conservation, restoration, and recreation 

offer quality job opportunities and also spur economic growth for local 

communities, regions, and the nation as a whole. They also noted that 

building “green infrastructure” and restoring natural systems create winwins for jobs, the economy, and for conservation. Increasing opportunities 

for jobs and training in the great outdoors can put Americans back to 

work now with benefits that last well into the future. Through increased 

opportunities for conservation-related jobs and service, Americans 

become citizen stewards who share the responsibility of ensuring that our 

natural heritage is passed on to future generations.

Catalyze the establishment of a 21st-Century Conservation Service 

Corps (21CSC) to engage young Americans in public lands and water 

restoration.

Many public comments recommended building on existing conservation 

service corps programs and promoted the idea for a 21st-Century 

Conservation Service Corps (21CSC) to provide job training and to 

maintain and preserve public lands. The 21CSC would provide the 

umbrella structure for the many existing federal, state, tribal, local, 

nonprofit, and private sector conservation corps programs and proposals. 

Its purpose would be to build on and leverage the experience and 

expertise of these programs and to encourage a new generation of outdoor 

enthusiasts and natural and cultural resource professionals. The 21CSC 

program will focus on helping young people, including low-income and 

disadvantaged youth, to earn valuable training and work experience and 

to accomplish needed conservation work on public lands in the great 

outdoors.

Action Item 1.1a: Create an interagency working group within the AGO 

Council18 to develop the 21CSC framework and harmonize agency 

processes. The interagency working group will also seek ways to expand 

the opportunities for the conservation corps to work on projects related 

to the conservation, restoration, construction, or rehabilitation of natural, 

cultural, historic, archeological, recreational, or scenic resources on public 

lands. [Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Commerce 

(DOC), Department of Defense (DOD), Department of the Interior 

(DOI), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Labor 

(DOL), Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), 

18 The AGO Council is explained in Recommendation 10.1.
Connecting Americans to the Great Outdoors 13

Recommendation 1.2

Recommendation 1.3

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), and United States 

Office of Personnel Management (OPM)]

Action Item 1.1b: Form an advisory committee to advise the 21CSC 

interagency working group and facilitate alignment with and investment 

in the program. The advisory committee will be composed of diverse 

representatives from the private sector as well as state, local, and tribal 

government. The committee would comply with the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act. It will provide its report within one year of creation. 

(DOI as host, but in partnership with USDA, DOC, DOD, USACE, 

EPA, DOL, CNCS, ACHP, and OPM)

Work with OPM to improve career pathways and to review barriers 

to jobs in natural resource conservation and historic and cultural 

preservation. 

Listening session comments raised concern over the importance and the 

difficulty of hiring qualified candidates because of the complexity of the 

federal hiring processes. This is of particular focus as an aging federal 

workforce readies for retirement.

Action Item 1.2a: Review hiring authorities for participants of existing 

public lands corps, youth conservation corps, and similar programs, and 

develop interagency guidance to clarify and expand hiring authority, 

including number of hours and type of work required for applicants to 

qualify for a different status. Participants must meet job prerequisites and 

complete their term of service. (DOI and OPM)

Action Item 1.2b: Create an easy-to-use job locator web portal that connects qualified applicants to natural and cultural resource job opportunities across the federal government. (DOI and OPM)

Improve federal capacity for recruiting, training, and managing 

volunteers and volunteer programs to create a new generation of 

citizen stewards and mentors. 

President Obama has called on all Americans to participate in the 

nation’s recovery and renewal through community service. Annually, tens 

of thousands of volunteers help federal, tribal, and state land management 

agencies and local governments perform work on the ground. Service 

activities on public lands play an important role as these opportunities 

provide training for inexperienced resource managers, build a stewardship 

ethic in the volunteers, and help restore and enhance our public lands and 

waters. In 2009, the CNCS engaged more than five million Americans 

in service opportunities through its programs, including the Senior 

Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America programs, and leads 

President Obama’s national call-to-service initiative, United We Serve.19 

19 Corporation for National & Community Service Fact Sheet. http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/

factsheet_cncs.pdf.
14 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

Action Item 1.3a: Improve access to federal resources through an 

easy-to-use web portal that matches volunteers with opportunities, 

allows volunteers to create their own projects, and offers resources for 

training and technical assistance. Hundreds of thousands of volunteer 

opportunities are searchable on CNCS’ www.serve.gov, an online 

resource for finding, creating, and listing volunteer projects. (DOI)

Action Item 1.3b: Expand capacity to build on and promote partnerships 

and programs on public lands that connect people to the outdoors 

through meaningful volunteer service opportunities relating to restoration 

and education. (DOI, USDA, DOD-USACE, DOL, and CNCS)

“Through partnerships 

between existing Corps 

programs and federal agencies 

tasked with implementation of 

the America’s Great Outdoors, 

the 21st CCC would: Engage, 

educate and employ more 

young people in service to 

the environment; Expand 

and replicate innovative 

Corps programs and projects; 

Develop career pathways 

from Conservation Corps 

to federal employment in 

natural resource management; 

Facilitate connections between 

corps programs and other 

youth partner programs to 

expose more young people to 

the outdoors.” (Listening Session 

Participant, Missoula, MT)
Connecting Americans to the Great Outdoors 15

2. Enhance Recreational Access and Opportunities

As highlighted in the AGO vision, recreation provides one of the easiest 

and most natural ways to connect with the outdoors. America’s lands 

and waters offer a multitude of outdoor recreation activities that enhance 

health and wellness, encourage appreciation for natural and cultural 

resources, and present enjoyable opportunities to connect with family and 

friends.

Federal agencies provide exceptional recreational opportunities and 

facilities on more than 635 million acres of land that receive over a billion 

visits each year.20 The federal lands include a diversity of natural and 

cultural landscapes and features such as the 16 million acres of Alaska’s 

Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge; expansive fishing opportunities 

at Virginia’s John H. Kerr Dam and Reservoir (Buggs Island Lake); 

the majestic peaks of Utah’s Wasatch-Cache National Forest; and the 

cultural and historic heritage of Georgia’s Kennesaw Mountain National 

Battlefield Park. Our federal lands provide innumerable trails, roads, 

waters, and facilities that support and promote a broad range of recreation 

and tourism opportunities. 

Federal agencies also promote recreation along multi-jurisdictional wild 

and scenic rivers and national trails and fund recreation projects through 

such programs. In addition, state, county, and municipal entities manage 

thousands of parks, natural areas, and historic sites that are enjoyed 

on a daily basis by tens of millions of people nationwide. In addition, 

many private landowners provide access to their lands for recreation. The 

contributions of these lands to the physical, mental, and spiritual health 

of Americans; the quality of life of communities; and the economic 

benefits at the local, regional, and national levels are significant.

“I think there is a desire to go 

outdoors, but there is a lack of 

priority for it when people are 

so busy... We are all so busy 

that we don’t have the time 

to get out anymore.” (Listening 

Session Participant, Minneapolis, 

MN)

20 USDA report on Major Uses of Land in The United States, 2002.
16 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE - DOMBROWSKI PHOTO / BUFFALO NATIONAL RIVER, ARKANSAS
Connecting Americans to the Great Outdoors 17

Goal A

Many public comments focused on limitations to recreation on local, 

state, tribal, and federal lands. Many people commented on the lack of 

physical access related to public transportation, roads, trailheads, and 

trails. Others noted that the lack of information or access to information 

about recreational opportunities on public lands and waters is a problem. 

This information gap ranges from poor signage and notifications of trail 

or park closures to outdated, complex government websites that are hard 

to navigate and understand. The lack of coordinated information and 

regulations adds other barriers to recreation access and enjoyment.

Increasing recreational access must be balanced with the preservation and 

stewardship responsibilities of the federal land management agencies. 

Each federal land management agency has specific preservation and 

stewardship responsibilities based on their mission and additional 

designations such as Wilderness or Wild and Scenic Rivers. Increased 

recreational access is an important goal of the AGO and a priority for the 

American people, but it must be developed in ways that are consistent 

with and appropriate for the specific authorities of each agency. 

Increase and improve recreational access and opportunities. 

Federal agencies support a broad range of outdoor recreation opportunities on federal lands and waters. These range from the USACE Handshake 

Partnership Program that provides incentives for partnerships to increase 

recreation on USACE lands to U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Kids in the 

Woods program; National Park Service (NPS) Junior Ranger; Bureau 

of Reclamation CAST for Kids; Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 

Take-it-Outside; and First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative. 

All of these programs encourage children to be more active outdoors. 

Authorities and initiatives to support recreation across the federal government include the Department of Transportation (DOT) Recreational 

Trails and National Scenic Byways Authority, the Statewide Comprehensive 

Outdoor Recreation Plans supported through the Land and Water 

Conservation Fund and managed by the DOI, and EPA Urban Waters 

Initiative that is helping communities access, improve, and benefit from 

their urban waters and adjacent lands. 

Listening session participants observed that information about “what 

recreational activities are permitted where” is often inaccessible or 

unclear. They said that permitting for recreational access is not consistent, 

and that if federal programs and resources were aligned and better 

targeted, the recreation benefits would be vastly improved. Furthermore, 

recreational users felt that recreation should be a higher priority for land 

and water management agencies. Many also observed that the First 

Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative offers powerful partnership and awarenessraising opportunities about the positive relationship between outdoor 

recreation and public health.

“City transportation and 

general transportation is 

lacking. We need better public 

transportation to get around 

to different areas in the city, 

and we need shuttles that 

take people to outdoor spaces 

further away.” (Listening Session 

Participant, Albuquerque, NM)
18 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

Support outdoor recreation access and opportunities on public lands 

by establishing a Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation 

(FICOR). 

Despite the many opportunities for quality recreation, many participants 

in the AGO process observed that significant obstacles remain to outdoor 

recreation on public lands and waters. Participants called for better 

integration and coordination among the federal agencies whose missions 

include providing outdoor recreation and/or natural resources and 

environmental protection.

Action Item 2.1a: Improve coordination, effectiveness, and efficiency 

among federal agencies through the FICOR. 

The FICOR should also work closely with existing FACA bodies that 

support recreational activities. These include the Wildlife and Hunting 

Heritage Conservation Council, Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership 

Council, the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative, and the President’s 

Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. (USDA, DOI, DOC, and 

DOD-USACE)

Key tasks to accomplish in FICOR include:

• Coordinate recreation management, access, and policies across 

multiple agencies to improve public enjoyment and recreational use of 

federal lands and waters.

• Provide the public with reliable and up-to-date web-based 

information that is easily accessible with modern communication 

devices. Evolve and promote the federal interagency www.recreation.

gov website to become a one-stop portal for information and resources 

about federal outdoor recreation opportunities, locations, access, 

routes, features, transportation options, and permit and reservation 

requirements. 

• Streamline and align policies and procedures among federal, state, 

local, tribal, and other recreation providers.

• Improve the engagement of young people and their families in 

outdoor recreation through healthy, active lifestyles.

• Target underserved and disadvantaged communities for both access 

to and engagement in the benefits of and opportunities for outdoor 

recreation.

• Identify ways to improve access to our parks, refuges, and public lands 

for persons with disabilities.

• Identify partners outside the federal government who can promote 

outdoor recreation and provide additional resources and access.

Recommendation 2.1
Connecting Americans to the Great Outdoors 19

Support community-based efforts to increase access to outdoor 

recreation. 

Across the nation, people stressed the importance of creating recreation 

opportunities. This included providing spaces for recreation, establishing 

and maintaining recreational facilities such as trails and sidewalks, 

and eliminating physical barriers such as fences or roads between 

communities and places to recreate. People also recommended technical 

assistance and additional federal support for regional-scale recreation 

planning and for creating physical recreation connectors like trails. Many 

(particularly young people) observed that a primary limitation for using 

the great outdoors is safety. 

Action Item 2.2a: Expand technical assistance and align programs 

that support local, state, and tribal efforts to enhance public recreation 

and conservation, including, but not limited to, the NPS Rivers, Trails, 

and Conservation Assistance Program (RTCA) and the National Trails 

System; DOT enhancement and trails and scenic byways programs; 

state programs such as California’s Green Sticker Program; CNCS 

community-based efforts to increase access to outdoor recreation; and 

USDA Voluntary Public Access Program (Open Fields). (DOI, USDA, 

DOT, and CNCS)

Action Item 2.2b: Partner with local and adjacent tribal school districts 

to support school kids on field trips to federal urban parks and other 

units. (DOI, USDA, DOD, USACE, and DOT)

Action Item 2.2c: Support community-based programs that improve 

the safety of open spaces and access routes, similar to DOT Safe Routes 

to Schools and Department of Justice (DOJ) Byrne Criminal Justice 

Innovation. (DOI, DOT, USACE, and DOJ)

See also: Recommendation 5.1 (increase the number of community parks and 

green spaces); Section 6, Recommendation 7.5 (incentives to encourage hunting 

and fishing on private lands); Section 9, Recommendation 9.1 (establishment of 

national recreational trail blueway).

Recommendation 2.2
20 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE / Groundwork Anacostia River pROJECT - CHESTNUT PHOTO / WASHINGTON, D.C.
Connecting Americans to the Great Outdoors 21

3. Raise Awareness of the Value and Benefits of 

America’s Great Outdoors 

The outdoor experience has lost its currency for many Americans. 

Increasingly busy schedules, shifting cultural norms, financial barriers, 

and the lure of new technology often keep many people from venturing 

outdoors for recreation, play, work, or service. During the listening 

sessions, participants spoke about the need to make the outdoors desirable 

and relevant to America’s young people. Many people articulated a 

need to redefine the “great outdoors” to include iconic national parks 

and forests, wildlife refuges, and cultural and historic sites, as well as 

neighborhood and city parks, community gardens, and school yards. 

One of the most frequent recommendations was to launch a national 

public awareness initiative. It would use 21st-century communications 

technology and techniques to show Americans that going outdoors is fun, 

safe, easy, and healthy.

Many listening session participants observed that their experiences in 

nature and at historic places occurred early in their lives through formal 

and informal education. These experiences inspired a lasting connection, 

and for some, lifelong careers and commitment to service in the outdoors. 

Cultivating a stewardship ethic through education will produce the next 

generation of scientists, conservationists, naturalists, farmers, ranchers, 

forest landowners, anglers, rangers, entrepreneurs, and community 

leaders who value nature and outdoor experiences. Education is also 

an important tool to raise awareness of the many benefits of our great 

outdoor resources. These benefits include food and fiber; physical, mental, 

and spiritual health; economic values of community enhancement, 

outdoor jobs, industry, and tourism; and the essential services that healthy 

and resilient natural systems provide as they clean our air, purify our 

water, prevent floods, provide habitat for wildlife, and absorb pollution. 

“We need a philosophical 

change of what the great 

outdoors is. We don’t need to 

go out west or to some faraway 

place. It can be a little stream, 

out your door, even if it’s 

in the city. It exists where 

we exist.” (Listening Session 

Participant, Hyde Park, NY )
22 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

Goal A

Recommendation 3.1

Unfortunately, many schools have had to cut back on their environmental 

and outdoor education programs due to tight budgets. Many nonprofit, 

faith-based, and private sector programs are filling the need through 

after-school and weekend programs, but these still leave out many 

children. Supported by the AGO vision, there remains a need to promote 

environmental literacy and awareness through a variety of strategies and 

partnerships.

Cultivate stewardship and appreciation of America’s natural, 

cultural, and historic resources through innovative awareness-raising 

partnership initiatives and through education. 

There is a growing deficit of public awareness about the value that our 

natural heritage and resources provide to the nation and about our shared 

stewardship responsibility to protect them. Particularly in the youth 

listening sessions, participants argued that they are removed from nature 

and the great outdoors, both physically (because so many now live in 

cities), and emotionally, socially, and culturally. These young people called 

for an innovative campaign to make the outdoors relevant and exciting 

to them. Many comments noted that particularly in fiscally challenging 

times like today, programs that promote environmental education are 

pushed aside. Therefore, our children are losing a primary point of early 

exposure to nature and natural systems that can spark their imaginations 

and drive them to become a scientist, innovator, conservationist, 

poet, or community leader. Nongovernmental organizations, religious 

institutions, and others are stepping in to provide varied environmental 

education opportunities, but, participants said, as wonderful and effective 

as some of these programs are, they cannot reach all the children who 

would benefit from them, as school programs would.

Launch a public awareness initiative to show that experiencing 

America’s great outdoors is fun, easy, and healthy. 

Listening session participants suggested that increasing access to, and 

expanding opportunities for healthy outdoor recreation is essential. 

The USDA and DOI are partnering with the First Lady’s Let’s Move!

initiative through Let’s Move Outside!, which is focused on reducing 

childhood obesity through outdoor recreation. Together, AGO and 

Let’s Move Outside! initiatives would partner with public, nonprofit, and 

private groups to mount an innovative communications initiative aimed 

at young people and their parents. The joint initiative will work to expand 

opportunities for outdoor activity; educate the public about the health, 

community, and economic benefits of outdoor activity; and provide 

information on where and how to get moving outside. 

Action Item 3.1a: Increase access to and expand opportunities for healthy 

outdoor recreation by integrating and advancing the shared goals of AGO 

and Let’s Move Outside! initiatives through a coordinated strategic plan. 

(AGO Council and Let’s Move Outside!) 
Connecting Americans to the Great Outdoors 23

Recommendation 3.2

The joint initiative will use well-known spokespeople, leverage private 

sector investment, and use social and other innovative technology to 

increase enthusiasm and information about the great outdoors. By 

leveraging existing media and technology, and by developing new, userfriendly tools, this joint initiative will help make the outdoors exciting 

and accessible for children and families of all backgrounds. 

Action Item 3.1b: Build partnerships that demonstrate and promote 

the health benefits of parks and outdoor spaces. Also build support for 

restoring, protecting, and creating and accessing these places. (AGO 

Council and Let’s Move Outside!)

