In a federal press release issued on Friday, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar identified the Jordan River Parkway and the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge as two projects representing what states believe are best investments in the nation to support a healthy, active population, conserve wildlife and working lands, and create travel, tourism and outdoor-recreation jobs across the country.
The projects will be included in a report as part of President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors initiative to establish a 21st century conservation and recreation agenda and reconnect Americans to the outdoors. The report, expected to be released next week includes one hundred projects – two from each state – and is the result of a series of meetings with governors and stakeholders held by Salazar and other senior Interior officials to solicit ideas on how to best implement AGO in their states.
These projects were identified for their potential to conserve important lands and build recreation opportunities and economic growth for the surrounding communities as part of close engagement with Gov. Gary Herbert and the state of Utah, as well as private landowners, local- and tribal-elected officials, community organizations and outdoor-recreation and conservation stakeholders.
“Under the America’s Great Outdoors Initiative, we are listening to the people of Utah and communities across America and working with them on locally-based projects that will conserve the beauty and health of our land and water and open up more opportunities for people to enjoy them,” Salazar said. “My staff and I have been asking each governor for the most promising projects to support in their states, and we will do all we can to help move them forward.”
The Department of the Interior will work with each of its key bureaus – including the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – to direct available resources and personnel to make these projects a reality. “The America’s Great Outdoors Initiative turns the conventional wisdom about the federal government’s role in conservation on its head,” Salazar said. “Rather than dictate policies or conservation strategies from Washington, it supports grassroots, locally driven initiatives.”
For more information on the President’s America’s Great Outdoors
initiative, click here http://www.
** Full 50-State Report can be downloaded here,
http://www.slideshare.net/USInterior/americas-great-outdoors-fiftystate-report**
Local Coverage:
U.S. report to recognize Bear River bird refuge, Jordan parkway – Salt Lake Tribune, October 24, 2011
Two Utah Projects Highlighted in Federal Recreation, Conservation Initiative – KCPW, October 25, 2011
