I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6426 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to carry out programs and activities 

for connecting children and families with the outdoors. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 18, 2010 

Mr. KIND introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and 

Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to carry out programs and activities for connecting children and families 

with the outdoors. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Moving Outdoors in Nature Act of 2010’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 


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Sec. 3. Grants for development or implementation of Moving Outdoors in Nature State Strategies. 

Sec. 4. National strategy for connecting children, youth, and families with the 

outdoors. 

Sec. 5. National evaluation of health impacts. 

Sec. 6. Technical assistance and best practices. 

Sec. 7. Definitions. 

Sec. 8. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Children today are spending less time out4 doors than any generation in human history, as evi5 denced by studies that show children enjoy half as 

6 much time outdoors today as they did just 20 years 

ago and children spend more than 71 7 ⁄2 hours every 

8 day in front of electronic media. 

9 (2) Experiencing our Nation’s natural splendor 

10 contributes to healthier lives for all Americans and 

11 a deeper appreciation for the outdoors, and those 

12 who take advantage of the opportunities afforded 

13 them in the outdoors generally live longer, healthier, 

14 fuller lives than those who do not. 

15 (3) Hunters and anglers play a critical role in 

16 reconnecting young people with nature, protecting 

17 our natural resources, and fostering a lifelong un18 derstanding of the value of conserving the natural 

19 world. As children become more disconnected from 

20 the natural world, the hunting and angling conserva21 tion legacy of America is at risk. 


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1 (4) Research demonstrates that hunters who 

2 become engaged in hunting as children are among 

3 the most active and interested hunters as adults. 

4 The vast majority of hunters report they were intro5 duced to hunting between the ages of 10 and 12, 

6 and the overwhelming majority of children are intro7 duced to hunting by an adult. 

8 (5) The health of our children is at risk as evi9 denced by the growing obesity crisis where, over the 

10 last 20 years, the childhood obesity rate has more 

11 than doubled and the adolescent obesity rate has tri12 pled. 

13 (6) Spending time outdoors in nature is bene14 ficial to our children’s physical and mental health 

15 and has been proven to decrease symptoms of atten16 tion deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), im17 prove motor skills, result in a better sleep, reduce 

18 stress, increase creativity, improve mood, and reduce 

19 children’s risk of developing myopia. 

20 (7) Kids who play outdoors are generally more 

21 physically fit than those who spend the majority of 

22 their time inside, and children who play outside in 

23 natural areas have a statistically significant improve24 ment in motor fitness with better coordination, bal25 ance, and agility. 


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1 (8) The richness and novelty of being outdoors 

2 stimulates brain development, and research indicates 

3 that direct, ongoing experience of nature in relatively 

4 familiar settings remains a vital source for children’s 

5 physical, emotional, and intellectual development. 

6 (9) Research indicates that spending time out7 doors reduces the severity of symptoms of children 

8 with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, and 

9 even short walks in urban parks increase concentra10 tion and lessen other attention deficit and hyper11 activity disorder-related symptoms. 

12 (10) Children who spend time playing outside 

13 are more likely to take risks, seek out adventure, de14 velop self-confidence, and respect the value of na15 ture, and green spaces outside the home can in16 crease concentration, inhibition of initial impulses, 

17 and self-discipline. 

18 (11) Time spent in green spaces, including 

19 parks, play areas, and gardens, has been shown to 

20 reduce stress and mental fatigue, and in one study 

21 children who were exposed to greener environments 

22 in a public housing area demonstrated less aggres23 sion and violence and less mental stress. 

24 (12) Simply viewing nature reduces physio25 logical stress response, increases levels of interest 


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1 and attention, and decreases feelings of fear, anger, 

2 and aggression. 

3 (13) A direct childhood experience with nature 

4 before the age of 11 promotes a long-term connec5 tion to nature, a connection that is currently dwin6 dling as children spend half as much time outside as 

7 they did 20 years ago. 

8 (14) Resource stewardship is more challenging 

9 without a strong sense of connection to the natural 

10 world, and as visitation to public lands has declined 

11 or remained flat in recent years and children spend 

12 less time outdoors on private lands as well, that con13 nection is being lost. 

14 (15) It takes many dedicated men and women 

15 to work to preserve, protect, enhance, and restore 

16 America’s natural resources, and with an aging 

17 workforce in the natural resource professions, it is 

18 critical for the next generation to have an apprecia19 tion for nature and be ready to take over these re20 sponsibilities. 

