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GREAT OUTDOORS WEEK 2004 HAILED AS
A GREAT SUCCESS
Washington, D.C. - Hundreds of recreation community leaders
participated in dozens of meetings and events during Great
Outdoors Week 2004 and the result, according to American Recreation
Coalition (ARC) President Derrick Crandall, was "outstanding
progress on a wide range of key recreation initiatives and
issues."
"Great Outdoors Week began with a flourish - a Presidential
proclamation linking our efforts with other important recreation
and conservation events under a first-ever Great Outdoors
Month banner, reported Crandall. "Among the other events
of the month are National Trails Day and the Get Fit with
US conference, highlighting the link between recreational
activities and our physical health." Crandall also quoted
from the Presidential proclamation, which states that "a
love of outdoor recreation remains a fundamental part of the
American character. By observing Great Outdoors Month, we
celebrate our commitment to appreciating and protecting our
natural wealth. Outdoor recreation is an ideal way to exercise
and enjoy memorable experiences with family and friends, and
all across our country are scenic places that sports and nature
enthusiasts can explore and help keep beautiful."
The Week's first event was a briefing entitled Harnessing
New Technologies to Enhance Outdoor Experiences and Management,
highlighting: the new Virtual Byways Tour soon to be available
on the Internet; means to utilize PDAs and handheld GPS units
to customize visits to natural and cultural sites; and progress
with www.recreation.gov and the National Recreation Reservation
Service. Some 300 recreation leaders then gathered at the
week's opening reception, keyed to the same theme and held
on the rooftop of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The Week included the presentation of the 16th Sheldon Coleman
Great Outdoors Award to Interior Secretary Gale Norton for
her reactivation of Take Pride in America, her personal leadership
of partnership efforts and her outreach to all Americans to
share the healthy fun of America's Great Outdoors. "Gale
Norton's support for sharing the outdoors with inner city
kids and boosting volunteerism on public lands and waters
converged, symbolically, when she rode down old Route 66 in
the Tournament of Roses Parade bearing pledges of 400,000
hours of volunteer service on fire-damaged lands in southern
California," Crandall explained.
Awards also went to 10 outstanding trail projects funded
through the Recreational Trails Program (RTP), administered
by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and state trail
offices. These 10 are among almost 7,000 RTP projects that
can be identified and studied through a database developed
by ARC and FHWA. The awards were presented at a Capitol Hill
ceremony by the Coalition for Recreational Trails.
Other Capitol Hill events during the week included an intense
day of lobbying by more than 100 members of the International
Mountain Bicycling Association in support of higher RTP funding
and a briefing on coastal recreation issues by the Clean Beaches
Council.
ARC recognized seven outstanding federal employees with its
Legends Awards - one award to a representative of each of
the agencies that help organize the annual Partners Outdoors
meeting. Top officials from the agencies participated in the
presentations and briefed recreation leaders on agency initiatives
and issues.
Noting that the future of federal recreation fees is a top
issue for the recreation community, Crandall reported that
important progress on this issue had been made during the
special Recreation Exchange held during the week. The Exchange
used a "town hall meeting" format and featured the
co-chairs of the Federal Recreation Fees Council, Agriculture
Under Secretary Mark Rey and Interior Assistant Secretary
Lynn Scarlett. Among the issues discussed were the duration
of any new federal fee program, recognition of volunteers,
fees charged seniors and the "layering" of fees
on businesses operating under federal permits and concession
agreements. "We found many areas of agreement and will
continue to talk," said Crandall.
Among the other events held during the week were an open
house at the Forest Service and a meeting of organizations
interested in co-hosting a 2005 Forum on Recreation on Western
Public Lands.
As in past years, Great Outdoors Week 2004 included a day
of volunteerism and outreach to urban youth through the WOW-Wonderful
Outdoor World program. Nearly 150 volunteers and youth gathered
on Theodore Roosevelt Island in the Potomac River, a unit
of the National Park System, for a day of hard work, learning
and fun B and an ice cream social hosted by Blue Bell Creameries
of Texas. Participants also received souvenir shirts and hats
furnished by ReserveAmerica - which also contributed two truckloads
of wheelbarrows, shovels, rakes and other equipment for use
by future volunteers at the island and other nearby National
Park Service sites.
The Week's concluding event - a Capitol Hill Recreation Policy
Forum on recreation and health - was postponed following the
declaration of a National Day of Mourning to honor former
President Ronald Reagan. The forum will be rescheduled for
later in Great Outdoors Month.
ARC, the national voice for America's recreation community,
is a nonprofit federation of more than 100 organizations representing
enthusiasts, private-sector providers of recreation opportunities,
and producers of recreation equipment. ARC coordinates Great
Outdoors Week each June.
#9-04
June 14, 2004
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