Action Item 3.1c: Coordinate a national strategy with the public health 

and medical communities that promotes the benefits of parks, outdoor 

spaces, and natural places to improve the health and well-being of 

Americans. (AGO Council)

Work with the Department of Education and other federal 

agencies to align and support programs that advance awareness and 

understanding of the benefits of nature.

One of the most common concerns raised at listening sessions was the 

need to integrate learning about nature and the environment into school 

curriculums. The federal government has an important but limited 

role to play in supporting the nation’s states, districts, and schools to 

ensure that all children gain a basic level of environmental literacy 

and understand how environmental issues cut across different subject 

areas. The Department of Education’s 21st Century Community Learning 

Centers Program, for example, provides support for activities that increase 

learning time, including after school, before school, and summer school 

programs. The administration’s Blueprint to Reauthorize the Elementary 

and Secondary Education Act proposes to reform and strengthen this 

program by incorporating approaches that better integrate community 

involvement and comprehensively redesign and expand the school day. 

In addition to giving more time for academic work (which could include 

topics like biology), programs would also provide enrichment activities, 

which could include opportunities for experiential learning outdoors. 

Furthermore, the Effective Teaching and Learning for a Well-Rounded 

Education program would provide competitive grants to states, high-need 

districts, and private sector partners to strengthen teaching and learning 

across academic content areas. Other opportunities for federal agencies 

to become more coordinated and strategically invested through existing 

environmental and outdoor education programs include distance learning 

web activities, professional teacher development workshops, and formal 

education programs.

Action Item 3.2a: Report to the AGO Council on specific ways to 

integrate and support the outdoors, nature, cultural sites, and the 

environment into place-based, experiential, expanded-time programs; 

after-school and summer school programs; and service learning programs. 

(DOI and the Department of Education)

“Speaking as parent of two 

sons who played team sports, 

but were not interested in 

the outdoors. One went to a 

college that had a state-funded 

outdoor program that got 

him on a backpacking trip. 

It changed his life, and he 

majored in environmental 

science.” (Listening Session 

Participant Concord, NH)
24 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

Recommendation 3.3

Action Item 3.2b: In partnership with local school districts, the private 

sector, and non-governmental organizations, expand connections to 

public schools and youth organizations through existing web-based 

programs, service learning, teacher training, field trips, and residential 

and other programs. These could include, but are not limited to, the 

NPS Teacher-Ranger-Teacher, Electronic Classroom, and Citizen Science

programs; USFS Pollinator Live program; National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Bay-Watershed Education and 

Training Program (B-WET) program; and USDA Know Your Farmer 

Know Your Food program. Special emphasis will be placed on engaging 

underserved communities. (DOI, USDA, DOC)

Action Item 3.2c: Work with the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) to 

develop curricula that incorporate traditional tribal practices, activities, 

and environmental literacy for both the classroom and outdoor activities. 

(DOI)

Promote and support replicable programs that teach about and connect 

children and families with their natural and cultural heritage.

An appreciation and an understanding of America’s great outdoors 

cannot be gained without an understanding of the nation’s natural 

and cultural history. Education about America’s great outdoors should 

include both formal education and informal opportunities outside 

the education system—outdoor learning, nature walks, orienteering, 

recreation, hunting, fishing, and many other activities. Many programs 

promote stewardship and appreciation of our natural and cultural heritage 

beyond the school day. They are led by diverse organizations, including 

faith-based and scouts organizations, hunting and fishing groups, 

outdoor recreation and conservation organizations, and groups working 

with future farmers. They are as diverse as America, yet they share the 

common goal of instilling a stewardship ethic in their communities. 

These remarkable programs are helping to launch the next generation 

of scientists, farmers, ranchers, conservationists, entrepreneurs, artists, 

teachers, and community leaders who care about the outdoors. The federal 

government should support, celebrate, and reward these initiatives.

Action Item 3.3a: Support and expand existing federal programs that 

emphasize place-based, experiential learning, including: The NPS 

Parks as Classrooms and Junior Ranger programs; CNCS Learn and Serve 

America’s expanding network of environmental and cultural resources 

service grantees; NOAA B-WET; USFS Children’s Forests, NatureWatch, 

and More Kids in the Woods; and BLM Take it Outside and Hands on the 

Land. (DOI, USDA, DOC).

“Hunting and fishing are 

ways of life. They are our 

passions. We share it with 

family and friends and it 

truly makes us whole and 

makes us who we are. We 

MUST protect our land and 

waters. We MUST ensure 

that they will be around for 

generations to come. President 

Obama, this is not a choice, 

this is an obligation.” (Listening 

Session Participant, Missoula, MT)
Connecting Americans to the Great Outdoors 25

Goal A

4. Engage Young People in Conservation and the 

Great Outdoors

Youth participation in AGO had a tremendous impact on the themes 

of this report and influenced its recommendations. At 21 youth-specific 

listening sessions across the nation, government officials met with 

hundreds of young people, each of whom had a personal perspective 

on—and experiences with—the outdoors. From a uniformed conservation 

corps in Missoula, to a room of high school kids in Orlando, to 

Native American youth in two BIE schools, these voices were diverse, 

passionate, and thoughtful. As we look to protect America’s great 

outdoors for current and future generations, it is imperative that we 

continue to engage, empower, and learn from our young people. They are 

our future farmers, ranchers, hunters, anglers, conservationists, scientists, 

teachers, business leaders, and elected officials who will inherit and carry 

on the stewardship of our nation’s outdoor legacy.

Build stewardship values and engage youth in conservation and 

recreation.

America’s young people are our nation’s future. We have an obligation 

to ensure that America’s great natural legacy is preserved for their 

enjoyment, welfare, and livelihoods. To honor and capture the youth 

voice, a separate pullout report, “Youth and America’s Great Outdoors,” 

was prepared by a team of young and committed federal employees.

Engage young people in the implementation of AGO. 

Thousands of young people joined in the AGO process through the 

listening sessions, the AGO Facebook page, and the website. Many of our 

youth are already participating in the protection and enhancement of our 

Recommendation 4.1
26 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE - HILLEBRAND PHOTO / NCTC, WEST VIRGINIA
Connecting Americans to the Great Outdoors 27

natural resources and want to help address the challenges of connecting 

with the outdoors. 

Action Item 4.1a: Disseminate and implement the “Youth and America’s 

Great Outdoors” report. (DOI working with the AGO Council)

Action Item 4.1b: Create an America’s Great Outdoors youth outreach 

strategy. (AGO Council)
28 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE - PEACO PHOTO / YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, IDAHO, MONTANA, WYOMING
Conserving and Restoring America’s Great Outdoors 29

Conserving and Restoring 

America’s Great Outdoors

At the beginning of the 20th century, Americans realized the immense 

natural wealth of the United States was limited, as symbolized by the 

closing of the western frontier and the disappearance of the vast bison 

herds on the Great Plains. In response, President Theodore Roosevelt 

made natural resource conservation a primary goal of his administration. 

Roosevelt focused on the public estate, placing some 230 million acres 

under public protection. He created five national parks, signed the 1906 

Antiquities Act, established 18 national monuments, established the 

U.S. Forest Service, placed 16 million acres in the new National Forest 

System, and set aside the first lands to become national wildlife refuges. 

The America’s Great Outdoors Initiative celebrates Roosevelt’s legacy 

even as a new chapter in American conservation emerges. Some of the 

challenges we face today are similar to those faced at the dawn of the 

20th century. Then as now, Americans viewed the existence of shared 

public spaces in cities and towns as essential. Then as now, Americans 

recognized the need to conserve our public lands for the benefit of all 

Americans. Then as now, Americans understood the importance of clean, 

abundant water for human consumption, agriculture, wildlife, and other 

uses.

We now have new challenges. Today, we recognize that to protect 

ecosystems, watersheds, and wildlife, conservation must take place across 

large landscapes. This requires collaboration among landowners, public 

land agencies, and local communities. Each year about 1.6 million acres 

of our working farms, ranches, and forests are lost to development and 

fragmentation.21 We also face the reality of a warming planet and need to 

manage our lands and waters to adapt to these changes. And there is even 

greater appreciation for the importance of recreation and of the role of 

public and private lands in providing places for Americans to experience 

21 USDA Summary Report: 2007 National Resources Inventory.
30 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

the great outdoors. Over the last century, our appreciation for conserving 

historic and cultural sites has grown.

The chapters that follow focus on urban parks and community green 

spaces, conservation of our working lands, stewardship of our public 

lands, and protecting our rivers and water resources. One cornerstone 

for accomplishing the goals set forth in these chapters is immediate full 

funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). 

There are several common themes throughout this section of the report. 

First, although Roosevelt advanced conservation with bold decisions from 

the White House, the recommendations that follow seek to catalyze and 

bolster local conservation efforts that emanate from outside Washington, 

D.C. Second, many recommendations recognize that federal agencies 

must partner with local stakeholders to conserve community parks and 

green spaces, large landscapes, watersheds, and rivers. Third, mitigating 

and adapting to climate change must inform how we manage our federal 

lands. Lastly, especially given the current budgetary environment, it 

is vital that federal agencies work more effectively to align, target, and 

better leverage their resources and work with a variety of partners to 

leverage additional, non-federal resources for conservation.

America’s Great 

Outdoors Vision 

Statement

Americans envision a future

in which:

All children, regardless of 

where they live, have access 

to clean, safe outdoor places 

within a short walk of their 

homes or schools, where they 

can play, dream, discover, and 

recreate. 

Americans participate in the 

shared responsibility to protect 

and care for our unique natural 

and cultural heritage for the 

use and enjoyment of future 

generations.

Rural lands—our working 

farms, ranches, and forests—

are conserved and restored 

through incentives and local 

partnerships. 

Our national parks, national 

wildlife refuges, national forests, and other public lands and 

waters are managed with a 

renewed commitment to sound 

stewardship and resilience. 

Our natural areas and waterways, whether publicly or 

privately owned, are reconnected, healthy, and resilient 

and support both human needs 

and the wildlife that depend 

on them.

Communities work together 

to restore and protect healthy 

rivers and lakes to provide 

recreational opportunities and 

to contribute significantly to a 

vibrant economy.
Conserving and Restoring America’s Great Outdoors 31

5. Strengthen the Land and Water Conservation 

Fund

The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) is a primary source 

of federal funding for states and federal agencies to protect and conserve 

America’s national treasures and to promote outdoor recreation. LWCF 

revenue is primarily generated from outer continental shelf oil and 

gas drilling activities, and collection is authorized up to $900 million, 

subject to congressional appropriations. Its purpose is to fund federal 

land acquisition; conserve threatened and endangered species; and 

provide grants to state governments for recreation planning, development 

of recreation facilities, and acquisition of lands and waters. This fund 

program has enjoyed a broad base of popular support and oversight since 

it became law in 1964. 

Although LWCF revenue collection is authorized up to $900 million, 

appropriations have been provided at this level only twice during its 

more than 45-year history. Since the program’s inception, the LWCF has 

funded the purchase of more than 4.5 million acres of land by the federal 

land management agencies of USDA (USFS) and DOI (NPS, U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), BLM) at a cost of $6.1 billion. The 

NPS LWCF stateside program, which requires that 50 percent of federal 

investment be matched by the grantee, has funded about 38,000 state 

and local projects. Funding recipients have acquired some 2.3 million 

acres and have developed about 27,000 recreation facilities. Acquisitions 

funded through LWCF stateside grants must remain in recreational use 

in perpetuity. In recent years, the LWCF has funded two additional state 

grant programs with purposes similar to the intent of the 1964 law. The 

USFS Forest Legacy Program has been funded through the LWCF since 

2004, and has protected more than 2 million acres of important private 

forests. The FWS Section 6 Endangered Species grant program has been 

funded through the LWCF since 2003. 

“Increased and consistent 

funding to support federal, 

state, and local conservation, 

including full funding 

for the Land and Water 

Conservation Fund (LWCF). 

LWCF investments ensure 

continued protection of 

America's public lands 

and enhance public access.” 

(Listening Session Participant, 

Poughkeepsie, NY) 
32 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

Goal A Invigorate the LWCF to better meet conservation and recreation 

needs. 

Meeting the 21st-century conservation and recreation needs of our nation 

and the American people will require both an increase in funds and 

changes in the administration of the LWCF. 

The demand for LWCF funds for federal land acquisition and state 

grants programs exceeds the funding levels appropriated by Congress. 

Significant opportunities exist for federal land management agencies 

to acquire inholdings within national parks, forests, refuges, and other 

federal lands. Growing demand for local parks, open space, and outdoor 

recreation projects adds to the need for state and local government 

support from the LWCF. 

The use of LWCF funds has changed little since 1964, although the 

requirements for carrying out successful conservation and recreation 

projects and programs have changed greatly. Successful implementation 

of the initiatives identified in this report will require more strategic 

investment of funds from both the state and federal sides of the LWCF 

and better coordination among agencies, states, and other federal grant 

and aid programs linked to the AGO initiative. And these strategic 

investments must be informed by sound science and access to good 

information. 

Provide full funding for LWCF programs.

Full funding of LWCF was one of the most common comments shared 

during the AGO listening sessions, and it received broad support. Full 

funding would allow federal and state agencies and our partners in 

conservation and recreation to make lasting investments in the outdoors 

to provide outdoor recreation opportunities, reconnect people to the 

outdoors, and conserve open space, wildlife, and forests. 

Action Item 5.1a: Provide full funding for LWCF programs. (AGO 

Council)

Focus a portion of federal LWCF funds on projects that achieve 

AGO goals related to large-scale land conservation, urban parks and 

community green spaces, and river restoration and access.

During the listening sessions, many comments suggested that LWCF 

funding should be more strategically focused to address the nation’s 

most urgent conservation challenges. There needs to be strong, ongoing 

investment in the traditional land conservation actions of federal land 

management agencies, but some portion of the federal LWCF funds 

could be invested to complement the goals in AGO. This is especially 

true of those related to large-scale land conservation, urban parks, and 

community green spaces, and to restoration of and increased access to 

Recommendation 5.1 

Recommendation 5.2
Conserving and Restoring America’s Great Outdoors 33

“As a grandmother, who with 

my late husband, enjoyed 

our great outdoors, I want 

the next generation to enjoy 

America's great outdoors too. 

As a former grant writer for 

a tri-state council of governments, I have been privileged 

to see the fruits of the LWCF 

in numerous small towns in 

our area.” (Listening Session 

Participant, Missoula, MT)

Recommendation 5.3

rivers and other waters. People throughout the nation also supported 

using a small portion of LWCF funds for recreation access to federal 

lands. 

Action Item 5.2a: Implement an interagency process to invest part 

of the federal LWCF funds in high-yield conservation projects that 

address shared ecological goals. Use commonly accepted criteria to select 

opportunities where federal investment would yield the most significant 

ecological outcomes and community benefits. Ensure that the process is 

transparent, incorporates input from appropriate government and external 

stakeholders, and is based on sound science and good information. 

(CEQ , OMB, USDA and DOI)

Action Item 5.2b: Invest a portion of LWCF funds to increase recreation 

access to federal lands. (DOI and USDA)

Action Item 5.2c: Coordinate and align investment of federal LWCF 

funds with federal grant programs to states for land acquisition, as 

appropriate and consistent with state partner priorities—including NPS 

LWCF stateside program, FWS North American Wetlands Conservation 

Act, and the USFS Forest Legacy Program—to achieve AGO priorities 

related to urban parks and community green spaces, landscape-scale 

conservation, and recreational blueways. (DOI, USDA, and DOC)

Broaden guidelines for Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation 

Plans (SCORPs) to align with AGO priorities. 

States are required to adopt SCORPs and update them every five years to 

be eligible for the NPS LWCF stateside program. This ensures that federal 

investments in outdoor recreation are consistent with state plans and help 

accomplish local and state priorities. From state to state these plans vary 

widely in their quality and utility and many do not address some of the 

kinds of programs and priorities envisioned in this report. 

Action Item 5.3a: Consulting with local and state governments, federal 

agencies, and stakeholders, develop new guidelines and criteria for 

SCORPs that focus a portion of the LWCF stateside program on urban 

parks and community green spaces, landscape-scale conservation, and 

recreational blueways, in addition to outdoor recreation. (DOI, USDA)

Action Item 5.3b: Establish competitive grants funding for states to 

amend their SCORPs to meet the new guidelines. (DOI)
34 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE - SNYDER PHOTO / CENTRAL PARK, NEW YORK
Conserving and Restoring America’s Great Outdoors 35

6. Establish Great Urban Parks and Community 

Green Spaces

In an 1870 essay, Frederick Law Olmsted, the central architect of New 

York City’s Central Park, extolled the virtues of outdoor space, especially 

for urban communities. He wrote, “We want a ground to which people 

may easily go after their day’s work is done, and where they may stroll for 

an hour, seeing, hearing, and feeling nothing of the bustle and jar of the 

streets....”22

Today, urban parks and community green spaces play an even more 

important role as special public places that promote health, provide 

economic benefits, and nurture democratic values by inviting casual 

interaction among citizens. Eighty percent of Americans now live in or 

near cities and lead even busier lives than previous generations could 

ever have imagined.23 For many Americans, our nation’s iconic parks 

and forests, such as Yellowstone National Park, Tongass National Forest 

in Alaska, and the Adirondack State Park in New York, are far away 

and difficult to access. As a result, urban parks and community green 

spaces are essential for providing places for people to recreate outdoors, 

to find quiet and solitude, and to generally improve their quality of 

life. Many such places are also significant and evocative cultural and 

historic landmarks. For many people, these local, open environments 

are a stepping stone into the great outdoors that can lead to a lifelong 

bond with nature and enjoyment of the benefits that come with it. As 

underscored in the AGO vision, urban parks and community green 

spaces contribute to the social, physical, and emotional health of 

America’s communities, and neighborhood parks are among the few 

public places where communities can readily congregate close to home. 

“Urban parks are important, 

all the more so in large cities 

where they provide what I 

think of as breathing room. 

They also keep us in touch 

with change of seasons. They 

should be supplemented 

by plantings of trees and 

sometimes shrubs on some 

streets where possible.” 