21 (16) Over the past several years, urbanization, 

22 changing land use patterns, increasing road traffic, 

23 and inadequate solutions to addressing these chal24 lenges in the built environment have combined to 

25 make it more difficult for many Americans to walk 


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1 or bike to schools, parks, and play areas or experi2 ence the natural environment in general. 

3 (17) Natural play areas, greenways, accessible 

4 trails, backyard wildlife habitats, and other green 

5 features of the built environment provide children 

6 the opportunity to experience nature in their com7 munities and close to home. 

8 (18) Conservation education and outdoor recre9 ation experiences like camping, hiking, boating, 

10 hunting, fishing, archery, recreational shooting, wild11 life watching, and others are critical to engaging 

12 young people in the outdoors. 

13 (19) Parks and recreation, youth-serving, con14 servation, health, education, and built-environment 

15 organizations, facilities, and personnel provide crit16 ical resources and infrastructure for connecting chil17 dren and families with nature. 

18 (20) Research has shown that military children 

19 and families are facing increased stress and mental 

20 strain and challenges due to multiple, extended de21 ployments. Military family service organizations have 

22 developed programs that connect military children 

23 and families with positive, meaningful outdoor expe24 riences benefiting mental and physical health, but 


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1 they lack sufficient resources to meet increasing de2 mand. 

3 (21) States nationwide and their community4 based partners have some notable programs that 

5 connect children and families with nature; however, 

6 most States lack sufficient resources and a com7 prehensive strategy that effectively engages State 

8 agencies across multiple fields. 

9 (22) States need to engage in a cross-sector 

10 agency and nonprofit approach that involves public 

11 health and wellness, parks and recreation, transpor12 tation and city planning, and others focused on con13 necting children and families with the outdoors to 

14 increase coordination and effective implementation 

15 of the policy tools and programs that a State can 

16 bring to bear to provide healthy outdoor opportuni17 ties for children and families. 

18 SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR DEVELOPMENT OR IMPLEMENTATION 

19 OF MOVING OUTDOORS IN NATURE STATE 

20 STRATEGIES. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award com22 petitive grants or cooperative agreements to eligible enti23 ties to develop and implement a 5-year State strategy, to 

24 be known as a Moving Outdoors in Nature State Strategy, 

25 for connecting children and families with the outdoors. 


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1 (b) SUBMISSION AND APPROVAL OF STRATEGIES.— 

2 (1) APPLICATIONS.—An application for a grant 

3 under subsection (a) shall— 

4 (A) be submitted not later than 120 days 

5 after the Secretary publishes guidelines under 

6 subsection (f)(1); and 

7 (B) include a Moving Outdoors in Nature 

8 State Strategy meeting the requirements of 

9 subsection (c) or a proposal for development 

10 and submission of such a strategy. 

11 (2) APPROVAL OF STRATEGY; PEER REVIEW.— 

12 Not later than 90 days after submission of a Moving 

13 Outdoors in Nature State Strategy, the Secretary 

14 shall approve or recommend changes to the strategy. 

15 The Secretary shall carry out the preceding sentence 

16 through a peer review process that includes partici17 pation from Federal, State, and local government 

18 and from nongovernmental entities. 

19 (3) STRATEGY UPDATE.—An eligible entity re20 ceiving funds under this section shall update its 

21 Moving Outdoors in Nature State Strategy not less 

22 than every 5 years to reflect any changes and modi23 fications. 

24 (c) COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY REQUIREMENTS.— 

25 The Secretary may approve a Moving Outdoors in Nature 


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1 State Strategy under subsection (b)(2) only if the strategy 

2 includes the following: 

3 (1) A description of how the eligible entity will 

4 connect children, youth, and families to the outdoors 

5 through State and local— 

6 (A) public health systems; 

7 (B) public parks and recreation systems; 

8 (C) public transportation and city planning 

9 systems; and 

10 (D) other public systems that connect chil11 dren, youth, and families to the outdoors. 

12 (2) A description of how the eligible entity will 

13 connect existing governmental systems to networks 

14 of nongovernmental partner organizations serving 

15 children, youth, and families. 

16 (3) A description of how State agencies, such as 

17 State departments of health, natural resources, envi18 ronmental quality, fish and wildlife, national guard, 

19 and transportation, will collaborate with each other 

20 and nongovernmental organizations and local agen21 cies to implement the strategy. 

22 (4) A description of how funding will be spent 

23 through local planning and implementation grants 

24 under subsection (d). 


