Listen.

That's what natural resources officials have pledged to do at public meetings to be held across the nation this year as part of the new America's Great Outdoors Initiative (AGO), announced by the White House in April.

They'll be listening to stories of citizen's connections with the natural world, efforts of local and regional conservation groups, and the need for Washington to support community conservation efforts springing from the grassroots.

LEARN MORE
To learn more about the initiative, and to share stories about your connection with the outdoors, visit www.doi.gov/americasgreatoutdoors

Part land protection effort, part community recreation and cultural heritage promotion, and all about partnerships, AGO is an attempt by the administration to "[r]econnect Americans, especially children, to America's rivers and waterways, landscapes of national significance, ranches, farms and forests, great parks, and coasts and beaches by exploring a variety of efforts...," according to a White House memo.

The initiative was launched at a White House conference attended by AMC Vice President Walter Graff.

Specific funding for the initiative hasn't been announced, but Graff said it was clear that the conference tapped a great depth of leadership from conservation and recreation organizations and businesses, and that public-private partnerships were the talk of the day.

"What struck me was how closely aligned AMC's Vision 2020 is to this timely initiative," said Graff. "With all the work our volunteers, staff, and supporters do to help people make a deeper connection with the outdoors, AMC can bring a lot to the table."

Introducing the initiative, President Barack Obama invoked the spirit of President Theodore Roosevelt (who, he noted, held the first White House conference on conservation in 1908). "...[W]e are working faithfully to carry on the legacy of Teddy Roosevelt in the 21st century. But we also know that we must adapt our strategies to meet the new challenges of our time," he said, noting a greater than three-fold growth in the nation's population over the past century, and loss of natural landscapes to development.

To engage the public, the administration has committed to scheduling listening sessions nationwide, and the Department of the Interior is hosting interactive web pages through which individuals and organizations can share stories of their own connections to the outdoors.

The initiative is being led by heads of federal land and resource management agencies, specifically, the departments of Interior and Agriculture, the Council on Environmental Quality, and the Environmental Protection Agency, in concert with other agencies.

"When you consider AMC's legacy of trail work, land protection partnerships, and such innovative educational efforts as our Youth Opportunities Program, it's clear that we've been doing these sorts of things throughout our organization's history, so AMC is uniquely poised to contribute to this nationwide effort in a significant way," Graff said, noting that AMC will encourage the establishment of listening sessions in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions to help members provide input.

Initiative leaders are charged with submitting an initial report on AGO, through CEQ Chair Nancy Sutley, to the president by November 15. Annual progress reports are set to follow in 2011 and 2012.