(Listening Session Participant, 

Bozeman, MT)

22 A paper read before the American Social Science Association at the Lowell Institute, Boston, February 25, 

1870.

23 United Nations World Urbanization Prospects: The 2007 Revision.
36 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

Parks and green spaces also generate economic benefits for communities, 

from higher property values to increased recreation and tourism. 

Communities have found that conservation of open space and access 

to recreation and parks improve the business environment. A study of 

small businesses in Colorado found that quality of life—and particularly 

access to parks, recreation and open space—was very important to where 

businesses chose to locate, relocate, or expand.24 By providing places 

for people to play, exercise, and even grow vegetables, community green 

spaces can contribute to public health and, by extension, to reduced 

health-care costs. Parks and green spaces also provide important 

and cost-effective ecological services, filtering polluted water and air, 

managing storm runoff, and offering protective shade. Studies show 

that people exercise more when they have easy access to parks and open 

space.25 To increase physical activity and combat the obesity epidemic, 

the Childhood Obesity Task Force recommends increasing the number 

of safe and accessible parks and playgrounds, particularly in underserved 

and low-income communities.26 Many communities are developing 

green infrastructure plans for a network of open spaces that conserve 

ecosystem values and functions and provide associated benefits to human 

populations, including adapting to a changing climate.

Even so, as AGO listening session participants made clear, these benefits 

are not enjoyed equally by all. Some Americans stay away from parks 

out of fear of crime or violence, both within and on the way to these 

outdoor places. Others worry about aging infrastructure and the safety of 

outdoor facilities themselves. Others noted trash and pollution; physical 

barriers, such as roads and fences; and lack of safe, reliable, and affordable 

transportation as barriers to outdoor recreating and enjoyment. Different 

cultural proclivities also make the demographics of using the outdoors 

uneven. People noted that outdoor facilities in parks and recreational 

areas are heavily used but often have limited staff to meet the public’s 

need. Others commented that many Americans do not have access to 

parks and green spaces close to home.

Across the nation the federal government heard overwhelming support 

for investing in parks, community gardens and forests, and other green 

spaces close to where Americans live, work, and go to school. 

“I have worked in urban 

schools (Houston, TX) for 

over 10 years. Many of the 

underprivileged students 

I have served have never 

experienced the great outdoors. Please, make urban 

parks more accessible for all!” 

(Listening Session Participant, 

Bozeman, MT)

24 Crompton, John L., Lisa L. Love, and Thomas A. More. An Empirical Study of the Role of Recreation, 

Parks, and Open Space in Companies’ (Re)Location Decisions, Journal of Park and Recreation Administration 15, no. 1.

25 Kahn, Emily B., Leigh T. Ramsey, Ross C. Brownson, Gregory W. Heath, Elizabeth H. Howze, 

Kenneth E. Powell, Elaine J. Stone, Mummy W. Rajab, Phaedra Corso, and the Task Force on 

Community Preventive Services. (2002) The Effectiveness of Interventions to Increase Physical Activity. 

American Journal of Preventive Medicine 22, no. 4S.; Cohen, Deborah, J Scott Ashwood, Molly 

M Scott, Adrian Overton, Kelly R Evenson, Lisa K Staten, Dwayne Porter, Thomas L McKenzie, 

Diana Catellier, (1996), Public Parks and Physical Activity Among Adolescent Girls. Pediatrics 118: 

1381-1389.; Cohen DA, McKenzie T, Sehgal A, Williamson S, Golinelli D. (2007) How Do public 

parks contribute to physical activity? Am J Pub Health. 97: 1-6.

26 White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity Report to the President, 2010.
Conserving and Restoring America’s Great Outdoors 37

Goal A

Recommendation 6.1 

Create and enhance a new generation of safe, clean, accessible great 

urban parks and community green spaces. 

As America continues to become more urbanized, the need for green 

spaces close to home increases. Such spaces are good for our health, our 

ties to community, and our economy. They can be critical to building 

lasting personal connections with the great outdoors. Launching a 

new generation of Great Urban Parks and community green spaces 

will require federal leadership through investment of new funds, better 

alignment of programs and priorities, leveraging resources from outside 

government, and providing technical support for local communities. 

Establish the AGO Great Urban Parks and Community Green Spaces 

initiative by targeting increased funding for the NPS LWCF stateside 

program to leverage investment in new and enhanced urban parks and 

community green spaces.

A portion of any increases in NPS LWCF stateside program should be 

used to support creating or enhancing urban parks and community 

green spaces. These projects would be locally supported with substantial 

momentum and committed funding. They would benefit from leveraged 

federal funding to promote further collaboration and to target 

conservation efforts. In turn, funding for urban parks would enhance 

other community development and revitalization programs. 

Priority areas for investment in urban areas are: (1) Waterfronts that 

connect urban communities with water and waterside parks and open 

spaces; (2) Signature parks, such as City Park in New Orleans or Grant 

Park in Chicago, that serve as community anchors; (3) Renewed green 

spaces and urban garden spaces that have suffered from urban blight; and 

(4) Natural areas within a city or community that reconnect people with 

the outdoors, like Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in Brooklyn, New York. 

Action Item 6.1a: Increase the number of urban parks and community 

green spaces through partnerships using increased funding within the 

NPS LWCF stateside program. (DOI)

Action Item 6.1b: Increase the number of urban parks and community 

green spaces by working with partners to develop criteria within NPS’s 

LWCF stateside program for new urban parks and community green 

spaces. (DOI)

Project criteria should include, but not be limited to: 

• demonstrated need for and benefits of the project; 

• alignment within a strategic conservation plan, such as a green 

infrastructure plan; 
38 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE - ZITSMAN PHOTO / WEST VIRGINIA
Conserving and Restoring America’s Great Outdoors 39

• identified partnership, collaboration, leverage, and community 

support; 

• demonstrated sustainability and stewardship of the project over time; 

• demonstrated plan to provide for safe and accessible routes;

• maximized employment opportunities for young people that connect 

them to the outdoors; 

• multiple identified benefits, such as wildlife corridors/ecosystem 

connectivity, flood control, economic revitalization, heritage tourism, 

and outdoor recreation; and

• identified opportunities for outdoor education, place-based learning.

Support and align federal agency programs and initiatives to promote 

the creation, expansion, and enhancement of urban parks and 

community green spaces. 

Although the need for parks, green space, and places for outdoor 

recreation in our cities is growing, other priorities often draw attention 

and resources away from these important community resources. At 

listening sessions, participants identified a range of federal programs that, 

if better coordinated and aligned, could make a difference for community 

investments in outdoor spaces. These investments would also catalyze 

investment by non-governmental partners and accomplish a whole greater 

than the sum of its parts.

Action Item 6.2a: Align and leverage federal investments and actions 

to expand or enhance urban parks and community green spaces through 

coordinated efforts. These should include, but not be limited to: the 

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), DOT, and 

EPA’s Sustainable Communities Partnership’s regional planning grants; 

EPA-led Urban Waters Federal Partnership; partnership between DPC, 

White House Office of Urban Affairs, HUD, ED, DOJ, Department 

of Health and Human Services (HHS) and DOT Neighborhood 

Revitalization Initiative; USFS Urban and Community Forestry Program; 

NPS RTCA; DOT Transportation Investment Generating Economic 

Recovery (TIGER) grants. (AGO Council)

Action Item 6.2b: Work with communities and tribes to establish 

community forests in both urban and rural communities through the 

USFS Community Forest and Open Space Conservation Program. (USDA)

Target technical assistance support to communities to create and 

enhance urban parks and community green spaces.

Listening session participants made clear that there is no shortage of 

community-level interest in leading efforts to create and enhance city 

and community parks. What is lacking is easily accessible technical 

Recommendation 6.2 

Recommendation 6.3
40 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE - DOVE PHOTO / RIO DE LOS ANGELES STATE PARK, CALIFORNIA
Conserving and Restoring America’s Great Outdoors 41

know-how and seed funding. Programs like the NPS RTCA program 

were frequently cited as particularly effective at helping communities 

help themselves accomplish their conservation objectives. RTCA awards 

small technical assistance support for community-led natural resource 

conservation and outdoor recreation projects.

Action Item 6.3a: Support tribal, state and local governments and private 

sector organizations in the planning and development of urban parks and 

community green spaces through programs such as the USFS Urban and 

Community Forestry Program and the NPS RTCA. (DOI, USDA, EPA)

Action Item 6.3b: Promote the EPA Brownfields Program as a tool to 

leverage funding for states, tribes, territories, private-sector initiatives, 

and communities to assess and clean up brownfield sites, redeveloping 

them for other uses, including as parks and green spaces, especially in 

underserved communities. Communities receiving EPA Brownfields 

Program funds also frequently benefit from complementary redevelopment 

funds provided through separate programs managed by the U.S. 

Economic Development Administration (EDA) and by HUD. (EPA)

Action Item 6.3c: Strengthen federal partnership work on urban waters 

and support related agency-level programs, such as EPA-proposed 

Urban Waters Initiative. Through federal coordination and community 

partnerships, these programs revitalize urban waters and adjacent 

communities, transforming overlooked assets into treasured centerpieces 

and drivers of urban revival. (EPA, USDA, DOC, and DOI) (See 

Recommendation 9.3a)

Connect people with urban parks and community green spaces.

Participants emphasized that financial help to communities is essential, 

but not the only mechanism for creating and supporting urban parks and 

community green spaces. The federal government can support connecting 

people to community parks and green spaces in many ways. It can provide 

education and engagement, promote public-private partnerships, and 

eliminate or minimize governmental barriers to access. One example 

is the partnership approach to resource protection and public use and 

enjoyment offered through the NPS and state and private partners in the 

Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles.

Action Item 6.4a: Accelerate assistance provided to communities for 

urban parks and community green space planning through existing 

programs including, but not limited to, the NPS RTCA program, USFS 

Urban and Community Forestry Program, and DOT Safe Pathways to 

Schools to explore opportunities to support safe sidewalks and paths to 

neighborhood parks as well as schools. (DOI, USDA, EPA, and DOT)

Action Item 6.4b: Work with state, local and tribal governments, 

including parks and recreation departments, to connect federal parks 

and other units in urban areas with the public transportation system and 

pedestrian or bike paths. (DOI, USDA, and DOT)

Recommendation 6.4

“Urban parks create jobs, 

spur growth, increase property value, prevent obesity, 

clear pollution, and build 

community. Yet they're often 

dismissed as frivolous in hard 

times and remain severely 

underfunded. How can we 

change the perception that 

they are not just a "nice thing 

to have" but an essential part 

of our urban infrastructure.” 

(Listening Session Participant, 

Washington, DC)
42 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

THE NATURE CONSERVANCY - © GODFREY PHOTO / CARPENTER RANCH, COLORADO
Conserving and Restoring America’s Great Outdoors 43

7. Conserve Rural Working Farms, Ranches, and 

Forests Through Partnerships and Incentives

Conservationist Aldo Leopold wrote that trying to accomplish conservation entirely on public land was like trying to keep dry with only half 

an umbrella.27 Made more than 70 years ago, his observation resonates 

today. More than 70 percent of land in the contiguous United States is in 

private ownership—largely as farms, ranches, and forests, with more than 

56 million acres held in trust by the United States for Indian tribes and 

other individuals.28

These privately owned lands are vital to conserving our water resources, 

ecosystems, and wildlife, to provide recreation for hunters, anglers, 

and other outdoor enthusiasts, and to preserve our natural heritage for 

generations to come. Even in areas with large government ownership 

of land, privately owned lands often provide important wildlife habitat 

and migration corridors. Through their stewardship practices, farmers, 

ranchers, and forest landowners play a critical role in helping the nation 

address climate change and in making sure the air we breathe and the 

water we drink are clean and healthy.

Despite their importance for the environment and recreation it is 

becoming ever more challenging for landowners to keep private lands 

intact. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) reports that 

one out of three acres ever developed in the United States was developed 

from 1982 to 2007.29 Each year some 1.6 million acres of privately 

owned farms, ranches, and forests are sold off, in whole or in part, for 

development.30 The costs to clean air, wildlife, cultural heritage sites, and 

farm and forest economies are significant. 

27 “Conservation Economics,” reprinted in River of the Mother of God.

28 Department of Interior report on Context and Complexity of the Indian Trust, 2003.

29 USDA Summary Report: 2007 National Resources Inventory.

30 Ibid.
44 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

Beyond stepping up the pace of conservation on private lands, it is clear 

that more strategic approaches and incentives to protecting them are 

necessary. AGO listening sessions revealed a growing awareness that 

protecting the nation’s natural and cultural heritage requires working 

across public, private, and tribal lands at a landscape scale. This “alllands” approach recognizes that watersheds, wildlife, and ecosystems 

do not recognize property lines. Conserving large landscapes requires 

collaboration among landowners; tribes; local, state, and federal 

governments; conservation groups; agriculture and forestry groups; and 

other stakeholders. Such “locally grown” landscape partnerships are 

springing up in regions across the nation and are increasingly vital to

21st-century conservation. AGO can help foster and catalyze these 

vibrant, community-level efforts to conserve and connect the nation’s 

landscapes and watersheds to benefit both present and future generations.

Because government resources for this task are limited, it is imperative 

that our strategies for these lands maximize the conservation benefits 

from each taxpayer dollar spent. Collaboration among the federal 

government, local governments, land trusts, landowners, tribes, and 

others already working to protect local watersheds and landscapes will be 

necessary to achieve the AGO vision for private lands. Federal agencies 

can provide technical assistance to local partners and, where appropriate, 

enter into cooperative agreements to provide both technical and financial 

assistance. At the same time, cooperation among public land agencies 

will also be necessary to improve the delivery of financial and technical 

assistance to landowners. Geographic information systems (GIS) and 

other science-based tools can help target important lands and resources 

for conservation and ensure that federal expenditures achieve the goal of 

increasing ecosystem and wildlife resiliency and function. Collaborative 

work among public and private entities should draw on existing plans and 

evaluation measures, such as state wildlife action plans and state forest 

resource assessments. Success will depend on leveraging resources from 

all stakeholders, public and private. 

Listening session participants made it clear that farmers, ranchers, and 

forest owners are eager to help protect America’s great outdoors. Many 

already actively contribute to maintaining and enhancing lands and 

waters. Nevertheless, although many private landowners have a strong 

conservation ethic, conservation and resource stewardship must make 

economic sense. Conservationists and landowners alike discussed the 

need to maintain traditional markets for food, fiber, and wood products 

from agriculture and forestry, and to create new sources of revenue 

from these lands. Developing markets for environmental services and 

benefits provided by private lands—wetlands, biodiversity, water quality, 

and mitigation of climate change impacts—will create new sources of 

income that reward landowners for stewardship and for keeping these 

lands in agricultural and forestry uses. More incentives can be found 

by expanding markets for agricultural products, biomass energy, and 

sustainably harvested wood products. In the foreseeable future, many 

farms, ranches, and forests will be multifaceted operations that provide a 

host of profitable environmental services. 

“Multi-partner initiatives to 

advance conservation across 

all ownership types within 

large priority landscapes are 

a highly effective strategy for 

conservation delivery. This 

type of landscape conservation 

will be particularly important 

to achieve higher level conservation outcomes, such as 

watershed protection, climate 

mitigation, and climate 

adaptation, where isolated 

conservation actions will not 

be sufficient to achieve these 

larger goals.” (Listening Session 

Participant, Missoula, MT)
Conserving and Restoring America’s Great Outdoors 45

Goal A

Some listening session participants heralded the success of innovative 

government conservation initiatives such as the FWS Safe Harbor 

program. It provides landowners with regulatory assurances under the 

Endangered Species Act (ESA) in exchange for carrying out stewardship 

activities that benefit wildlife. These relatively inexpensive tools are 

powerful incentives to encourage conservation on private lands. In 

Montana and other western states, FWS and NRCS are working together 

with ranchers to encourage conservation of the sage grouse, a candidate 

for listing under the ESA. They provide landowners with regulatory 

assurances while also helping fund habitat restoration and other practices. 

Participants in AGO listening sessions suggested that federal agencies 

explore similar tools for other regulatory requirements that impact private 

lands and landowners.

Catalyze large-scale land conservation partnership projects through 

economic incentives and technical assistance.

Across the country, landowners, conservation groups, and state, tribal, 

and local governments and other partners are joining forces to address 

local and regional conservation concerns. The first AGO listening session, 

in Ovando, Montana, was attended by members of three partnerships 

working to protect the Blackfoot Valley, the Crown of the Continent 

region, and the Rocky Mountain Front. In Maine, New Hampshire, and 

South Carolina, participants talked about collaborative work to conserve 

private forests lands. In Nebraska, participants discussed using incentives 

to conserve farmland and wetlands. Participants encouraged the federal 

government to support such ground-level efforts. 

Many people also expressed strong support for the long-term conservation benefits provided through existing Farm Bill conservation programs, 

including the NRCS Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), 

Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP), Wetlands Reserve Program

(WRP), Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), Farm and Ranch Lands 

Protection Program (FRPP), and Grassland Reserve Program (GRP).

Support collaborative landscape conservation through competitive 

processes, including increases in LWCF funding and other programs. 

Listening session participants suggested creating a competitive fund to 

create incentives for landscape-scale conservation as well as focusing on 

more coordinate expenditures under existing conservation programs. A 

competitive fund would bolster existing efforts and encourage forming 

other local partnerships. They also argued that technical assistance for 

landowners and conservation partners is one of the most cost-effective 

ways to meet conservation goals. 

Recommendation 7.1
46 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE - WALDRON PHOTO / MANASSAS NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD PARK, VIRGINIA
Conserving and Restoring America’s Great Outdoors 47

Action Item 7.1a: Create the AGO Collaborative Landscape Conservation Initiative through coordinated competitive processes using increases 

in LWCF and other federal grant programs. (USDA, DOC, DOD, and 

DOI)

Funds would be targeted on land conservation activities, particularly 

voluntary purchase of conservation easements, sponsored by a state and 

diverse local partnerships. Selection of partnerships for funding would be 

based on criteria that: 

• leverage other federal, local, and private resources; 

• emphasize the protection of working lands; 

• conserve water resources and wildlife; 

• use science and mapping to target important lands; 

• provide recreational opportunities; 

• plan for potential climate impacts and the need for connectivity; and

• other criteria enumerated in law. 

