America’s Great Outdoors Initiative

On April 16, 2010, President Obama launched the America’s Great Outdoors Initiative (AGO).  A central part of the initiative was an effort to collect the view points of Americans and produce a report. The American Horse Council submitted comments to the Administration concerning the equestrian community’s connection to America’s private and public land.

In February 2011 the White House released “America’s Great Outdoors: A Promise to Future Generations” (AGO Report).    This report summarizes what the Administration heard from Americans and outlines goals and recommendations for persevering and connecting more Americans with our public and private lands.

America’s Great Outdoors Initiative

The goals of the initiative are: (1) Reconnect Americans with the outdoors by promoting community based recreation and conservation, advance job and volunteer opportunities related to conservation and recreation, as well as educate  individuals in American’s  history, culture, and natural beauty; (2) Build upon State, local, private and tribal priorities for the conservation of land, water, wildlife, historic and cultural resources; (3) Use Science-based management practices to restore and protect America’s lands and waters. The American Horse Council participated in the initial event on America’s Great Outdoors held at the US Department of the Interior on April 16.

Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture, Lisa Jackson, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality were directed to lead the initiative.

As part of the initiative the Administration and federal agencies involved held listening sessions around the county and solicited comments from tribal leaders, farmers, and ranchers, sportsmen, community park groups, foresters, youth groups, businesspeople, educators State and local governments and recreational and conservation groups. The information collected at these sessions and submitted comments were used to complete the AGO Report.

AHC Comments

In September 2010, the AHC submitted comments concerning the AGO initiative. The complete comments can be read at http://www.horsecouncil.org/recreation.php.

In its comments the AHC pointed out that the conservation, management, and use of America’s public and private lands are critical to the equestrian community. 

The AHC noted that the equestrian community and horse industry is extremely diverse.  It is comprised of many different pursuits, segments, and participants, exists in every region of the country and involves individuals with many different backgrounds and incomes.

The AHC reminded the Administration of the equestrian communities’ dependence on America’s farmland to feed, raise, breed, and board its horses and the need to protect such land. The AHC specifically requested that the Administration recognize the contribution horse farms and facilities make to preserving open green space, stream buffers, wild life habitat, forests, and pasture.  It was also asked that horse farms be considered working lands that need to be protected from urban development.

The AHC also commented on the importance of America’s public lands to hundreds of thousands of Americans of all ages who use horses and pack stock to enjoy America’s great outdoors each year. The AHC made clear that the equestrian community believes that recreation is a fundamental and legitimate use of our country’s public lands and that it is committed to preserving those lands.

In its comments the AHC pointed out that recreational riders need well maintained trails, trail heads for horses, access routes, picnic, and camping facilities, restrooms, and stables to make use of our nation’s public lands.  It also noted that access has become an increasingly serious issue for equestrians which also must be addressed. The AHC requested that the Administration explore policies that will ensure land managers accommodate all recreational users where appropriate and educate federal land mangers on equestrian issues and encourage state and local governments to do so as well.

The AHC also stated its belief that equestrian activities can play an important role in reconnecting our young people with the outdoors. It asked the Administration to make equestrian activities, an integral part of any effort to reconnect our nation’s youth with the outdoors. 

Lastly, AHC asked the Administration to consider the role horses, mules, and burros can play in allowing access to the outdoors for physically-challenged Americas in any discussion of America’s outdoors. To read the complete comments visit the AHC’s recreation page at  http://www.horsecouncil.org/recreation.php

AGO Report

The AGO Report  has three broad chapters; connecting Americans to the great outdoors, conserving and restoring America’s great outdoors, and working together for America’s great outdoors. The AGO report addresses many  outdoor issues from creation of more urban parks, to increasing job opportunities in natural resource management  as well as  recreation and conservation of public and working lands.  

Importantly, the AGO Report recognizes the significance of federal land to recreational users “…federal lands and waters sustain people, providing recreation, relaxation, and renewal. Be it a hike, bike, or horseback ride along a local trail, a family ski vacation, a visit to a historic or cultural site, or a weekend fishing or boating trip, access to the great outdoors through our public lands and waters improves our quality of life, while also bringing economic benefit to local communities.”  It appears the Administration did take note of many of the concerns of the thousands of recreational users who submitted comments.

Many American’s including the AHC told the Administration in their comments that access to public lands was important to them and that recreation needs to be a higher priority for the federal land management agencies.  In response to these observations the AGO Report calls for increasing and improving recreational access and opportunities on public land.  To facilitate this goal the report recommends creating a Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation.  This council will be tasked with coordinating federal recreation polices among the various agencies and providing information to the public concerning recreational opportunities on public land.    The report also calls for greater efforts to support community based efforts at increasing recreational access should be undertaken through federal assistance programs. 

The Administration reports that the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) had broad support from participants in the listening sessions and in the submitted written comments. The LWCF provides funds for the federal government, states and local governments to acquire land for conservation and recreation.   Many equestrians ride on public lands and trails that were acquired with LWCF money. The AGO Report recommends the LWCF be fully funded. It is worth noting the President has requested full funding for the program ($900 million) in his FY2012 budget. However, it will be up to Congress to set the final funding level.

The AGO Report  also calls for increasing and speeding up the acreage of working farms, ranches and forests that are protected from development. It recommends extending enhanced tax deductions for conservation easement donations beyond 2011 to accomplish this goal.

In summary the AGO report does not recommend creation of major new programs or new sources of funding for conservation and recreation. It instead suggests existing programs be used to their full potential and federal agencies refocus their efforts in key areas to achieve the AGO goals of protecting and connecting American’s to our countries great outdoors.

The full report can be found at http://americasgreatoutdoors.gov/

AHC Position

The AHC is supportive of many of the goals for recreation and conservation outlined in the AGO Report.  The AHC will continue to work with the Administration and federal agencies to increase recreational opportunities for equestrians and protect America’s public and private land.