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1 (5) A description of how the eligible entity will 

2 evaluate the effectiveness of, and measure the im3 pact of, the strategy. 

4 (6) A description of how the eligible entity will 

5 provide opportunities for public involvement in devel6 oping and implementing the strategy through a pub7 lic comment period, public hearings, or other means. 

8 (d) LOCAL PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—A Moving Outdoors in Na10 ture State Strategy shall provide for— 

11 (A) local planning; and 

12 (B) subgrants by the grant recipient under 

13 subsection (a) to local entities to implement the 

14 strategy through one or more of the activities 

15 described in paragraph (2). 

16 (2) PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—The activities de17 scribed in this paragraph are the following: 

18 (A) Outdoor recreation programs and ac19 tivities that engage children, youth, and families 

20 in healthy, active time outdoors through camp21 ing, hiking, wildlife watching, and other rec22 reational activities that teach skills for lifelong 

23 participation in outdoor activities. 

24 (B) Youth mentoring and outdoor recre25 ation programs and activities that engage parVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:25 Nov 18, 2010 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6426.IH H6426

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1 ticipants in hunting, fishing, recreational shoot2 ing, and archery. 

3 (C) Public health initiatives to educate 

4 parents and caregivers about the health benefits 

5 of active time outdoors to fight obesity and in6 crease the quality of life for children, youth, 

7 and families. 

8 (D) Creation of natural play areas within 

9 communities, as defined by nationally recog10 nized guidelines, to provide opportunities for 

11 safe outdoor play in natural environments at 

12 daycare and afterschool childcare sites, schools, 

13 parks, recreation centers, camps, libraries, mili14 tary installations, and other areas. 

15 (E) Development of trails and greenways 

16 to safely connect parks and outdoor recreation 

17 areas with military installations, daycare and 

18 afterschool childcare sites, schools, and commu19 nities through trail systems that encourage 

20 walking, biking, and increased time outdoors by 

21 children, youth, and families. 

22 (F) Creation of outdoor learning environ23 ments such as schoolyard, community, or back24 yard wildlife habitats or gardens. 


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1 (G) Environmental sustainability and con2 servation education and interpretation pro3 grams and activities that engage children, 

4 youth, and families in learning and physical ac5 tivity in the outdoors. 

6 (H) Service learning and volunteer oppor7 tunities to help restore natural areas, maintain 

8 recreational assets, and engage children, youth, 

9 and families in the outdoors. 

10 (I) Promotional activities that promote the 

11 benefits of time spent outdoors and invite chil12 dren, youth, and families to enjoy the outdoors 

13 by visiting nearby public and private lands. 

14 (J) Initiatives that engage health profes15 sionals, pediatricians, educators, daycare in16 structors, afterschool program providers, camp 

17 directors, community planners, local planning 

18 commissions, homeowners associations, environ19 mental professionals, military, law enforcement, 

20 and business leaders in identifying innovative 

21 solutions to connecting children, youth, and 

22 families with nature. 

23 (e) PRIORITY.—In making grants under subsection 

24 (a) and subgrants under subsection (d)(1)(B), the Sec25 retary and the recipient of a grant under this section shall 


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1 give preference to entities that serve individuals who have 

2 limited opportunities to experience nature, including those 

3 who are socioeconomically disadvantaged or have a dis4 ability. 

5 (f) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 180 days after the 

6 date of the enactment of this Act, and after notice and 

7 opportunity for public comment, the Secretary shall pub8 lish in the Federal Register guidelines on the implementa9 tion of this Act, including guidelines for— 

10 (1) developing and submitting strategies under 

11 subsection (b); and 

12 (2) technical assistance and dissemination of 

13 best practices under section 6. 

14 (g) REPORTING.—Not later than 2 years after the 

15 Secretary approves the Moving Outdoors in Nature State 

16 Strategy of an eligible entity receiving funds under this 

17 section, and every year thereafter, the entity shall submit 

18 to the Secretary a report on the implementation of the 

19 strategy based on the entity’s evaluation and assessment 

20 of meeting the goals specified in the strategy. 

21 (h) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity re22 ceiving a grant under subsection (a) for a fiscal year— 

23 (1) may use not more than 5 percent of the 

24 grant funds for administrative expenses; and 


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1 (2) shall use at least 95 percent of the grant 

2 funds for local planning and subgrants to local enti3 ties under subsection (d). 

