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NRM Chief's Corner

  • Archive of NRM Chief's Corner

    April 2010
    President Obama’s “America’s Great Outdoors” Initiative
    On April 23, 2010, President Obama approved a new Federal Initiative, “A 21st Century Strategy for America’s Outdoors.” The Initiative takes a holistic approach to issues related to America’s outdoors, by including not just public lands, but farms, ranches, governments, industry, tribes, land trusts, recreation and conservation groups, and a broad range of non-profit organizations.

    The Initiative includes the Corps. The participating agencies are directed to identify existing resources and align policies and programs to achieve its goals.

    The goals of the Initiative are to:

  • Reconnect Americans, especially children, to America’s rivers and waterways, landscapes of national significance, ranches, farms and forests, great parks and coasts and beaches. The Initiative will promote community-based recreation and conservation, including local parks, greenways, beaches, and waterways. It will also advance job and volunteer opportunities related to conservation and outdoor recreation, and support existing education programs and projects that engage Americans in history, culture, and natural beauty.
  • Build upon State, local, private, and tribal priorities for conservation of land, water, wildlife and historic and cultural resources. It will look to creation corridors and connectivity across outdoor spaces. It will determine how the Federal Government can best advance those priorities through public/private partnerships and locally supported conservation strategies.
  • Use science-based management practices to restore and protect our lands and waters for future use.

    Listening sessions will be held around the country to engage interested groups and individuals, governments, youth groups, business people, educators, and more. These listening sessions will result in a report to the President by November 15, 2010, that will include strategies and an action plan to meet the goals.

    We see this Initiative as coinciding with our Natural Resources programs, and we are excited about the opportunities for the Corps to participate and contribute.

    http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-memorandum-americas-great-outdoors


    Recreation Road Map and Long-term Recreation Strategic Plan
    The process to develop a long-term strategic plan for the Corps recreation program is well underway. The long-term strategic plan was included in the Recreation Road Map in 2009. The Road Map includes a number of actions/tasks that are in process to help improve the recreation program, the budget process, and the on-the-ground management. We urge everyone to visit the Natural Resources Gateway and learn more about the Road Map and the Strategic Planning Process and Plan.

    See: http://corpslakes.usace.army.mil/employees/recroadmap/index.cfm

 

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