America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations
Presented by President Barack Obama on February 16, 2011
East Room of the White House – 5:05 pm
I was delighted to be invited to the White House to represent America’s state parks. As president of the National Association of State Park Directors it was my duty to represent the 730 million annual visitors to state parks who count on these special places for outdoor recreation, for their connection to nature and for the therapy they provide for the mind, body and spirit. It’s also important to note that these close to home parks also contribute more than $20 billion to the nation’s economy at a cost of less than $2 billion – a 10 fold return on investment.
President Obama built his speech on the words and deeds of U. S. Presidents from our nation’s past. He invoked our 3rd American President when he said, “In 1786, Thomas Jefferson described the view from Monticello: ‘How sublime to look down into the workhouse of nature, to see her clouds, hail, snow, rain, thunder, all fabricated at our feet.’”
President Obama then looked to our 16th President to make the point that conservation can and should be done – even during troubled times – by reminding us that “at the height of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln agreed to set aside more than 60 square miles of land in the Yosemite Valley – land he had never seen – on the condition that it be preserved for public use.”
He then turned to our 26th President and said, “Teddy Roosevelt, of course, our greatest conservation President, wrote that ‘there is nothing more practical in the end than the preservation of beauty.’”
Lastly, he spoke of our 32nd President and said, “Even FDR, in the midst of the Great Depression, enabled the National Park Service to protect America’s most iconic landmarks – from Mount Rushmore to the Statue of Liberty.”
I might add that during the Great Depression a dynamic partnership between the Civilian Conservation Corps, the National Park Service and the Commonwealth of Virginia created the Blue Ridge Parkway, Shenandoah National Park and the first six Virginia state parks. All three of these remarkable achievements are proof – 75 years after their opening – that investing in outdoor recreation resources can pay enormous dividends in the future.
President Obama observed that “conservation became not only important to America, but it became one of our greatest exports, as America’s beauty shone as a beacon to the world. And other countries started adopting conservation measures because of the example we had set. He said “each of us has an equal share in the land around us, and an equal responsibility to protect it. And it’s not just the iconic mountains and parks that we protect, it’s the forests where generations of families have hiked and picnicked and connected with nature. It’s the park down the street where kids play after school. It’s the farmland that’s been in the family longer than anybody can remember. It’s the rivers where we fish, it’s the forests where we hunt.”
President Obama made the point that “Today, our open spaces are more precious than ever – and it’s more important than ever that we come together to protect them for the next generation.”
As best I could tell, there were about 140 people in East Room at the White House – excluding the media. The mood was that of a grateful audience, especially given that Teddy Roosevelt was the last President to host a national conversation on conservation.
It was also subdued in my opinion. It seemed the President was keenly aware of the economic and political challenges facing the nation – and so was his audience.
He spoke of fully funding the Land and Water Conservation Fund – yet no one in the room that I spoke with thought the House of Representatives would support his efforts. It was disappointing to local and state park advocates that the report didn’t call for equalizing the LWCF funding so local and state projects would have the same level of support as federal projects. Vastly more Americans use local and state parks than national parks and refuges and it is an issue of fairness and equity that could have created even more excitement in the states.
The report’s Vision Statement says “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.” Then it goes on to say “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.” The vast number of public land sites in America – local and state parks, forests, preserves and refuges are simply bundled and reduced to “other public lands.” This seems to demonstrate there is a blind eye or deaf ear when it comes to the pivotal role states play in providing outdoor recreation. Another observation I would make is there were plenty of people in the room representing land trusts and conservation organizations – but only one representing 7,810 state park sites in the 50 states and one representing the thousands of local and regional park systems.
In the final analysis, while it was a special honor to visit the White House and to see and hear the President – it was also clear to me that there remains a Washington bias that unless corrected will fail to achieve all the goals President Obama presented for connecting Americans to their great outdoors.
You can download the full report and fact sheets here.