Support landscape partnerships by targeting existing federal dollars, 

policies, and other resources toward conservation of private and tribal 

working lands and coordinating expenditures, where appropriate, 

across federal agencies. 

Many listening session participants noted that existing programs could 

be better targeted to assist and promote landscape-scale conservation 

and that better coordination is needed across federal agencies and with 

states and local partners. Many existing federal programs within USDA, 

DOC, DOD, and DOI contribute significantly to the conservation of 

working lands within important landscapes. These programs should use 

the best available science to implement the most effective stewardship 

practices and conservation actions on the most significant lands. State 

wildlife action plans, state forest assessments, and other local and regional 

priority-setting processes should inform these efforts. Federal agencies 

should work together to coordinate capacity building and resource 

expenditures wherever appropriate. 

Action Item 7.2a: Coordinate and align, as appropriate, federal programs 

that provide technical or financial assistance to public and private 

organizations that support and implement collaborative landscape-scale 

conservation initiatives. Program examples include the NPS LWCF 

stateside program, USDA conservation and forestry Farm Bill programs, 

and the USFS Forest Stewardship Program. (USDA, DOC, DOD, and 

DOI)

Recommendation 7.2

“One thing I see working 

is collaborative decisionmaking—or natural resource 

protection, outdoor recreation 

planning, etc.—if you want to 

vie for competitive grants you 

have to show collaboration: 

don’t plan in a bubble—it’s 

not effective.” (Listening Session 

Participant, Asheville, NC)
48 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

Goal B

Action Item 7.2b: Maintain the USDA CRP at 32 million acres 

through the terms of the 2008 Farm Bill and focus part of the program 

on landscape conservation, including work that benefits wildlife, water 

quality and quantity, and other valuable resources. (USDA)

Action Item 7.2c: Continue targeting the DOD Readiness and 

Environmental Protection Initiative to conserve land with significant 

value for the military mission while protecting important conservation 

resources in partnership with governmental and non-governmental 

organizations. (DOD)

Significantly increase the pace of working farms, ranch, and forest 

land conservation. 

Public input suggested that the federal government should expand tools 

available to landowners, conservation and historic preservation groups, 

and state, local, and tribal governments to conserve lands through 

voluntary, incentive-based approaches. Expenditure of federal funds for 

landscape partnerships also needs better coordination. One of the most 

frequent recommendations of the AGO public input process was to 

extend the enhanced tax deduction for conservation easements. 

Many listening session participants and public comments called for 

changing the estate tax to reduce the tax burden on families who own 

farms, ranches, and forests. It was argued that when lands are passed 

down to the next generation, heirs—particularly those that are land-rich 

and cash-poor—can face the need to sell and subdivide their property 

to pay the inheritance tax. It is true that the estate tax affects a relatively 

small portion of landowners, but it affects a significant number of acres. 

The tax disproportionately affects landowners who own larger parcels 

that are worth more and, therefore, more likely subject to the tax. The 

estate tax is also increasingly important because the average age of these 

landowners is rising.31 One criticism of reducing the estate tax is that 

doing so disproportionately helps wealthy citizens. Structuring policies 

that conserve lands could provide public benefits associated with land 

and watershed conservation. Opportunities to amend the estate tax to 

conserve working lands should be explored.

Extend the enhanced deductions for conservation easement donations 

beyond 2011.

Starting in 2007, an enhanced tax incentive allowed landowners a 

significant tax benefit for donating a conservation easement on their land 

to a qualified organization. Working landowners receive even greater 

financial benefit for such donations. This enhanced deduction expired 

in 2009, but was extended through December 31, 2011, by the Tax 

31 Butler, Brett and Earl Leatherberry America’s Family Forest Owners.

Recommendation 7.3
Conserving and Restoring America’s Great Outdoors 49

Goal C

Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation 

Act of 2010. When it was in effect in 2007 and 2008, a recent survey 

showed this incentive helped America’s 1,700 local land trusts increase 

the pace of conservation by about 250,000 acres each year—a 36-percent 

increase over previous years.32 Extending the enhanced deduction beyond 

2011 would further bolster land conservation and resource protection, 

especially on working lands.

Action Item 7.3a: Work with Congress to extend the existing 

conservation easement tax deduction provision beyond 2011. (AGO 

Council)

Increase financial incentives for land stewardship for farmers, 

ranchers, forest landowners, and tribes.

Loss of open space to development and fragmentation is far more likely 

to occur where development values outweigh returns from agriculture, 

ranching, and forestry. The government’s role in maintaining traditional 

markets for agriculture and forestry products remains outside the scope of 

the AGO Initiative, but public input suggested that opportunities exist to 

encourage new markets from rural lands that could strengthen efforts to 

maintain rural landscapes. 

Develop and expand new markets, including those for the environmental services provided by working lands, for local agricultural or 

sustainable forest products, sustainable energy, and others.

New markets for environmental services are developing, including 

climate mitigation, water quality and quantity, fish and wildlife habitat 

conservation, wetlands protection, sustainable energy production, and 

other services. These markets are in various stages of maturity. Many 

agencies have long supported such efforts and are exploring opportunities 

and innovations to expand their use. Expanding them will benefit land 

conservation, environmental stewardship, and landowners and allow for 

farms, ranches, and forests of the future to derive income from markets 

for environmental services. USDA and other agencies can provide 

landowners with technical assistance that increases agricultural and forest 

productivity while also enhancing land stewardship. 

Action Item 7.4a: Support the development and expansion of 

environmental markets through the Endangered Species Act, Clean 

Water Act, programs and authorities of USDA, and other laws and foster 

better coordination across federal agencies to support the development of 

environmental markets. (USDA, DOC, DOD, USACE, DOI, and EPA)

32 Land Trust Alliance fact sheet on Renewing the Conservation Tax Incentive.

Recommendation 7.4
50 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

THE NATURE CONSERVANCY - © HELZER PHOTO / RATZLAFF PRAIRIE, NEBRASKA
Conserving and Restoring America’s Great Outdoors 51

Action Item 7.4b: Support efforts in the next Farm Bill to develop and 

expand environmental markets. (USDA)

Support financial and other incentives to encourage access for 

hunting, fishing, hiking, recreation, and other outdoor activities on or 

across private working lands. 

Although most recreational opportunities are on public land, private 

lands also can play an important role in providing recreation. There is 

a long tradition of hunting and fishing on private lands through open 

access, lease agreements, or other mechanisms. The USDA Voluntary 

Public Access Program (Open Fields) offers states financial assistance to 

encourage or provide incentives to landowners to provide access to 

hunters. Continuing this program and expanding it to new states and 

tribes will benefit landowners and sports enthusiasts alike. Private 

landowners in some locations support hiking and snowmobile trails 

across their property. Depending on the agreement, this might give 

a landowner additional income, which helps the landowner keep the 

property as well as maintain recreational resources and access. 

Action Item 7.5a: Expand partnerships with private landowners that 

facilitate access to or across private lands for recreation through programs 

such as the USDA Voluntary Public Access Program (Open Fields). (USDA 

and DOI)

Promote tools such as safe harbor agreements that provide certainty to 

landowners who agree to carry out stewardship activities that benefit 

fish and wildlife and protect water resources.

FWS, in partnership with states, tribes, conservation groups, and 

others, has successfully encouraged private landowners to protect and 

restore habitat for listed and candidate species under the Endangered 

Species Act. They accomplished this through safe harbor and candidate 

conservation agreements with assurances. FWS and NMFS should work 

with USDA to provide financial incentives through the Farm Bill to help 

support these efforts. 

Action Item 7.6a: Promote the use of safe harbor and candidate 

conservation agreements and collaborate with FWS and NMFS to 

streamline permitting processes with agreements and memoranda of 

understanding that promote conservation objectives. Work with NRCS 

in combining Farm Bill conservation program dollars where appropriate. 

(DOI, DOC, and USDA)

Action Item 7.6b: Work in partnership with states to explore the use of 

safe harbor-like certainty agreements to achieve the goals of improved 

water quality and continued implementation of voluntary conservation 

practices, and look for opportunities to pilot such agreements. (EPA and 

USDA)

Recommendation 7.5

Recommendation 7.6
52 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE - MCMAINS PHOTO / GLACIER NATIONAL PARK, MONTANA
Conserving and Restoring America’s Great Outdoors 53

8. Conserve and Restore Our National Parks, 

Wildlife Refuges, Forests, and Other Federal Lands 

and Waters

Nearly 30 percent of lands in the United States—more than 635 million 

acres—are managed and protected by the federal government.33 These 

federal lands and their waters contain ecosystems as diverse as the 

coastal mountains of California’s King Range National Conservation 

Area, southern Appalachian ecosystems of the Great Smoky Mountains 

National Park, and the tropical rainforests of the Caribbean National 

Forest in Puerto Rico, as well as an inspiring array of natural, cultural, 

and historic resources. Some of these exceptional natural and cultural 

places have been designated as World Heritage Sites. Public lands offer 

American and international visitors wide-ranging opportunities to 

make a personal connection to the outdoors. They may do this through 

the solitude of wilderness or bird watching at dawn, the exhilaration 

of motorized trails, climbing, skiing, snowboarding, or river rafting, 

the pride of historic places, or the satisfaction of volunteer service. Our 

public lands provide water resources, wildlife habitat, recreation access 

and opportunities, educational value, and other benefits to the American 

people.

The nation’s mountains, prairies, forests, coasts, deserts, lakes, estuaries, 

and rivers also provide essential ecosystem services that benefit all 

Americans. Public lands contain important watersheds that supply 

drinking water to millions. These lands also sequester significant 

amounts of carbon annually, thereby reducing atmospheric greenhouse 

gases. Many of America’s most iconic wildlife species—bison, elk, and 

grizzly bears, among them—greatly depend on public lands for survival. 

33 USDA report on Major Uses of Land in The United States, 2002.
54 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

Likewise, federal lands and waters sustain people, providing recreation, 

relaxation, and renewal. Be it a hike, bike, or horseback ride along a 

local trail, a family ski vacation, a visit to a historic or cultural site, or a 

weekend fishing or boating trip, access to the great outdoors through our 

public lands and waters improves our quality of life, while also bringing 

economic benefit to local communities.

There are many important reasons to invest in stewardship of our public 

lands—most compelling are economic growth and jobs. Outdoor 

recreation on our public lands generates significant economic activity. 

Tourism and related visits to public lands are important to the economic 

vitality of many rural communities. Spending by recreation visitors in 

areas surrounding national forests is estimated to be nearly $13 billion 

annually.34 Visitors who live more than 50 miles from the forest lands 

account for the majority of these contributions, which also sustain more 

than 224,000 full- and part-time jobs. Investments in our public lands 

yield jobs. On average, eight jobs are created for every $1 million invested 

in wildlife protection; 30 jobs are created for each $1 million invested in 

ecosystem restoration; 17 jobs are created by every $1 million invested in 

infrastructure projects; six jobs for every $1 million for contracting and 

planning; and 15–22 jobs are created for every $1 million spent by visitors 

to DOI recreation facilities.35

The impacts to the economy of these visits are enormous. The NPS alone 

annually contributes $6.3 billion in labor income. DOI wildlife refuges 

provide an estimated $1.7 billion in sales and $543 million in employment 

income.36 Recreational visits to national forests contribute $13 billion to 

gross domestic product.37 USACE reports that visitors spend some $18 

billion annually on its lakes and other facilities, leading to 350,000 jobs 

added to the nation’s economy.38

In addition to recreation, many rural communities rely on the federal 

government’s management of public lands for multiple purposes—

including forestry, grazing, and renewable and nonrenewable energy—as 

sources of employment and economic growth. Balancing consumptive 

and non-consumptive uses of public lands has become increasingly 

important. Land restoration activities and the emerging area of renewable 

energy can provide both environmental benefits and jobs for local 

communities.

Some participants at listening sessions also discussed the importance of 

conserving inventoried roadless areas on our national forests. In 2001, 

the Clinton Administration adopted broad protections of roadless areas 

on national forests that this Administration is now defending in courts. 

34 USDA National Visitor Use Monitoring Results: 2005 - 2009.

35 Economic Impact of the Department of the Interior’s Programs and Activities; Department of the 

Interior and USDA Forest Service analysis. 

36 Council of Economic Advisors. 2010. Strengthening the Rural Economy. 

37 USDA National Visitor Use Monitoring Results: 2005 - 2009. 

38 US Army Corps of Engineers fact sheet. http://corpsresults.us/recreation/receconomic.htm.
Conserving and Restoring America’s Great Outdoors 55

Because the 2001 rule remains in legal limbo, the Administration has 

taken steps to ensure that any projects in roadless areas are thoroughly 

reviewed. If the courts do not uphold roadless protections, the 

Administration will take other steps to protect these areas. Although 

this report contains no recommendation with respect to roadless area 

conservation, protecting roadless areas remains a priority. 

Although the federal government manages some of the nation’s most 

extraordinary lands and waters—places such as Red Rock Canyon 

National Conservation Area, the Monongahela National Forest, 

Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, and Eglin Air Force Base—

federal lands often occur within a patchwork that includes other public 

and private properties. In some cases, federal forests and grasslands 

occur in a “checkerboard” pattern of mixed federal, state, tribal and 

private ownership. There is a growing awareness among federal agencies 

that protecting large landscapes, wildlife, and watersheds requires 

collaborative management across ownerships. Federal land managers 

must partner beyond their boundaries with many landowners and other 

land managers to achieve the benefits that come from managing land 

and water resources at a landscapes level, such as the creation of wildlife 

migration corridors. The need to help wildlife adapt to a rapidly changing 

climate, which is altering habitats, further highlights the importance of a 

landscape approach to conservation that emphasizes connectivity.

Federal lands and waters face diverse and increasing threats. Insect 

and disease infestations have weakened our forests. Examples are the 

mountain pine beetle on the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, a 

legacy of fire suppression; and invasive species, such as the tallowtree and 

the Asian gypsy moth. Grasslands and sagebrush ecosystems face similar 

stresses. Climate change exacerbates these stressors, and considerable 

impacts on federal lands from a rapidly changing climate are already 

apparent. To help natural and human communities that depend on 

public lands and waters in adapting to climate change, it is imperative 

that management of federal lands and waters be focused on restoration 

and building resilience in ecosystems and be informed by science. This 

will help ensure that federal lands continue to fulfill their basic role 

in providing water resources, wildlife habitat, recreation access and 

opportunities, and educational and other benefits to the American people.

Many participants in listening sessions noted that some federal lands 

contain exceptional natural, cultural, or historic features that require 

special protection. Designation of wilderness and wild and scenic 

rivers will continue to be important mechanisms to protect outstanding 

resources for future generations. These designations require congressional 

action and both the USDA and DOI will continue to work with 

Congress to support such designations where there is strong local, 

state, and national support. National monument designations, which do 

not require congressional authorization, were also the subject of many 

comments at listening sessions. As discussed below, establishment of a 

national monument should receive careful consideration, carried out with 

transparency that ensures local, state, and national input. 

“In the United States, there 

are wildlife corridor efforts 

in all 50 states and every 

congressional district. These 

corridors are important for 

the sustainability of every 

major wildlife group from 

the monarch butterfly to the 

pronghorn antelope to the 

California grey whale—

and [these corridors] are 

found in urban, rural, 

and wild natural areas. 

Indeed, because corridors 

connect core natural areas 

they epitomize the need for 

landscape-scale conservation 

approaches that make our 

lands and waters permeable 

for wildlife movement and 

climate change resiliency. 

Wildlife corridors are one of a 

handful of conservation issues 

that connect all Americans.” 

(Listening Session Participant, 

Missoula, MT)
56 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

Goal a

As we look to the future of our public lands and waters, we also must 

celebrate how far we have come. Since first setting aside land that would 

become Yosemite National Park in 1864, our nation has protected many 

exceptional places as national parks, forests, refuges, wilderness, and 

national landscape conservation areas. This year is the 100th anniversary 

of the Weeks Act, which led to the establishment of new national forests 

in the eastern United States. In addition, landmark legislation in 1916 

established the NPS, the first agency in the world charged solely with the 

protection and enjoyment of special places for future generations. 2016 

marks the 100th anniversary of the NPS and serves as an opportunity 

to recommit to enhancing our parks and prepare the NPS for another 

hundred years of service to our country and the world. Based on input 

from listening sessions and by engaging a broad diversity of stakeholders, 

the NPS will mark its centennial with diverse new partnerships to ensure 

that the best examples of natural and cultural heritage are preserved for 

future generations. 

Conserve, restore, and manage federal lands and waters to ensure 

access and enjoyment for future generations while contributing to the 

protection of a larger natural and cultural landscape. 

Participants in many listening sessions acknowledged the many natural 

and human-created threats facing our nation’s federal lands and 

waters. Some discussed how invasive species, unnaturally destructive 

fires, pests and disease, and climate change require more proactive 

management. Ensuring that our nation’s forests, grasslands, and other 

ecosystems are resilient to disturbances and to a changing climate must 

increasingly guide federal land and water management. In all cases, 

federal management decisions must be developed through sound science 

and implemented with ongoing monitoring and adaptive management. 

In turn, management actions, such as invasive species control, forest 

thinning, prescribed fire, and planting native trees and vegetation can 

provide jobs for local individuals and businesses. 

