Local residents are invited to attend a new Great Outdoors Initiative created by President Obama from 3 p.m. – 7 p.m. Thursday, July 8, to suggest and hear ideas for protecting our national parks and surrounding lands, the important role they play in our local economies and communities, and reconnecting Americans to the great outdoors.
Representatives from the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, and Defense, the Environmental Protection Agency, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, National Park Service, National Parks Conservation Association, local park advocacy organizations, and citizens will attend “Listening Sessions” at Thorne Hall, Occidental College, 1600 Campus Road, Eagle Rock in Los Angeles, CA 90041.
Attendees are encouraged to RSVP by Thursday, July 1 by sending an email to sun.nelly@epa.gov with your name, the name of the organization with which you are affiliated, if any, your telephone number, and email address.
If you plan on attending and would like to meet with NPCA staff at the event, please e-mail our Pacific Regional Office at pacific@npca.org.
Below is a list of talking points specific to our region that you can print and bring with you to the event:
Talking Points * The Los Angeles region is home to the world’s largest urban national park–Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. This national park offers more than 10 million area residents a haven to escape the traffic and smog, find healthy recreational opportunities, view wildlife, and soak in the exquisite landscape of canyons, seashores, and mountains that weave throughout the region. The National Park Service should play a greater role in bringing these opportunities to urban communities.
* The partnership programs created at Santa Monica Mountains serve as a blueprint for how to bring the “parks to the people” and connect youth with the natural world. In nearby LA County’s eastside, in communities with high obesity rates and a dearth of open space, a diverse coalition is steps away from replicating these programs through the creation of a new national recreation area. The National Park Service should be provided the resources to play a similar role in other urban areas around the country.
* The Los Angeles region contains a checkerboard of open space and developed land parcels. More federal land conservation funding, including full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), is needed to help conserve our outdoor heritage, protect wildlife, provide public access for recreation, and protect scenic vistas for the enjoyment of our children and grandchildren.
* The innovative youth employment partnerships at Santa Monica Mountains work to employ diverse youth from undeserved communities, helping the National Park Service develop a workforce for its second century that reflects the cultural diversity of our country. The program, in partnership with local school districts, hire youth as interns and helps them develop the job skills to eventually become Park Service employees. The Administration should provide the resources to expand this model in other communities.
* Many urban and rural communities have national park units in their backyards; we must ensure young people and all Americans have the opportunity to experience these places that hold our natural and cultural heritage. For example, at Santa Monica Mountains, nearly 10,000 inner-city youth have learned to grow native plants and care for restoration sites. Three out of four fifth-graders participating in a year-long learn-and-work program live in poverty and although the park is within walking distance, most had never been there before entering the program. This educational program should be replicated and funded at other national park sites across the country.