America's Great Outdoors

America's Great Outdoors
Name	America's Great Outdoors
Established	2010
Founder	Barack Obama
Agency	Department of the Interior
Country	United States
Focus	Conservation and recreation

America's Great Outdoors is a 2010 initiative launched to guide federal, state, tribal, local, and private efforts to conserve outdoor spaces and expand recreational access. The initiative was announced by Barack Obama and coordinated through the Department of the Interior with involvement from the Council on Environmental Quality and agencies such as the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Forest Service. It sought to align policy across actors including the National Park Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, and tribal nations like the Navajo Nation and Cherokee Nation.

Background and Initiative

Launched in February 2010 by Barack Obama and announced alongside leaders including Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and First Lady Michelle Obama, the initiative built on precedents set by the Civilian Conservation Corps era, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and the conservation philosophies of figures such as Aldo Leopold and John Muir. Early consultation included stakeholders from Congress committees such as the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the United States House Committee on Natural Resources, and borrowed language from statutes like the National Park Service Organic Act and the Antiquities Act. The effort responded to trends identified by agencies such as the United States Geological Survey and advocacy groups like Trust for Public Land regarding access, fragmentation, and outdoor recreation demand.

Objectives and Policy Actions

Primary objectives emphasized protecting landscapes identified by regional plans such as the Appalachian Trail corridor, the Florida Everglades, and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, while expanding urban access via parks in cities like New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Policy actions included coordination with federal programs administered by Environmental Protection Agency initiatives, leveraging conserved lands under the Endangered Species Act, and promoting working lands through collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture and programs like the Conservation Reserve Program. The initiative referenced models from landmark actions including the Wilderness Act, the Historic Sites Act, and cooperative conservation exemplified by the North American Waterfowl Management Plan.

Funding and Implementation

Implementation relied on a mix of federal appropriations, mandatory funding streams such as the Land and Water Conservation Fund, discretionary grants administered by the National Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service, and philanthropic investments from foundations like the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. Congressional appropriations debates involved legislators such as Senator Tom Udall and Representative Raul Grijalva and intersected with budget processes in the United States Congress and oversight by the Government Accountability Office. Implementation pilots coordinated with state agencies such as the California Department of Parks and Recreation and tribal land offices in partnerships modeled after programs like the Forest Stewardship Program.

Conservation and Recreation Programs

Programmatic activity ranged from landscape-scale conservation in areas like the Northern Rockies and Pueblo de Taos environs to urban initiatives in metropolitan areas of Seattle, Houston, and Philadelphia. Recreation components built on existing federal offerings including NPS Junior Ranger Program, the National Trails System, and the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership. Habitat restoration projects aligned with recovery plans under the Endangered Species Act for species such as the California condor and the whooping crane, while large-scale restoration drew on expertise from organizations including NatureServe and Audubon Society. Educational outreach partnered with institutions like the Smithsonian Institution and land-grant universities such as University of California, Berkeley and Penn State University.

Partnerships and Stakeholder Engagement

The initiative emphasized collaborative governance involving municipal authorities such as the City of Boston and tribal governments including the Yakama Nation and Tohono O'odham Nation, nonprofit partners like The Conservation Fund and World Wildlife Fund US, and private-sector actors such as REI and major landowners. Engagement processes mirrored public input mechanisms used by agencies like the National Park Service through public meetings, advisory committees similar to the National Park System Advisory Board, and technical collaboration with research agencies including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the United States Geological Survey. Internationally, the effort referenced agreements and best practices seen in programs like Ramsar Convention wetlands conservation and bilateral initiatives with Canada provinces.

Impact, Controversies, and Evaluation

Assessments by organizations such as the Pew Charitable Trusts and reports from the Government Accountability Office highlighted successes in expanding local projects and raising public awareness, while critics in outlets like The Heritage Foundation and some members of Congress questioned funding priorities and federal roles in local planning. Controversies arose over land-use disputes involving extractive interests in regions such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and debates over the scope of protections under the Antiquities Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. Evaluation metrics used included visitation statistics from the National Park Service, biodiversity indices from the United States Geological Survey, and economic impact analyses similar to studies by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Long-term legacies are assessed in light of subsequent administrations’ actions affecting public lands and collaborative conservation, with ongoing debate among stakeholders including state governments, tribal nations, environmental NGOs, and industry groups.

Category:Conservation in the United States