Management of federal lands and waters must also consider neighboring 

lands. This “all-lands” approach recognizes that watersheds, wildlife, and 

other important resources do not adhere to property lines. Similarly, the 

threats facing our lands and waters are not limited to any one national 

park, national forest, wildlife refuge, or Indian reservation; these threats 

are felt over broad landscapes. As a result, federal land managers should 

seek opportunities to engage in partnerships and provide voluntary 

incentives to neighboring landowners. For instance, the FWS, in 

cooperation with the NRCS, has worked with farmers, ranchers, and 

forest owners to conserve working landscapes across the country—a 

new conservation paradigm that places targeted public lands within 

a matrix of working private lands. Federal land managers should also 

continue work with neighboring landowners to look for opportunities to 

consolidate federal land ownership where federal lands are fragmented 
Conserving and Restoring America’s Great Outdoors 57

Recommendation 8.1

or in a “checkerboard” pattern, where doing so can help federal land 

managers, benefit neighboring owners, and improve recreational access.

The all-lands model of conservation requires a new generation of science, 

one that seeks to break down jurisdictional barriers and share data 

and conservation strategies with the larger land, water, and wildlife 

community. The DOI initiation of a network of Landscape Conservation 

Cooperatives and Climate Science Centers is designed around this premise 

and will provide a forum for coordinated planning and implementation of 

land management approaches. Likewise, the Forest Service is taking steps 

to integrate climate adaptation and mitigation into management of the 

national forests through its National Roadmap for Responding to Climate 

Change. 

Finally, federal lands must be managed in a manner consistent with 

their unique designations and to ensure their long-term health. The 

recommendations that follow focus on conservation and restoration of 

federal lands, making those lands more resilient to climate change, and 

protecting wildlife corridors that cross federal lands. Although these are 

three separate recommendations, it is important that they be integrated 

into the land management policies and the plans that implement them—

both within individual land management agencies as well as across all 

federal lands and waters. The goal is to have the broad diversity of land 

and water management agencies work together to achieve common ends, 

although individual agency actions will be highlighted. 

Manage federal lands and waters within a larger landscape context to 

conserve and restore ecosystems and watershed health. 

To accomplish this recommendation, it will be necessary to provide 

support and direction to land managers to focus the diversity of funding 

sources on these challenges and opportunities and to expand authorities 

so that land managers have the flexibility to support landscape-scale 

conservation, and enhance the partnerships between federal, state, local 

and tribal governments; nonprofit organizations; and private landowners. 

Action Item 8.1a: Integrate large, landscape-scale conservation into 

federal land management plans and actions. (USDA, DOD, USACE, 

and DOI) 

Examples include:

• Continue to support the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration 

Fund ($40 million) to provide matched funding for proposals in highpriority landscapes that support collaborative landscape conservation. 

(USDA) 

• Develop a Forest Service planning rule that emphasizes collaboration 

with other land management agencies and stakeholders, landscapescale planning and conservation, adaptive management and 

sustainability. (USFS)

“Our vision... is for the 

federal government to act as 

the catalyst for federal, state, 

tribal, and local agencies 

and private interests to work 

together across America to 

protect a network of critical 

ecosystems, natural resource 

areas, and recreation lands 

from the inner city to wild 

lands.” (Written comment)
58 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE - HILLEBRAND PHOTO / SANTA ANA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, TEXAS
Conserving and Restoring America’s Great Outdoors 59

• Create budget structures to promote landscape-scale conservation and 

integration among resource programs. (USFS)

• Continue to protect and enhance water resources on federal lands 

by managing lands to protect and restore riparian areas and aquatic 

ecosystems, improve water quality, assess watershed condition, and 

invest resources in areas whose condition can be improved costeffectively and are important to the public. (USDA, DOD, and DOI)

• Complete and institutionalize a national network of 21 Landscape 

Conservation Cooperatives to develop the science needed to 

understand landscape-scale threats and craft landscape-level strategies 

for managing and responding to those threats. (DOI) 

• Incorporate landscape-scale conservation and restoration as a priority 

in BLM resource management plans and programs. (BLM) 

• Expand programs to develop landscape-scale assessment, modeling, 

and mapping to support conservation planning on federal and private 

lands. (DOI-USGS)

• Integrate units of the National Park System, Fish and Wildlife 

Refuge System, and BLM National Landscape Conservation System

into landscape conservation and restoration activities on public lands 

as anchors of preservation. (BLM , FWS, NPS) 

• Develop or expand existing co-management agreements between 

tribal and federal land managers where shared management objectives 

on federal lands provide for landscape-scale conservation. (DOI-BIA) 

• Through the USACE environmental stewardship programs at existing 

Corps facilities, plan and implement projects to restore and sustain 

critical watersheds, wetlands, and environmentally sensitive areas. 

(DOD-USACE)

Action Item 8.1b: Strategically invest and align federal funds from the 

LWCF, Farm Bill, and other grant programs, as appropriate, to achieve 

landscape-scale conservation and restoration goals on public and private 

lands and to leverage other public and private funds. (USDA, DOD, and 

DOI) (Complements Action Item 7.2a)

Action Item 8.1c: Expand federal land management agency authorities, 

such as stewardship contracting, USFS integrated resource restoration, 

and the partnership authority between FWS, NPS, BLM and USFS 

Service First, to complement their ability to achieve large landscape 

conservation and restoration goals. (USDA and DOI) 

“America’s Great Outdoors 

begins when you open your 

front door and step outside—

whether it is onto an urban 

stoop, a suburban sidewalk 

or a rural front porch. Before 

we can reach the National 

Parks, Trails, or Wilderness 

Areas, we enter into our 

neighborhoods, downtowns, 

community gardens and 

parks. Appreciating the Great 

Outdoors means exploring the 

places where we live, work 

and play; the places that define 

the human environment. 

By first cultivating a sense 

of stewardship in our 

communities, we encourage 

stewardship of cultural and 

natural resources beyond our 

immediate surroundings.” 

(Written comment)
60 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

Action Item 8.1d: Cultivate and support engaging local, state, and tribal 

governments, nonprofit organizations, and landowners in regions where 

federal agencies are conserving and restoring large landscapes through 

grants, planning, and capacity building. (USDA, DOD, USACE, and 

DOI)

Manage federal lands and waters to increase their resilience to climate 

change. 

Public comments noted the importance of managing federal lands 

and waters to anticipate and mitigate the impacts of climate change. 

Federal land managers should implement adaptation actions that 

foster resilience to climate change in land, water, and wildlife. Federal 

lands can also be managed to mitigate climate change by increasing 

carbon storage in ecosystems where doing so is consistent with sound 

conservation and watershed protection goals. On degraded lands where 

risks from destructive fires, pests, or other threats are heightened, land 

managers should act to improve resilience while promoting long-term 

carbon storage consistent with conserving ecosystems and watersheds. 

In advancing this recommendation, the federal land management 

agencies will actively engage tribal, state, and local governments, private 

landowners and nonprofit organizations. This recommendation and 

associated action items will be informed and prioritized through the 

recommendations of the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task 

Force.

Action Item 8.2a: Develop science to support decisions related to climate 

change adaptation and resilience. Improve science available to public land 

managers through consortia that use information from NOAA Climate 

Service, DOI Climate Science Centers, and USFS, NRCS, and other agency 

work. (USDA, DOC, and DOI)

Action Item 8.2b: Build climate change adaptation and mitigation into 

federal land management plans and practices. (CEQ , USDA, DOC, 

DOD-USACE, and DOI) 

Examples include: 

• Integrate climate change adaptation and mitigation into national 

forests management through a revised Forest Planning Rule and 

through implementation of the USFS Climate Change Scorecard. 

(USDA-USFS)

• Use DOI’s Landscape Conservation Cooperatives to inform 

management of public lands and resources. (DOI)

• Implement the NPS Climate Response Strategy to address the impacts 

of climate change in parks through science, adaptation, mitigation, 

and communication. (DOI-NPS) 

Recommendation 8.2
Conserving and Restoring America’s Great Outdoors 61

Recommendation 8.3

• Develop science-based inventories and monitoring programs to assess 

the impacts of climate change on fish and wildlife habitat regardless 

of land ownership. (DOI, USDA, DOD-USACE)

• Incorporate into BLM Resource Management Plans provisions to 

support carbon sequestration and climate change adaptation. (DOIBLM)

Manage federal lands and waters to create and protect critical wildlife 

corridors and maintain landscape connectivity in collaboration with 

other public and private stakeholders. 

Among the primary threats to the nation’s fish and wildlife are habitat 

loss and fragmentation. Climate change will exacerbate these threats. 

Developing a comprehensive approach to maintaining and restoring 

wildlife corridors and habitat connectivity and to protecting fish 

and wildlife populations have become a conservation priority. Public 

comments noted the importance of protecting wildlife corridors that cross 

federal, state, tribal, and private lands. Today, many grassroots efforts to 

protect wildlife have evolved with collaboration among public and private 

agencies to expand the commitment to and investment in restoring and 

maintaining wildlife corridors, habitat, and connectivity for species across 

the American landscape.

Safeguarding wildlife resources requires sound science and mapping 

to prioritize management, conservation, and restoration efforts, whose 

effectiveness must be monitored. Public land management agencies must 

also partner with private land owners to support management of all lands 

to address the challenges of climate change. 

Action Item 8.3a: Work with states and other partners to use and 

disseminate scientific data and other information concerning the locations 

of and threats to critical wildlife corridors to ensure effective investment 

in restoring and conserving of those corridors. (DOI and USDA)

Action Item 8.3b: Incorporate wildlife corridor conservation and 

restoration into federal agency plans, programs, and actions. (USDA, 

DOD, USACE, and DOI) 

Examples include: 

• Address wildlife and ecosystem connectivity through the USFS 

Forest Planning Rule, BLM Resource Management Plans, NPS Park 

Management Plans, and FWS Refuge Plans, including the placement 

of energy projects and transmission lines. (DOI and USDA)

• Update water project master plans and shoreline management plans 

to identify and sustain important wildlife and fisheries habitat and 

corridors at USACE and Bureau of Reclamation facilities, such as 

reservoirs, dams, locks, and river shorelines. (DOD-USACE, DOI)
62 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE - AUSTIN/JONES PHOTO / YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, IDAHO, MONTANA, WYOMING
Conserving and Restoring America’s Great Outdoors 63

Goal b

Action Item 8.3c: Coordinate and leverage investment of federal funds 

to conserve and restore wildlife corridors with other public and private 

wildlife conservation entities. (DOI, USDA, DOD, and USACE)

Advance national, regional, and community-supported work to 

preserve and enhance unique landscapes, natural areas, historic sites, 

and cultural areas while ensuring openness and transparency in any 

land designations.

America is endowed with a vast array of natural and cultural features 

that reflect both community and national character. Some federal lands 

contain outstanding iconic, natural, and cultural features that require 

unique protection. As economic pressures, development, effects of 

climate change, and other factors mount to threaten the sustainability of 

heritage resources, locally led partnership initiatives can guide broader 

decision-making to preserve these places for future generations. This 

process for increased federal protection of existing federal lands should be 

accompanied by transparency and public involvement. 

Engage the public to identify and recommend potential sites on 

existing federal lands for protection under the 1906 Antiquities Act.

Historically, the Antiquities Act is one of the most important tools to 

achieve national conservation goals. The areas designated under the 

Antiquities Act by 14 presidents since 1906 include some of the most 

inspiring and unusual natural and historic features in America. Examples 

are Olympic National Park in Washington, Devils Tower in Wyoming, 

the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, the Statue of Liberty in New York City, 

and the USS Arizona Memorial in Hawaii.

During listening sessions, strong support was voiced for the designation 

of unique places as national monuments as an important way to preserve 

critical elements of the American landscape and cultural heritage. Some 

expressed concern that potential designations would circumvent the 

public review process. All agreed on the importance of transparency in 

designations, with local input and recognition of local, state, national, 

and tribal interests, including agriculture, recreation, and access to sacred 

lands. 

Action Item 8.4a: Implement a transparent and open approach to new 

national monument designations tailored to engaging local, state, and 

national interests. (DOI and USDA)

Any recommendations should focus on historic and natural features 

and cultural sites on federal lands that deserve protection under the 

1906 Antiquities Act. In the process of making recommendations, the 

following should be considered: 

• public input from local, state, and national interests; 

Recommendation 8.4
64 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

Goal C

• transparency in development and execution of the designation; 

• valid existing rights on federal lands; and

• criteria enumerated in law.

Identify potential areas for congressional designation that have strong 

local support.

New land designations are important for protecting outstanding lands 

and waters, cultural resources, historic sites, and recreation areas and 

for creating wildlife corridors and restoring intact landscapes. Such 

designations may only be accomplished by Congress, and involve input 

from federal agencies. In considering proposals for new wilderness areas, 

wild and scenic rivers, national parks, national forests, national wildlife 

refuges, and national conservation system lands, USDA and DOI should 

work with Congress to ensure that there is meaningful local, regional, 

and national input before any congressional designation.

Action Item 8.5a: Work with Congress to consider new congressional 

designations of or additions to wilderness, wild and scenic rivers, national 

parks, national wildlife refuges, and national conservation system lands. 

Priority for federal support should be given to sites where strong local, 

regional and national support exists. (DOI and USDA)

Action Item 8.5b: The NPS will identify key natural areas and 

cultural themes underrepresented in the National Park System to guide 

congressional designation of sites that may deserve such recognition and 

protection. Recommendations for protecting individual sites would still 

be made through existing procedures that take into account the criteria 

enumerated in law. (DOI-NPS) 

Protect America’s historic and cultural resources. 

On public lands and elsewhere in regions and communities, historic 

preservation can have benefits beyond protecting resources. It can serve 

as a catalyst to reinvigorate communities and economies while instilling 

pride in local history and traditions. It can add an important dimension to 

understanding and experiencing national parks and other special outdoor 

places. Historic preservation and cultural resources protection can attract 

visitors who support local businesses, increase job opportunities, revitalize 

urban or rural communities, and encourage reuse of historic buildings. 

To affirm and reinforce the connection between the American people 

and America’s great outdoors in all its richness and diversity, build on the 

linkages between our natural and our cultural heritage.

Recommendation 8.5
Conserving and Restoring America’s Great Outdoors 65

Recommendation 8.6 Provide financial and technical support to states and local 

communities, tribes, and private sector organizations for historic 

preservation and cultural resources protection. 

The federal government offers an extensive portfolio of community 

assistance programs to support tribal, state and local governments, and 

private-sector preservation efforts, from planning assistance and capital 

grants to wide ranging technical support. Participants in the public input 

process strongly encouraged the federal government to more actively 

support local state, tribal, and regional historic preservation work. 

Action Item 8.6a: Increase funding for the Historic Preservation Fund. 

(DOI)

Action Item 8.6b: Expand support for state, tribal, and community 

historic preservation efforts for capital projects, planning, interpretation, 

community-based surveying, and technical assistance that support 

partnerships and community-based preservation activities. (DOI)

Action Item 8.6c: Establish through legislation clearly defined standards 

and processes to support a system of regional and community-based 

national heritage areas that promote locally supported preservation work, 

promote heritage tourism, and create jobs. (DOI)

Action Item 8.6d: Continue supporting battlefield preservation through 

partnerships with historic preservation land trusts to fund acquisition of 

historically significant, threatened battlefields emphasizing Civil War 

sites, as part of the Civil War Sesquicentennial from 2011 to 2015. (DOI)

Continue to protect and interpret historic sites and cultural landscapes 

on federal lands.

Action Item 8.7a: Elevate the importance of cultural resources planning, 

protection, and interpretation in the federal land management agencies. 

(DOI, ACHP, USDA, DOD, and USACE)

Recommendation 8.7
66 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE - LADD PHOTO / MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, WASHINGTON
Conserving and Restoring America’s Great Outdoors 67

9. Protect and Renew Rivers and Other Waters

Water is life. The more than 3.6 million miles of rivers and streams that 

wind through our nation provide America’s drinking water, fuel the 

economy, sustain critical ecosystems, and offer endless opportunities 

for recreation and enjoyment.39 From the Columbia River to the upper 

Midwest prairie potholes to the Tennessee and Penobscot valleys, water 

has shaped the nation’s social, cultural, and economic development and 

enabled its prosperity. Virtually all of our cities and towns are next to 

waterways, making these waters an outdoor opportunity close to home 

for all. Today, American life remains inextricably linked to the rivers and 

shores on which it was founded.

Federal projects are underway to restore and conserve large-scale, aquatic 

ecosystems in Florida’s Everglades, Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes, Gulf 

Coast, California Bay-Delta, Mississippi River Basin, Washington’s 

Puget Sound, and many others. Federal, state, and local governments and 

private organizations and landowners have built effective partnerships to 

restore and protect these remarkable systems. Under this Administration, 

a number of these efforts have been given additional emphasis and 

resources. Because these projects are well underway, this report offers 

no specific recommendations for these ecosystems. However, these large 

restoration projects can serve as laboratories for—and have spurred—

many smaller watershed-level projects, expanding water conservation 

whether in wetlands of California’s Klamath Basin Nation Wildlife 

Refuge or in a city-scale project such as the Los Angeles River. This 

existing work can further benefit from many recommendations in this 

report.

“I live in Michigan, a 

wonderful state that has 

seen its share of difficult 

economic times of late. What 

is a constant source of pride, 

however, is the natural beauty 

of the Great Lakes and the 

thousands of lakes, streams, 

and rivers that cover the 

entire state.” (Listening Session 

Participant, Missoula, MT)

39 Environmental Protection Agency Report on National Water Quality, 1998.
68 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

Goal a

In AGO listening sessions, participants expressed their passion for 

the rich natural and cultural history of our waterways, impressive 

knowledge of their economic and ecological importance, and enthusiasm 

for their conservation. Hundreds of people described steps they are 

taking to protect and connect with the rivers and waterways in their 

communities to promote conservation, recreation, and economic growth 

and community redevelopment. Interest in water-based recreation, such 

as kayaking and canoeing, is growing. In December 2006, Congress 

designated as a national historic trail the routes of John Smith’s 

explorations of Chesapeake Bay and environs more than 400 years ago. 

This first national water trail effectively demonstrates both the historic 

and recreational values of these corridors. Americans across the country 

are working together at the local level to create navigable, accessible, 

community-scale water trails that connect communities to their water 

resources and natural environment close to home.

