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“Chance to Weigh In,” America’s Great Outdoors Initiative Listening Session

From The Journal – International Falls, MN; 8/4/2010

Chance to weigh in

Submitted by Journal Staff

Minnesotans have long treasured their outdoor spaces. We camp, we picnic, we hunt, trap, fish and hike, among many other activities — in the great outdoors.

The Obama Administration’s America’s Great Outdoors Initiative comes to Minnesota this week in an effort to develop a 21st Century conservation agenda.

And while a listening session is being held today in Minneapolis, we can all get involved. Minnesotans may submit their comments online at http://www.doi.gov/americasgreatoutdoors/.

The visit has been encouraged by leaders in conservation, park and recreation enthusiasts, and water advocates across the Upper Midwest who believe it’s time to offer ideas that reconnect people to the great outdoors and protect our natural heritage.

Let’s make it clear that conserving land doesn’t mean not using it. Instead, this effort is intended to strengthen the capacity for federal, regional, state, and local agencies and private landowners to work collaboratively in order to protect national parks, and the wildlife, plants, and waters beyond park borders.

The land is important, but it’s the connection between the land and people that this effort aims to strengthen.

Cory Counard MacNulty, executive director of Voyageurs National Park Association, pointed out that national parks, adjacent lands, and rivers provide some of the best outdoor classrooms in the country. She suggests that more is done to encourage young people to learn and grow in outdoor classrooms. In this way, both the cultures and landscapes of Minnesota can be valued for generations to come.

And clearly, Borderland residents have enjoyed a close connection to the outdoors. We have lived, learned and played in and around our outdoor spaces for many generations. The land and waters that have become jewels of the park system, Voyageurs National Park, have been in our backyard for eons.

But not all people enjoy this intimacy with the open lands around them. America is losing at least one million acres a year to development, roughly equivalent to the size of Delaware, according to the groups. And while we surely need development here, most of us wouldn’t trade our open spaces for overdevelopment.

A balance between open spaces and concessions to society must be reached. We urge area residents to take advantage of this opportunity to voice their ideas to the Obama Administration’s America’s Great Outdoors Initiative.