America's Great Outdoors call for action

Many of us who are passionate about the great outdoors are thrilled by the recently released America’s Great Outdoors (AGO) report that outlines ways to conserve America’s outdoors, improve recreational access and boost urban and rural economies in thoughtful ways allowing use along with preservation.
Thousands of concerned citizens from across the country rallied to provide input to and support of the President’s initiative. In Denver, participants in the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Resource Project (CORRP) and Choose Outdoors, a national nonprofit based in Pine, CO made specific recommendations and offered examples how public and private groups are working together here, and how these successes might be replicated nationally by the White House and members of Congress.
Most of us lucky enough to make Colorado our home did so because of our love of our wild places that are so emblematic of our state. We feel a great sense of responsibility to pass on our love of the outdoors to future generations. This AGO Report and its recommendations can make a significant difference in protecting both use and the land itself, which can serve our future for centuries to come.
The AGO report importantly notes, “Americans today have become increasingly disconnected from our great outdoors. We find ourselves cut off from the natural and cultural inheritance that has shaped our lives and history. Our natural resources remain central to our economic vitality, yet they are under intense pressure from development and fragmentation, unsustainable use, pollution, and impacts from a changing climate.” This report is a call to action for individuals, corporations and land managers to take action to protect the outdoors, and importantly keep people out into the outdoors, as has been a mission for CORRP for over 25 years.
What is important NOW, for those who love the outdoors, for those who benefit from the jobs and beauty the outdoor brings to millions of Coloradoans and people throughout the US every day, is to give back – to step forward – and to take action. .
In the words of Chris Wood, CEO of Trout Unlimited and Choose Outdoors advisor, “Working together is America’s best trait. Our wealth of Natural Beauty and access exists because people from different places with different points of view were unified by their interest in, and passion for, and actions protecting our nation’s natural and historic places. If we keep working together, we can protect our water and wildlife, our children’s health, and our sporting heritage for generations more to come.
We ask those who love the outdoors read, and see if they don’t agree with this seminal report. It can be found on the web at http://americasgreatoutdoors.gov/report/. If you agree our irreplaceable Natural treasures both need to be protected and enjoyed, please let your elected officials know how you feel.

On behalf of the Outdoors, and those who enjoy it,
Bruce Ward,
Founder and Senior Advisor to Choose Outdoors..

David Peri

Supporter and Advisor