Unfortunately, not all communities can access their local waterways due 

to physical barriers, unsafe conditions, or because they are not aware 

that these resources are close at hand. Federal assistance can empower 

communities to become aware of, restore, and connect with these rich 

natural resources. Federal vision can help community water recreation 

trails connect as a national network for healthy recreation that supports 

ecological and economic revitalization. Congress has now designated two 

water trails because of their recreational and historic significance: the 

Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail and the Star 

Spangled Banner National Historic Trail in Maryland.

Empower communities to connect with America’s great outdoors 

through their rivers and other waterways.

Americans across the country shared stories of working together to create 

recreation within reach by reconnecting with their local rivers and other 

waterways. This work also connects their communities to nearby green 

space and other special places. Recently completed regional water trails 

in New England and the Pacific Northwest span hundreds of miles and 

link dozens of cities and towns to the great outdoors. In South Carolina, 

the new Congaree River Blue Trail links the capital city of Columbia 

to Congaree National Park with the state’s most expansive swath of 

wilderness and the largest intact old-growth bottomland hardwood forest 

in the southeastern United States.40 Communities are creating a system 

of water and biking trails along the Anacostia River in the District of 

Columbia and Maryland. It will soon connect the National Park Service’s 

Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Garden to downtown museums and other 

parks and recreation in the Nation’s Capital.

“Waterways should be central 

to AGO themes. Not only 

waterways in urban areas 

but also from their source. The 

upper watersheds are in danger in many areas. Focus on 

multi-jurisdictional projects 

that protect the watershed and 

provide for recreation from 

the source down. Waterways 

would also appear as a “new” 

emphasis and give a refreshed 

image.” (Listening Session 

Participant, Missoula, MT)

40 Congaree National Park fact sheet. www.nps.gov/cong/naturescience.
Conserving and Restoring America’s Great Outdoors 69

Establish the AGO National Recreational Blueway Trails Initiative to 

increase access to recreation. 

In listening sessions people strongly encouraged the federal government 

to help communities enhance recreational opportunities in local 

waterways and adjacent green space, including by creating a national 

blueways initiative. A blueway is a designated community-scale portion of 

river recognized as a destination for fishing, boating, wildlife watching, 

and other recreation, which should get special attention for restoration 

and access. 

Action Item 9.1a: Develop a transparent process to designate rivers 

and waterways as AGO National Recreation Trails Blueways, through 

existing authorities in the National Trails System Act, as amended. 

(USDA and DOI, working with DOD, USACE, EPA, and other 

agencies)

Nominations to the AGO National Recreation Blueway Trails Initiative 

will be locally driven and will include partnerships with federal, state, 

and local agencies, tribes, nonprofit organizations, the private sector, 

private landowners, and other entities.

Action Item 9.1b: Provide technical assistance and leverage investments 

that help public agencies and nonprofit organizations plan for designating 

and implementing an AGO National Recreation Blueway Trail, within 

existing programs and designation. (DOI, EPA, USDA, DOC, DOD, 

and USACE)

Facilitate recreational access to the nation’s waterways. 

In many parts of the country, community access to rivers and lakes for 

recreation—fishing, boating, and swimming—is limited. Comments 

from the listening sessions call for the federal government to provide 

more incentives, expertise, and financial assistance to increase access to 

waterways. 

Action Item 9.2a: Increase access for water-based recreation, including 

along AGO National Recreation Blueway Trails, by updating existing 

programs’ project selection criteria to consider projects that provide 

or improve access, including the NPS LWCF stateside program. (DOI, 

USDA, DOC, DOD, and USACE)

Action Item 9.2b: Facilitate information exchange and networking 

among communities working to improve access to and enjoyment of 

urban waters through an Urban Waters Initiative learning network. (EPA)

Action Item 9.2c: Align and improve efficiency among federal and local 

transportation and infrastructure agencies to promote community access 

to neighborhood waterways. (EPA, DOT, USDA, DOC, and DOI)

Recommendation 9.1

Recommendation 9.2
70 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

Goal B Support restoration and conservation of rivers, bays, coasts, lakes, and 

estuaries for recreation, healthy fisheries, and wildlife habitat.

Growing awareness of the link between healthy communities and healthy 

watersheds has shifted the emphasis from large-scale, federally funded 

water supply, power generation, or flood control to a more comprehensive 

approach that considers economic, social, wildlife, and recreational 

benefits. The federal government should integrate federal water resources 

projects with locally driven watershed protection efforts. Federal agencies 

should expand support for community-based restoration and conservation 

of water resources.

Enhance and restore local waterways and the surrounding land by 

partnering with state, local, and tribal government, and the private 

sector to support community efforts.

The public encouraged the federal government to expand support for 

community-based protection and improvement of the nation’s waters. 

Locally supported restoration projects may result in enhanced fish 

passage, habitat restoration and connectivity, water-based recreation, 

flood control, traditional uses, and adjacent land-based recreation. The 

AGO Initiative will focus and align technical and financial support for 

community-based water restoration.

Action Item 9.3a: Strengthen federal partnership work on urban waters 

and support related agency-level programs, such as the proposed EPA 

Urban Waters Initiative. Through federal coordination and community 

partnerships, these programs revitalize urban waters and the nearby 

communities. They transform overlooked assets into treasured 

centerpieces and drivers of urban revival. (EPA, USDA, DOC, and DOI) 

(See Recommendation 6.3c)

Action Item 9.3b: Align federal programs that provide planning and 

technical assistance to communities and local governments or support 

increased community stewardship of urban waters, such as NOAA Open 

Rivers Program; the FWS Fish Passage Initiative and National Fish Habitat 

Plan; and EPA Urban Waters Program. (EPA, USDA, DOC, DOD, and 

DOI)

Coordinate and align federal water resource management programs 

and resources. 

Many federal agencies have water management programs or provide 

financial and technical assistance for state and local water resources 

management. Improving coordination among agencies is essential to 

support existing resource uses and to achieve restoration, habitat, and 

recreation goals for the nation’s rivers, lakes, estuaries, and wetlands. Key 

opportunities identified in listening sessions include sharing of water data 

and models; recognizing and planning for emerging challenges, such as 

Recommendation 9.3

Recommendation 9.4
Conserving and Restoring America’s Great Outdoors 71

the impact of climate change on water resources; and coordinating diverse 

water projects within a watershed to improve the sustainability and 

resilience of water resources.

Action Item 9.4a: Reduce fish passage barriers in America’s streams 

and rivers on federal lands by targeting work to restore water quality and 

critically endangered aquatic species and to expand recreational fishing. 

(DOI, USDA, DOD, and USACE)

Action Item 9.4b: Identify existing mechanisms for—and ways to 

strengthen—coordination among water resources management agencies 

at federal, state, local, and tribal levels. (AGO Council)

Action Item 9.4c: Develop a pilot project with state and local partners 

to integrate land conservation with watershed-scale water management. 

(DOD-USACE, EPA, USDA, and DOI)

“Water should be a pillar of 

AGO, project reconnect and 

restore [to] connect Americans 

to land and water resources 

through education and 

recreation.” (Listening Session 

Participant, Washington, D.C.)
72 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

THE NATURE CONSERVANCY - ©MALDE PHOTO / silver creek preserve, idaho
Working Together for the Great Outdoors 73

Working Together for 

America’s Great Outdoors

10. Make the Federal Government a More Effective 

Conservation Partner

Partnerships will be critical to the success of the America’s Great 

Outdoors Initiative, a fact confirmed by many public comments. People 

across the nation called for better collaboration between the public and 

private sectors; state, local, and tribal governments; and between local 

communities and the federal government to help citizens realize the 

wide-ranging benefits of a revitalized connection to the outdoors. 

No single entity, whether federal, state, local, or private, can provide the 

resources needed to achieve the breadth and depth of action proposed 

in this report. American citizens expressed their desire for better 

coordination among federal agencies and better delivery of services to 

the public to achieve these goals for enhanced conservation and outdoor 

recreation. They noted the frustrations that can occur as partners work 

with the federal government. Some even lose interest because of excessive 

and uncoordinated procedures and reviews for new proposals. Others 

want federal agencies to engage underserved communities, as partners 

with local governments and the private sector, to identify the financial, 

cultural, and safety barriers to these populations’ accessing and enjoying 

the outdoors. People want strategies to overcome these obstacles. 

Members of the public also said the federal government needs to align its 

existing resources, authorities, and funding to achieve the goals of AGO. 

What has clearly emerged is that the federal government itself, with 

its many agencies and programs for conservation and recreation, must 

improve how it works with stakeholders. Americans are ready and willing 

to work with their government to reconnect to the great outdoors. They 

just want to be met half-way. The federal government can take the 

following steps to be a better conservation partner and foster the national 

conversation on the AGO Initiative. 

“Inconsistency across agencies, 

confusing bureaucratic 

processes and administrative 

hurdles, rules and regulations 

that often seem punitive, 

are poorly explained, and 

change with land ownership 

boundaries: these are all 

obstacles to many people who 

seek to visit the outdoors. 

Much of this could be 

addressed through better 

communication, both between 

agencies and from agencies 

to local communities and 

the public.” (Listening Session 

Participant, Lander, WY)
74 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

Goal A

Recommendation 10.1

Improve federal government performance as a conservation partner. 

Connecting people and places across the nation with conservation and 

recreation work requires commitment and resources from more than just 

one agency or organization. Partnerships must be created and supported 

to ensure the success of the AGO Initiative. Collaboration will be 

encouraged between the public and private sectors; state, local, and tribal 

governments and the private sector; between natural resource and cultural 

resource interests; and between local communities and the federal 

government. This will lead to innovative approaches and will support 

existing programs for conservation and connectivity in America. 

Establish the interagency AGO Council to achieve more cooperation 

and collaboration among federal agencies engaged in conservation and 

recreation. 

A common theme of the listening sessions and public comments was that 

the federal government can be more efficient and effective even without 

more money or new legislation. We must improve coordination among 

federal agencies and focus existing authorities, processes, and procedures 

across all agencies. Lastly, agencies can create incentives to reward and 

encourage the good work by federal employees. 

Action Item 10.1a: Establish the interagency AGO Council cochaired by the Chair of CEQ and the Director of OMB with a steering 

committee of senior officials from CEQ , OMB, DOI, USDA and EPA. 

Other AGO council members shall include senior officials from: DOC, 

DOD (including USACE), HHS, HUD, DOL, DOT, EPA, CNCS, 

ACHP, and other agencies as appropriate. 

The AGO Council will:

• Coordinate intergovernmental efforts to implement the AGO action 

plan.

• Report to the President annually on progress on AGO Initiative goals 

outlined in the action plan.

• Develop a one-stop access to federal agency rules, procedures, 

programs information, and resources for government officials, private 

sector, landowners, and individuals.

• Communicate with affected tribes consistent with Executive Order 

13175 of November 6, 2009, on consultation and coordination with 

Indian tribal governments, as well as with other stakeholders.
Working Together for the Great Outdoors 75

“Paperwork that accompanies 

some of the federal programs is 

a deterrent.” (Listening Session 

Participant, Charleston, SC)

Goal B

Action Item 10.1b: Within 180 days of being established, the AGO 

Council will publish a plan with assignments and timelines to improve 

agency coordination, align federal programs, and implement this report. 

(AGO Council) 

Action Item 10.1c: Hold periodic listening sessions and maintain the 

AGO website and Facebook page to sustain public input and engagement. 

(AGO Council)

Amplify the impact of the AGO Initiative by creating the Partnership 

for AGO.

The President charged the leaders of the AGO Initiative to “Build upon 

State, local, private, and tribal priorities for conservation...and determine 

how the federal government can best advance those priorities through 

public-private partnerships....” Americans echoed his words. Fundamental 

to 21st-century conservation success must be innovative partnerships and 

broad-based commitment to conservation and recreation. Public-private 

partnerships can be nimble, distribute expertise, leverage investment, 

inspire children, share models, and promote awareness. 

Launch the Partnership for AGO.

Engage leaders from philanthropy, the private sector, conservation, 

historic preservation, state and local government, tribes, recreation, 

education, and community groups to establish the Partnership for AGO 

to support the vision and goals of the AGO Initiative. Working through 

congressionally chartered foundations, including the National Park 

Foundation, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, National Forest 

Foundation, and the National Environmental Education Foundation, 

these leaders would report to the President through the AGO Council 

within six months to build a lasting Partnership for AGO to:

• Engage citizens to implement AGO recommendations;

• Focus philanthropy and other investment on AGO goals; 

• Expand private sector engagement with and investment to coordinate 

in AGO goals; 

• Broaden partnerships to coordinate nonprofit, private, and 

government sector focus on AGO goals; 

• Explore alternative financing for operations and maintenance needs of 

federal agencies;

Recommendation 10.2
76 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE - PEACO PHOTO / YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, IDAHO, MONTANA, WYOMING
Working Together for the Great Outdoors 77

• Broadcast best practices for science and planning and innovation in 

conservation and recreation to reconnect people to the outdoors; and

• Develop ways to evaluate success.

Action Item 10.2a: Engage diverse leaders from philanthropy, the private 

sector, conservation, recreation, historic preservation, state and local 

government, tribes and community groups to establish the foundation for 

the Partnership for AGO as an entity charged with supporting the vision 

and goals of the AGO Initiative. (AGO Council)

America’s Great 

Outdoors Vision 

Statement

Americans envision a future

in which:

All children, regardless of 

where they live, have access 

to clean, safe outdoor places 

within a short walk of their 

homes or schools, where they 

can play, dream, discover, and 

recreate. 

Americans participate in the 

shared responsibility to protect 

and care for our unique natural 

and cultural heritage for the 

use and enjoyment of future 

generations.

Rural lands—our working 

farms, ranches, and forests—

are conserved and restored 

through incentives and local 

partnerships. 

Our national parks, national 

wildlife refuges, national forests, and other public lands and 

waters are managed with a 

renewed commitment to sound 

stewardship and resilience. 

Our natural areas and waterways, whether publicly or 

privately owned, are reconnected, healthy, and resilient 

and support both human needs 

and the wildlife that depend 

on them.

Communities work together 

to restore and protect healthy 

rivers and lakes to provide 

recreational opportunities and 

to contribute significantly to a 

vibrant economy.
78 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS PHOTO / AGO LISTENING SESSION, GODFREY, illinois
Youth Report 79

Youth and America’s

Great Outdoors

What We Heard from America’s Young People

The Special Role of Young People

On April 16, 2010, President Obama launched the America’s Great 

Outdoors Initiative (AGO). The President called upon the Departments 

of the Interior and Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, 

and the White House Council on Environmental Quality to lead the 

effort of developing an agenda for 21st-century conservation and for 

reconnecting Americans to our nation’s lands and waters.41 Senior 

representatives from these agencies and others convened public meetings 

across the nation that brought together farmers, ranchers, sporting 

enthusiasts, conservationists, business owners, tribal, state and local 

government representatives, parents, young people, teachers and others 

to share their insights about conservation and about both the challenges 

facing our lands and waters and innovative, community-based approaches 

to tackle them. 

From the start, President Obama recognized the importance of young 

people. He directed that “special attention... be given to bringing 

young Americans into the conversation” and worried about the fact 

that young people today spend about half as much time outdoors as 

their parents did. To honor and capture the youth voice, the America’s 

Great Outdoors team launched a series of listening sessions aimed to 

hear from you—America’s young people. We wanted to know how you 

relate to the outdoors and why it is special to you. We also asked you 

why the American people are losing touch with the natural world, to 

identify the obstacles that keep you from spending more time outdoors, 

and we challenged you to give us your ideas about how they might be 

41 President Obama asked that the following agencies work with the AGO leads to identify existing 

resources and align policies and programs to achieve its goals: Departments of Defense, Commerce, 

Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Labor, Transportation, and 

Education; and the Office of Management and Budget.
80 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

overcome. After hearing from you at 21 youth listening sessions—and 

through hundreds of comments you submitted online—we have a broader 

understanding of your passion, commitment, experiences, opinions, and 

expectations—and some great ideas to help us move forward together.

What Went Into this Report: Listening to You

We organized our first AGO youth listening session in Missoula, 

Montana, on June 2, 2010, with the help of local youth leaders. The 

enthusiasm and energy from that meeting led us to host 21 youth 

listening sessions in over a dozen cities and towns, from Los Angeles, 

California, to Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Lawrence, Kansas, where we 

met with students at Haskell Indian Nations University. For each session, 

we worked with local host committees comprised of local youth leaders, 

student groups, Job Corps participants and others to help organize 

the public sessions and to send out public meeting notices aimed at 

participants between the ages of 16 to 25. 

Each of the listening sessions followed a similar framework. A 

representative from the AGO team began by introducing the 

America’s Great Outdoors initiative and linking our efforts to your 

town or community. We then divided to breakout rooms, where you 

joined a facilitated discussion and collectively come up with a set of 

recommendations that you presented to the whole group at the end of the 

session. In certain locations, we organized our sessions around specific 

themes, like historic preservation, recreation, environmental justice, 

health, and native youth. We have incorporated what we heard in those 

conversations into this special youth report and into the report to the 

President, America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations.

42

Your comments coalesced around four themes that describe, or define, 

your relationship to the outdoors: relevance, access, employment and 

service, and education. At listening sessions across the country, you 

described the challenges you face in each of these areas, and proposed 

thoughtful ideas for how to overcome them. The purpose of this report 

is to recognize and organize your comments into a youth agenda for 

America’s great outdoors. We wrote this to be a “living document”—one 

that provides a foundation and impetus for change without prescribing a 

process. Throughout this process, we have made every effort to preserve 

the original intent and spirit of your comments. We hope this document 

captures what you shared and inspires you to keep the conversation going. 

42 The final report, America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations, can be found at www.doi.

gov/AmericasGreatOutdoors.
Youth Report 81

Exploring the Special Relationship Between Young People and the 

Outdoors

To better understand your relationship with the outdoors, we began each 

listening session by asking “Where do you go when you are not indoors? What 

do you like to do there?”