4 SEC. 4. NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR CONNECTING CHILDREN, 

5 YOUTH, AND FAMILIES WITH THE OUTDOORS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 30, 

7 2011, the President of the United States, in cooperation 

8 with Federal departments and agencies, shall develop and 

9 issue a national strategy for connecting children, youth, 

10 and families with the outdoors. Such strategy shall in11 clude, but not be limited to— 

12 (1) identification of barriers to children, youth, 

13 and families spending healthy time outdoors and 

14 specific policy solutions to address those barriers; 

15 (2) identification of opportunities for partner16 ships with States, cities, counties, municipalities, en17 tities of local government, park and recreation de18 partments or districts, school districts, institutions 

19 of higher education, and nonprofit organizations to 

20 connect children, youth, and families with the out21 doors; 

22 (3) coordination of efforts among Federal de23 partments and agencies to address the impacts of 

24 children and families spending less time outdoors 

25 on— 


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1 (A) public health, including childhood obe2 sity and attention deficit disorders; 

3 (B) the future of conservation in the 

4 United States; and 

5 (C) the economy; 

6 (4) identification of ongoing research needs to 

7 document the health, conservation, economic, and 

8 other outcomes of implementing the national and 

9 State strategies; 

10 (5) coordination with State Moving Outdoors in 

11 Nature Strategies; and 

12 (6) an action plan for implementing the strat13 egy at the Federal level. 

14 (b) STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT.— 

15 (1) PARTICIPANTS.—In developing the national 

16 strategy in subsection (a), the President shall en17 gage— 

18 (A) representatives of Federal, State, and 

19 local government; 

20 (B) business, industry, and military lead21 ers; 

22 (C) representatives of nonprofit organiza23 tions; 

24 (D) educators; 

25 (E) medical professionals; 


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1 (F) representatives of recipients of grants 

2 or subgrants under section 3; and 

3 (G) such other persons as the President 

4 determines appropriate. 

5 (2) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—Throughout the 

6 process of developing the national strategy in sub7 section (a), the President shall provide for public 

8 participation that includes, but not be limited to— 

9 (A) a national summit of participants as 

10 defined in subsection (b)(1) with demonstrated 

11 expertise in connecting children and families 

12 with the outdoors; 

13 (B) listening sessions across the country; 

14 and 

15 (C) opportunities for the public to submit 

16 ideas, recommendations, and comments through 

17 various written and electronic methods. 

18 (c) UPDATING THE NATIONAL STRATEGY.—The 

19 President shall update the national strategy not less than 

20 5 years, and every 5 years thereafter, after the date the 

21 first national strategy is issued pursuant to subsection (a). 

22 In updating the strategy, the President shall, among other 

23 things, incorporate results of the evaluation under section 

24 5. 


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1 SEC. 5. NATIONAL EVALUATION OF HEALTH IMPACTS. 

2 The Secretary shall enter into an agreement with the 

3 Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Director 

4 of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for— 

5 (1) the development of recommendations for ap6 propriate evaluation measures and criteria for devel7 oping a study of national significance on the health 

8 impacts of the programs under this Act; and 

9 (2) the administration of such a study. 

10 SEC. 6. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND BEST PRACTICES. 

11 The Secretary shall— 

12 (1) provide technical assistance to grantees 

13 under section 3 through agreements with national 

14 organizations with a proven track record of con15 necting children to the outdoors; and 

16 (2) disseminate best practices that emerge from 

17 strategies funded under this Act. 

18 SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this Act: 

20 (1) The term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means— 

21 (A) a State; or 

22 (B) a consortium of— 

23 (i) a State, city, county, municipality, 

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1 trict, institution of higher education, or 

2 nonprofit organization; and 

3 (ii) any combination of entities speci4 fied in clause (i). 

5 (2) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

6 of the Interior. 

7 (3) The term ‘‘State’’ means any of the several 

8 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

9 of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, 

10 Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 

11 Northern Mariana Islands, any other territory or 

12 possession of the United States, or any Indian tribe. 

13 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro15 priated to the Secretary to carry out this Act— 

16 (1) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

17 (2) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2012; 

18 (3) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; and 

19 (4) such sums as may be necessary for subse20 quent fiscal years. 

21 (b) LIMITATION.—Of the amounts made available to 

22 carry out this Act for a fiscal year, not more than 5 per23 cent may be made available for carrying out section 6. 

24 (c) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Funds made 

25 available under this Act shall be used to supplement, and 


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1 not supplant, any other Federal, State, or local funds 

2 available for activities that connect children, youth, and 

3 families to the outdoors. 

Æ 


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