“I do pretty much anything and everything in the outdoors. My family 

has a farm—we hike a lot in the backcountry. I sketch outdoors, do 

whatever else I can get into.” —Hyde Park, NY

 “I like to do normal, day-to-day activities outside, in city parks—

sports, reading, etc.”—Asheville, NC 

Through remarks, discussion, jokes, stories, and even a song—you 

showed us how much people your age care about, and yearn to connect 

more meaningfully with the outdoors. You listed several reasons for 

spending time outdoors: from relaxation, and inspiration, team sports, 

recreation, and exercise, to discovering historical and cultural sites, 

to family vacations and school trips. You made it clear that the “great 

outdoors” means something different to everyone, and that your views 

of and experiences in the natural world depend in large part upon the 

circumstances of your childhood and your proximity to outdoor places. 

For some of you, going outdoors means traveling to remote places like 

the majestic vistas of the Grand Canyon, the hardwood forests of the 

northeast, the warm beaches of the Gulf Coast, or the choppy waters of 

the Puget Sound. Others of you defined the outdoors as any space beyond 

your front doorstep, including local parks and playgrounds, your school’s 

sports fields, or a greenway that links one part of your city to another. 

Many of you who grew up in more rural settings viewed the outdoors 

through the perspective of your family’s farm or ranch, conveying a deep 

understanding of—and appreciation for—the streams, trails, and fields 

that had been core to your identity since childhood. Similarly, the range 

of what you do in the outdoors ranges from walking your dog and playing 

games like capture the flag, to organized team sports, to more extreme 

activities, such as rock climbing, snowmobiling, mountain biking, and 

motocross. Many of you were devoted campers and hikers, and spoke 

of your skills in fishing, hunting, and archery. In general, though, you 

appeared more likely to visit places close to home, often accompanied by 

friends or family. 

The diversity of your responses demonstrates that young people view 

the outdoors through multiple lenses and that each of your relationships 

with the natural world is deeply personal and is a product of complex 

factors, including geographic location and proximity to outdoor places, 
82 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE PHOTO / Lewis and Clark National and State Historical Park, OREGON AND WASHINGTON
Youth Report 83

family background, education, and personal interests. You showed us that 

there is truly no “one-size-fits-all” approach for making America’s Great 

Outdoors more relevant to today’s youth. 

After speaking to you about your relationship with the outdoors, we 

wanted to learn more about what you do to take care of it. Our second 

question was “What do you do personally to protect the environment? What do 

you see others around you doing?”

“It’s important to focus on the little things you can do in your everyday 

life—changing light bulbs, showering efficiently, and recycling.” 

—Annapolis, MD

“I started a climate action group at high school. We need young people 

to set an example and take the lead.” —Annapolis, MD

Several of you expressed your concern for the environment and described 

yourselves as leading sustainable, “green” lifestyles. From recycling and 

buying reusable products to turning off the lights and air conditioning, 

many of you are taking meaningful steps to reduce your impact on the 

environment. Some of you volunteer in community gardens or co-ops, 

helping to revitalize and protect the nature in your neighborhoods. Many 

of you have volunteered for ecosystem restoration projects to improve 

and enhance local lands and waters. Others of you compost and carpool 

whenever possible. We also heard about young people who participate 

in environmental fairs, join or establish student environmental clubs, 

and undertake other creative efforts to “green” your homes, schools 

and communities. Several of you expressed a desire to convert your 

passion for the outdoors into a career—aspiring to jobs in forestry, forest 

firefighting, conservation, farming, outdoor education, engineering, and 

cultural preservation. On the other hand, some of you shared a belief that 

“going green” is a personal decision, and is not something to proclaim or 

impose upon others. You explained how a rigid or self-righteous stance 

might offend your peers or family. In the end, most of you agreed on 

the paramount importance of environmental education to illuminate 

the multiple meanings and intrinsic value of nature—and to explain the 

responsibility we share to protect it. 
84 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

A Youth Agenda for America’s Great Outdoors

Through your participation in listening sessions and the comments you 

submitted online, you explained why you want to connect with the 

outdoors and described the challenges you face in doing so. You proposed 

constructive suggestions for breaking down these barriers, and discovered 

a shared purpose along the way. Together—based on your priorities, abilities, and aspirations—we have begun to shape an agenda for connecting 

youth to America’s great outdoors in the 21st century. This agenda encompasses four key goals: 

A. Make the outdoors relevant to today’s young people: make it inviting, 

exciting, and fun;

B. Ensure that all young people have access to outdoor places that are 

safe, clean, and close to home;

C. Empower and enable youth to work and volunteer in the outdoors;

D. Build upon a base of environmental and outdoor education, both formal and informal. 

A. Make the outdoors relevant to youth—make it inviting, exciting 

and fun.

Although many of you have had extraordinary experiences—and are 

deeply invested—in the outdoors, you observed a growing detachment 

from nature among your peers. Studies show that today’s youth are 

spending half as much time outside as your parents did—and over seven 

hours per day in front of a screen.43 As a result, your mental and physical 

health is at risk. A decline in physical activity has contributed to soaring obesity rates among America’s young people. In the past thirty years, 

childhood obesity rates have tripled, and now one third of American 

children are overweight or obese, and therefore more susceptible to heart 

disease, asthma, cancer, and other health conditions.44 Recreation in the 

outdoors is an antidote to many of these health risks, and research indicates that regular exposure to nature lowers stress, cultivates creativity, 

and builds self-confidence among young people. Conversely, it has been 

suggested that excessive “screen time” detracts from social development 

and concentration, and foster a dependency on overstimulation.45

43 Rideout, V. J., Foehr, U., & Roberts, D. F. (2010). Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-YearOlds. Menlo Park: Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. 44 Daniels, S. R., Jacobson, M. S., McCrindle, B. W., Eckel, R. H., & McHugh Sanner, B. (2009). 

American Heart Association Childhood Obesity Research Summit Executive Summary. Circulation, 

2224.

45 Richtel, M. (2010, November 21). The New York Times. Retrieved December 13, 2010, 

from “Growing up Digital, Wired for Distraction”: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/

technology/21brain.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=growing%20up%20digital&st=cse.
Youth Report 85

Many of you are aware of this nexus between health and the outdoors, 

and you understand the importance of regular activity to your overall 

wellbeing. At the same time, you mentioned several reasons why the 

outdoors is not always relevant, fun, and inviting for today’s young 

people. These include: changing social values, lack of parental interest 

or familiarity with the outdoors, the inaccessibility of information about 

destinations both near and far, and about what young people can do 

when they get there. In addition, many of you admitted that the lure of 

technology and electronic media often keeps you indoors.

Challenges You Identified

Changing Social Values: “A lot of parents just don’t care. I just took 

a 15-year-old friend who’d never been camping in her life. I have 

friends who have never seen snow or gone skiing. It all depends on 

your family. If they don’t care, you will never get the chance.” 

—Philadelphia, PA

Throughout the listening sessions, we observed evidence of a generational 

shift in the way young people think about and experience nature. Most 

of the adults we engaged in the general listening sessions told stories of 

childhoods spent outdoors: farming, hunting, fishing, horseback and 

bike riding, exploring the woods, and sleeping under the stars. Now, 

only some of you could personally relate to those experiences. Many 

more of you describe the outdoors as remote, mysterious, and sometimes, 

scary. Likewise, several of you told us that you do not have the “skills” 

necessary to participate in activities like camping, hiking, and mountain 

biking. More importantly, you said that nobody ever took you outside. 

Indeed, those of you who had spent a lot of time outside attributed your 

familiarity with—and appreciation for—nature to the parents, caregivers, 

teachers, mentors, or camp instructors who had instilled these values in 

you as young children.

Access to Information: “It’s not just about getting people out there, but 

how to use it once they are there. Some people see a mountain as a place 

to ski, some want to hike up it, others just think it’s pretty. You have to 

show people all of the options to enjoy it.” —Annapolis, MD

In listening sessions across the country, we heard you say that you want to 

experience and understand the great outdoors, but you need help figuring 

out where to go, what to do, and how to get there. You complained that 

government websites are neither user-friendly, nor engaging, and do not 

answer these questions in a way that makes sense to young people. To 

communicate with younger generations and help them enjoy the great 

outdoors, you said, the government must use modern technology and 

social media tools. 
86 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

The Influence of Media and Technology: “Now that there is more and 

more technology available, parents have even more challenges to get 

their kids outdoors. They need to take responsibility and take their kids 

outdoors.” —Minneapolis, MN

From Facebook and YouTube to texting, and electronic games, the 

temptation to spend time in front of a screen has a grip on you. In the 

absence of technological toys, you said, the outdoors can seem kind 

of... boring. But, it doesn’t have to be that way, we heard. Several of you 

remarked on the liberation you felt when you left your electronic devices 

at home—once freed from your phone, you admitted to focusing better 

on your friends and the world around you. You shared your ideas for how 

to bring technology into the outdoors through phone applications, online 

games or contests, and interactive mapping tools. Social networking is an 

excellent way to coordinate an impromptu snowball fight or game of hide 

and seek, you told us. These tools will be necessary to make our parks and 

open spaces more accessible and exciting for people your age. 

Your ideas for making the outdoors relevant to youth:

• Bridge the gap between technology and the outdoors by developing 

innovative tools, like nature-based mobile phone applications, GPS 

devices, and online challenges.

• Launch a national outdoor youth campaign to raise awareness of the 

importance of the outdoors to health and our nation’s history and 

economy, including concerts, rallies, and youth summits.

• Keep the conversation going by continuing to hold regional listening 

sessions for youth.

• Create a user-friendly web portal that shows young people where to 

go and what to do in the great outdoors.

• Host free events to introduce youth and their families to outdoor 

activities they can enjoy for a lifetime.

• Help native youth reconnect with their heritage by enabling them 

to practice traditional outdoor activities, like hunting, fishing and 

archery 

B. Ensure that all young people have access to outdoor places that are 

safe, clean, and close to home.

Many of you talked about the importance of having safe, easy access to 

quality outdoor places and experiences. You identified five main challenges related to transportation, cost, safety, time, environmental health, and 

the quality and cleanliness of public facilities. You explained that these 
Youth Report 87

barriers often make visiting any sort of outdoor space - from national 

wildlife refuges to city parks—difficult, or unappealing. 

Challenges You Identified

Transportation: “City transportation and general transportation is 

lacking. We need better public transportation to get around to different 

areas in the city, and we need shuttles that take people to outdoor spaces 

further away.” —Albuquerque, NM

In communities across the country, we learned about the shortage of 

green space close to home and the resulting dependence on parents or 

public transportation to reach outdoor destinations. This challenge is 

particularly acute for the 80 percent of you who live in or near urban 

areas, where you told us that traffic, fragmented development, limited 

trail or sidewalk connectors, and minimal mass transit can prevent people 

from enjoying the parks and open spaces even within their communities. 

In general, your comments revealed how challenging it can be for 

families, schools groups, and young people to enjoy the parks, trails, 

farms, and rivers both close to home and farther away.

Cost: ”It’s expensive to visit—I can’t afford fees, transportation, or 

programs.” —Philadelphia, PA

The real or perceived costs of visiting parks and other places discourage 

many of you from going out to enjoy them. The cost of transportation, the 

fees, passes and permits and outdoor gear (skis, kayaks, boots, waders, 

etc.) that may be required present a real obstacle for young people, 

families and youth groups. Although you recognize that revenue from 

these sources are essential to the protection and upkeep of our public 

lands, for some they make visiting such places less feasible. 

Safety: “Urban areas, gang violence—lots of parents don’t have time 

to go out with their children and refuse to let them out on their own.” 

—Asheville, NC 

Fear is stopping some of you from spending time outdoors. Some of you 

are dissuaded by a “fear of the unknown”—listing bad weather, creepy insects, and strange animals as reasons why you prefer to stay indoors. More 

than a few of you shared eyewitness accounts of muggings, gang violence, 

and drug use in parks and open spaces near you. You also described the 

deteriorating infrastructure in these places, citing broken streetlights, 

overflowing garbage bins, and graffiti-cloaked restrooms, as contributing to an environment of neglect and danger. In addition, you spoke of 

the lack of safe routes to parks and open spaces. Crime, traffic, and a lack 
88 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS PHOTO / ANACOSTIA RIVER, WASHINGTON, D.C.
Youth Report 89

of connected sidewalks and pathways impair your ability to access the 

outdoor places near you. You told us that your parents share these fears, 

and sometimes exacerbate them. Safety concerns were especially prevalent 

among native youth, many of whom viewed vacant lots and empty spaces 

as havens of illegal activity. There is no doubt that safety-related concerns—from violent crime to broken bones—prevent some of you from 

viewing local parks as places to gather, relax, and recreate. 

Limited Free Time: “School and social time takes up so much time 

that there isn’t free time for [young people] to spend outside, and schools 

have stopped taking them outside for coursework.” 

—Minneapolis, MN

Some of you cited a packed schedule as your primary reason for not 

spending more time outdoors. With school, sports, jobs, community 

service and other responsibilities consuming your waking hours, you have 

minimal free time. And you told us, when you do have a break, getting 

outdoors is not as easy or exciting as staying in and watching TV or 

playing a video game. 

Environmental Health: “Pollution prevents us from doing certain 

activities, like swimming in Lake Washington.” —Seattle, WA

Many of you expressed concern for the quality of your local environment. 

Air and water pollution were listed as reasons for not spending time 

outdoors, particularly in urban and industrial areas. In some communities, you linked pollution to public health, listing asthma and cancer as 

byproducts of a toxic environment. These conversations were particularly 

charged among native youth, many of whom complained of a lack of 

clean drinking water and contamination on their reservations. Many of 

you noted the prevalence of garbage and illegal dumping of things from 

old cars to toxic waste in and around public lands and on reservations. 

Quality of the Built Environment: “If a place is dirty, you would 

rather stay inside. If you are from the city and not used to being in 

nature in the first place, this will not be a good experience.” 

—Minneapolis, MN

Poorly maintained or outdated infrastructure, including degrading trails 

and other recreational infrastructure, camp sites, restroom facilities, and 

visitor centers was another factor that discouraged some of you from visiting parks and outdoor places. We heard that ready access to—and proper 

signage of—trails is critical to your enjoyment of parks and open spaces. 

Several of you mentioned that many public lands and facilities are not 
90 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

sufficiently equipped for people with special needs, and those for whom 

English is not their first language. Oftentimes the failure to manage 

the environment and pollution of ecosystems on and off the reservation 

directly impacts Native populations. The failure to realize and understand 

the cultural values and the substance needs of Native populations has resulted in a sense of helplessness and a lack of ownership and stewardship 

of the environment for native populations. 

Your ideas for ensuring that all young people have access to safe clean, 

and close to home outdoor places: 

• Create more parks near and in communities, including networks of 

connected trails, bike paths, and greenways, and urban gardens and 

community “pocket parks.” 

• Improve access to open spaces, both within cities and beyond their 

limits, by expanding options for public transportation and linking 

sidewalks and pathways to create safe routes to parks, 

• Reduce barriers to using parks by lowering entry fees for young 

people and families.

• Make outdoor recreation more affordable through innovative concepts 

like “gear libraries” or other low-cost options for sharing recreational 

and safety equipment.

• Make parks more welcoming, safe, and usable by cleaning up garbage, and taking better care of existing facilities like trails, signage, 

and restrooms.

• Work with individual communities to reduce crime and gang activity 

in neighborhood parks and open spaces, and on native lands 

C. Empower and enable youth to work and volunteer in the outdoors.

In cities and towns across the country, you expressed a powerful desire 

to increase jobs opportunities in America’s great outdoors. You worried 

because unemployment rates are highest among youth and you face 

particular difficulties breaking into the job market. According to the 

Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the percentage of 

young people employed in July 2010 was 48.9 percent, the lowest July 

record for the series, which began in 1948. You shared your particular 

frustration with the application and hiring processes at federal agencies, 

and in some cases admitted to giving up on a government job entirely. 

You asked us repeatedly to streamline hiring systems and to do a 

better job of coordinating within the government and with partners. 

Volunteering was another area where you said the government should 

improve outreach to engage young people who want to make a difference 

in conservation. 
Youth Report 91

Jobs and Training: “Expand and fund what we already have. Provide jobs for more youth leaders like MCC [Montana Conservation 

Corps]. We need people with ideas about what we already have in 

place. Get the Forest Service or BLM into these organizations speaking, and giving slideshows. Get kids excited about this!”

—Missoula, MT

We heard again and again how tough it is to get a job in the federal 

government. Some of you shared the perception that there are few jobs 

and internships available through federal agencies. Others of you were 

aware that such opportunities existed, but did not know where to go to 

find them. You told us that the time and tedium of the application process 

often discouraged you from seeking work with the federal government. 

Those of you who had experiences with the federal Job Corps, spoke very 

highly of your experiences, and recommended better coordination and 

support for the efforts of individual conservation corps programs. You 

also identified a need for increased training and clearer career pathways at 

land management agencies. In addition, your comments reflected a need 

to recruit more diverse youth to work on public lands. The more inclusive 

our agencies, you told us, the more effective and relevant we will be. 

Volunteer Opportunities: “Provide training for volunteers and find 

funds for people to get certifications for their projects and training to 

learn to lead service projects.” —Hyde Park, NY

“Service learning addresses a lot of issues both indoors and outdoors. 

[It] provides the opportunity to learn about chemicals, connects with 

other classes, and affect mindsets.” —Asheville, NC

Another meaningful way that many of you have gained experience 

in the outdoors is through service-learning, through your schools, 

religious institutions, hunting and fishing clubs, scouts, young farmer 

organizations, conservation corps and other programs. Many of you 

have participated or have friends who joined various youth service 

organizations, which you unanimously called to expand. You spoke very 

highly of your volunteer experiences, and articulated a need to coordinate 

and support organizations like these, which cultivate outdoor skills and 

build a stewardship ethic. 

At the same time, you cited a lack of coordination at the national, state, 

and local level as a key barrier to engaging volunteers in conservation 

activities on public and private lands and waters. You said that the federal 

government must work better with partners to increase opportunities for 

outdoor service, and train and help manage a robust, multi-generational 

volunteer corps. Expanding public-private partnerships for service, you 

said, will improve the quality of our lands and waters, enhance local 
92 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

economies, bring communities together, and promote greater appreciation 

of the great outdoors. To build capacity for these projects at the local 

level, you called upon experienced youth leaders, adults, and seniors to 

act as mentors and ambassadors to other youth to help build positive 

relationships with and experiences in the outdoors. 

Working Lands: “We need to support outdoor environmental areas, 

including farms and ranches. These areas are open space, wildlife 

habitat. We need to maintain private lands because they serve multiple 

purposes. There needs to be more support for farmers and ranchers.” 

—Albuquerque, NM

Some of your comments reflected a deep, personal appreciation of the 

importance of private working lands to the fabric of our nation, both 

because of the food and fiber they provide, and also because of the history 

and culture and wildlife habitat they support. You spoke of how working 

and volunteering on farms, ranches, and private forest land serves as 

an important and valuable outdoor experience. You championed the 

importance of these lands as open space and habitat for wildlife, calling 

for programs that would support the multiple uses of land and help small 

farmers and ranchers incorporate sustainable practices to keep their 

working lands working. You called for programs that show landowners 

how to support ecosystem functions and wildlife habitat on their property 

and provide incentive programs that encourage habitat maintenance. 

Your ideas for empowering and enabling youth to work and volunteer 

in the outdoors:

• Increase interest in and access to careers in land and resource management through mentoring, training, and internships for young 

farmers, ranchers, and conservationists.

• Raise awareness of job and service opportunities on public lands and 

streamline the application process through better and easier access to 

information online.

• Build a modern Youth Conservation Corps to engage America’s 

young people, veterans, and underserved populations in the stewardship and conservation of our lands and waters.

• Bring communities together for environmental cleanups and restoration projects, including work on native reservations, urban gardens, 

brownfields, and vacant lots.

• Promote inclusion and diversity in outdoor recreation, education, and 

in conservation related jobs and volunteer opportunities 
Youth Report 93

D. Build upon a base of environmental and outdoor education, both 

formal and informal.

Many of you spoke with great passion about outdoor education programs 

you have participated in. From summer camp in the mountains, to 

overnight stays at a residential learning center, to outdoor retreats with 

your church group, to adventures on a YMCA ropes course, these 

experiences had a deep and ongoing impact on you. Yet, you made it 

clear that these opportunities are not available to everyone. Today’s youth 

spend most of their time at school or in formal afterschool programs, 

and increasingly less and less of it is spent outdoors. Although you had 

outdoor recess during elementary school, by high school, you are often 

in closed campuses. You expressed a hunger for environmental education 

and a desire to learn about our country’s cultural and historic resources, 

like the national battlefields and monuments that you told us, “bring 

history alive.” 

Environmental Education in Schools: “We need more outdoor classrooms—trips to parks, zoos, and nature in our classes.” 

—Asheville, NC

“Things that take place in the outside world are things that really exist. 

Things that take place inside the classroom exist in a textbook. We need 

to be able to connect... Being outside is a real experience as opposed to 

textbooks in classrooms.”—Hyde Park, NY

For most of you, school dominates your lives. One of your most common 

complaints was the lack of environmental education built into school 

curriculum and the cutbacks in field trips to the outdoors. For many, 

the only nature you see during the school day is in the images of your 

textbooks or the window of your school bus. From what you told us, these 

trends are worse in tribal schools, where there are virtually no resources 

for field trips, and little enthusiasm to make outdoor education a part of 

the curriculum. 

Cultural and Historical Literacy: “These places are different from 

“parks and recreation” outdoor spaces. Historical sites don’t force you to 

learn, but provide a place to learn and social space—a place to communicate, connect, and be social.” —Philadelphia, PA

In addition to wanting to learn more about our country’s natural 

resources, you expressed a desire to connect with our cultural and historic 

resources. Some of you shared stories of visiting historic sites with your 

school, and you said that experiencing these places in person makes the 

lessons you learn every day more real and meaningful. Our listening 

session in Philadelphia focused on historic preservation. There, we heard 
94 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE - WATERS PHOTO / FORT DUPONT PARK, WASHINGTON, D.c.
Youth Report 95

from people who live in walking distance of some of America’s most 

iconic historic sites, yet had never seen them in person (or, if they had 

often they were unaware of their historical significance). Meanwhile, 

those of you who had explored places like Valley Forge or Independence 

Hall spoke to the great power of these places to inspire, and educate you 

in a whole new way. 

Outdoor Education Beyond the Classroom: “Get kids out and educate them on the ground, at farms. More focus should be on hands-on 

education, not on test scores.” —Hyde Park, NY

You shared examples of programs that provide meaningful outdoor 

experiences beyond the school day, but that are becoming less common 

with resource constraints. Many of you spoke of after school programs 

that kept you active and healthy as young kids, and about experiences 

at summer camps and residential learning centers, which created a 

deep connection to—and comfort in—the outdoors. Unfortunately, 

these programs are not available everywhere. They often lack sufficient 

funding, are not seen as a priority in the larger scheme of things, and are 

unaffordable for many families. And, given the stringency of statewide 

testing and evaluation requirements, many teachers may not have the 

time or incentives to incorporate outdoor education into their lesson 

plans. Even in areas where these programs do exist and thrive, a large 

share of the population may not be aware of them. 

Mentoring and Leadership: “Teaching kids—you don’t need a huge 

organization or have to take them way out of the city. We can do this 

in our own neighborhoods.” —Minneapolis, MN

“I would like to gain new skills in outdoor recreation (pitching a tent, 

starting a fire, identifying plants and animals, etc.), but I am not sure 

how.” —Hyde Park, NY

Many of you—especially those in high school or younger—want to 

connect with the outdoors, but do not have anyone to show you the 

way. Aware of your parents’ busy schedules or their indifference to the 

outdoors, and hindered by inadequate access to open space, some of you 

confessed to not knowing where, or how, to have an outdoor experience. 

You seek mentors and peer leaders to open the world of the outdoors 

to you, but you don’t know how or where to find them. Native youth 

expressed a need for mentorship on many levels—calling for support in 

school, at home, and in their communities. 
96 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

Native Youth and Culture: “We need to get more involved in the 

old ways—what we did in the past, like hunting, fishing, putting up 

teepees, maybe doing archery... to help us get back to our roots and 

preserve our culture.” —Anandarko, OK

We observed the environmental education gap most profoundly among 

native youth, who have a keen desire to rediscover their traditional 

cultures through the land, via recreation and education. At listening 

sessions in Kansas and New Mexico, you asked for a more diversified 

and culturally enriched approach to curriculum and instruction, and 

suggested that sacred sites in your community could be used to help you 

understand and take pride in your heritage. Likewise, you expressed a 

desire to be coached in traditional outdoor activities, such as archery, 

fishing, canoeing, and hunting. At the same time, many of you appeared 

skeptical that these changes would ever be implemented. You described 

several barriers to outdoor education, including decrepit facilities, 

outdated technology, and an overall lack of resources at your schools. In 

addition, you cited the disorganization and apathy of adults within and 

outside of your native communities as a primary reason why nothing was 

changing. 

Your ideas for building upon a base of environmental and outdoor 

education, both formal and informal:

• Expand outdoor education programs to engage more young people in 

hands-on, place-based learning experiences.

• Provide more opportunities for kids to get outside during the school 

day, through curriculum-based activities, service-learning projects, 

and outdoor recess and P.E.

• Link outdoor professionals, including park and forest rangers, to local 

school districts to educate teachers and students on the significance of 

their natural and cultural surroundings, and inspire them to get out 

and explore the outdoors.

• Increase cultural literacy and cultivate civic pride by helping families 

and school groups visit historic sites and landscapes.

• Leverage grants and other existing resources to make it easier and 

more affordable for school groups to access public and private lands. 

• Use mentor and ambassador programs to bring young people outdoors 

and teach them the skills necessary to connect with and enjoy nature. 

• Increase outdoor learning experiences in native schools, and incorporate more lessons about sacred sites and practices.
Youth Report 97

Conclusion

When we kicked off our AGO listening tour in Missoula last June, we 

had little idea where this initiative would take us, who we would meet, or 

what we would learn. All we knew was that our nation’s lands and waters 

are in trouble, and we were concerned that people our age do not seem 

to care enough or spend much time enjoying them. After hearing from 

over 2,000 of you at 21 public youth listening sessions and thousands 

of online comments, we are grateful for—and truly inspired by—your 

commitment, passion, energy, and creativity. We have a much deeper 

understanding of the significant barriers between America’s young people 

and the natural world. From the cost and availability of transportation 

to the lack of information, from the scarcity of environmental education 

to the complexity of the federal hiring process, there are many reasons 

why youth are less engaged in the outdoors than ever before. At the same 

time, we witnessed a tremendous level of creativity, collaboration, and 

leadership in each of the places we visited. In cities and towns across the 

country, you are breaking down social divides, linking non-traditional 

partners, and taking advantage of cool, new technologies to make your 

voices heard. The problems we face are real, but the energy and hope you 

give us is greater.

This report, your report, contains your ideas of why young people today 

do and should care about our natural and cultural heritage, the key 

obstacles that keep you from connecting to the outdoors, as well as 

your best ideas for how to move forward. Thanks to your energy and 

dedication, the challenges and solutions you raised are helping to frame 

the national debate on how to make the outdoors relevant and accessible 

to all Americans. 

The report to the President marks the beginning of what we believe 

will be a long and transformative dialogue and partnership between the 

federal government and the people we serve. As we begin to implement 

the recommendations in the report, we will seek new ways of doing 

business, looking to replicate and expand successful models we witnessed 

at the local level. We will collaborate with groups in the public and 

private sectors, and we will pledge to be a better partner by stepping up 

transparency, efficiency, and coordination. We will continue to engage 

with people we met over the summer, and will reach out to new audiences 

as we seek to advance the President’s agenda on America’s Great 

Outdoors. We hope you will join us. 
98 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

Los Angeles Conservation Corps PHOTO / AGO LISTENING SESSION, Rio de Los Angeles State Park, CALIFORNIA
Youth Report 99

Next Steps

What we will do:

Young Americans spoke, and we listened. Your comments and insights 

helped shape the report to the President, America’s Great Outdoors: A 

Promise to Future Generations, and established a permanent place for 

youth in the conversation on America’s great outdoors. We, as the 

federal government, want to work with you to make the outdoors more 

relevant, accessible, and fun for young people today, and in the future. 

Over the next several years, we will be working with a range of partners 

to implement the recommendations in the main report. We need you 

to continue to be a part of this effort. Please stay in touch through the 

America’s Great Outdoors website and Facebook page. 
100 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY - VANCE PHOTO
Appendix A 101

Appendix A

What Went Into the Report

On April 16, 2010, President Obama asked the Secretaries of the 

Interior and Agriculture, the Administrator of the Environmental 

Protection Agency, and the Chair of the Council on Environmental 

Quality, in partnership with the Departments of Defense, Commerce, 

Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Labor, 

Transportation, Education, and the Office of Management and Budget 

to develop a new vision for conservation in America drawn from ideas 

presented through a series of listening sessions held across the country. 

Public meetings took place throughout the summer of 2010, resulting in 

tens of thousands of diverse ideas, policy recommendations, and proposals 

from the American public. In addition to the listening sessions sponsored 

by federal agencies, citizens and coalitions of organizations organized 

their own “homegrown” listening sessions that also gave Americans 

the ability to weigh in on these deliberations. And, many thousands of 

Americans provided feedback and comments through e-mail and the 

America’s Great Outdoors website. In all, more than 105,000 comments 

contributed to the conversation. These comments and recommendations 

provide the basis for this report to the President, and a starting point for a 

continuing conversation on conservation in the 21st century. 

Multiagency teams conducted more than 50 listening sessions in communities from Seattle to Charleston. People shared experiences about 

innovative approaches that can provide outstanding examples for the rest 

of the nation. A full range of interested groups engaged, including tribal 

leaders, farmers and ranchers, sports enthusiasts, foresters, motorized 

recreationists, youth groups, businesspeople, educators, historic preservationists, state and local governments, and land trusts. An extra effort was 

made to engage young Americans through 21 youth focused listening sessions. In addition to offering personal ideas and stories, participants were 

asked to respond to the following topics: 

(1) What Works - What are the most effective strategies for conservation, recreation, and reconnecting people to the outdoors that you are 

aware of or have used? 

(2) Challenges - What obstacles exist to achieve your goals for conservation, recreation, or reconnecting people to the outdoors? 

(3) Federal Government Role - How can the federal government be a 

more effective partner in helping to achieve goals around conservation, 

recreation and reconnecting people to the outdoors? 

(4) Tools - What additional tools and resources would help your efforts 

be even more successful?

Ideas and proposed solutions addressed administrative changes, program 

improvements, science application, funding, and best practices. Review 
102 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

teams then considered ideas gathered from all forms of input, evaluated 

relevant budget data, and developed proposals related to the goals set 

forth in the Presidential Memorandum. The result is this report to the 

President on America’s Great Outdoors, which identifies goals, recommendations, and actions for the creation of a 21st-century agenda for 

conservation, recreation, and reconnecting people to the outdoors. It also 

reviews successful and promising collaborative conservation approaches 

and analyzes available financial resources and programs that could 

complement those approaches. 

Youth Sessions

1. Albuquerque, NM

2. Anadarko, OK – Tribal Focus

3. Annapolis, MD

4. Asheville, NC

5. Berkeley, CA

6. Chicago, IL

7. Godfrey, IL

8. Golden, CO

9. Grand Island, NE

10. Hyde Park, NY

11. Kissimmee, FL

12. Lawrence, KS – Tribal Focus

13. Los Angeles, CA

14. Minneapolis, MN

15. Missoula, MT

16. Philadelphia, PA

17. Riverside, CA – Tribal Focus

18. Salem, OR – Tribal Focus

19. Salt Lake City, UT

20. Seattle, WA

21. Tuba City, AZ – Tribal Focus

Locally Initiated “Homegrown” 

Sessions

1. Austin, TX

2. Boise, ID

3. Boston, MA

4. Boulder, CO

5. Cheyenne, WY

6. Freeport, ME

7. Jackson Hole, WY

8. Lander, WY

9. Portland, OR

List of Listening Sessions

General Sessions

1. Albuquerque, NM

2. Annapolis, MD

3. Asheville, NC

4. Bangor, ME

5. Bozeman, MT

6. Charleston, SC

7. Chicago, IL

8. Concord, NH

9. Fort Pierre, SD

10. Godfrey, IL/St. Louis, MO

11. Golden, CO

12. Grand Island, NE

13. Grand Junction, CO

14. Helena, MT

15. Kissimmee, FL

16. Los Angeles, CA

17. Minneapolis, MN

18. Missoula, MT

19. Nashville, TN

20. Philadelphia, PA

21. Poughkeepsie, NY

22. Prior Lake, MN – Tribal 

Focus

23. Salt Lake City, UT

24. Seattle, WA

25. Spokane, WA- Tribal Focus

26. Washington, D.C.

Collaborative Sessions

1. Davis, CA

2. New York, NY

3. Ovando, MT

4. South El Monte, CA
Appendix B 103

Appendix B

List of Acronyms

21CSC 21st-Century Conservation Service Corps

ACHP Advisory Council on Historic Preservation

AGO America’s Great Outdoors

BIA Bureau of Indian Affairs

BIE Bureau of Indian Education

BLM Bureau of Land Management

B-WET Bay-Watershed Education and Training Program

CCDO Community Capacity Development Office

CDBG Community Development Block Grants

CDC Center for Disease Control and Prevention

CELCP Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program

CEQ Council on Environmental Quality

CNCS Corporation for National and Community Service

CRP Conservation Reserve Program

CSC Coastal Services Center

DOC Department of Commerce

DOD Department of Defense

DOE Department of Education

DOI Department of the Interior

DOJ Department of Justice

DOL Department of Labor

DOT Department of Transportation

EDA U.S. Economic Development Administration

EPA Environmental Protection Agency

EQIP Environmental Quality Incentives Program

FACA Federal Advisory Committee Act

FICOR Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation

FRPP Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program

FSA Farm Service Agency

FWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

FY Fiscal Year

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GRP Grassland Reserve Program

HHS Department of Health and Human Services

HUD Department of Housing and Urban Development 

JCCCC Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers

LWCF Land and Water Conservation Fund
104 America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations

NCCC National Civilian Community Corps

NEA National Endowment for the Arts

NIFA National Institute of Food and Agriculture

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NPS National Park Service

NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service

NSF National Science Foundation

OHHI Oceans and Human Health Initiative

OIA Office of Insular Affairs

OMB Office of Management and Budget

OPM Office of Personnel Management

OSM Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement

PCFSN President’s Council on Fitness , Sports and Nutrition

RTCA Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program

SCORPs Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plans

Tiger Grants Transportation Investment Generation Economic 

Recovery Grants

USACE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

USDA Department of Agriculture

USFS U.S. Forest Service

USGS U.S. Geological Survey

VISTA Volunteers in Service to America

WHIP Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program

WHOUA White House Office of Urban Affairs

WRP Wetlands Reserve Program
America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations 

February 2011

Produced by: 

Council on Environmental Quality

Department of Agriculture

Department of the Interior

Environmental Protection Agency

In partnership with:

Department of Commerce

Department of Defense

Department of Education

Department of Health and Human Services 

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Department of Labor

Department of Transportation

Office of Management and Budget

The full report, America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations, 

which includes summaries of federal government programs and effective partnerships and programs, and the Presidential Memorandum 

on America’s Great Outdoors may be downloaded at www.doi.gov/

AmericasGreatOutdoors.

Cover photo: WildLink Bridge Program, Yosemite National Park, CA.

✩GPO:2011—740-503 Printed on recycled paper.