Great Outdoors Month, 2013

Proclamation 8988 of May 31, 2013

Great Outdoors Month, 2013

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

The United States is blessed with a wealth of natural
diversity that remains at the heart of who we are as a
people. From breathtaking seascapes to the limitless
stretch of the Great Plains, our natural surroundings
animate the American spirit, fuel discovery and
innovation, and offer unparalleled opportunities for
recreation and learning. During Great Outdoors Month,
we celebrate the land entrusted to us by our forebears
and resolve to pass it on safely to future generations.

We owe our heritage to the work of visionary citizens
who believed that our obligations as Americans are not
just to ourselves, but to all posterity. It is up to
all of us to carry that legacy forward in the 21st
century--which is why I was proud to launch the
America's Great Outdoors Initiative to bring innovative
strategies to today's conservation challenges.
Alongside leaders in government and the private sector,
we are taking action to expand outdoor opportunities in
urban areas, promote outdoor recreation, protect our
landscapes, and connect the next generation to our
natural treasures. And by tapping into the wisdom of
concerned citizens from every corner of our country, we
are finding new solutions that respond to the
priorities of the American people.

At a time when too many of our young people find
themselves in sedentary routines, we need to do more to
help all Americans reconnect with the outdoors. To lead
the way, First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move
Outside! initiative encourages families to get out and
enjoy our beautiful country, whether at a National Park
or just outside their doorstep. And through the 21st
Century Conservation Service Corps, young men and women
will get hands-on experience restoring our public lands
and protecting our cultural heritage.

Fortunately, we do not have to choose between good
environmental stewardship and economic progress because
they go hand-in-hand. Smart, sustainable policies can
create jobs, increase tourism, and lay the groundwork
for long-term economic growth. For example, our
National Travel and Tourism Strategy aims to bring more
people to all of our national attractions, including
our public lands and waters, and the five new National
Monuments I was proud to designate earlier this year.
Our natural spaces are also laboratories for
scientists, inventors, and creators--Americans who
sustain a tradition of innovation that makes our
country the most dynamic economy on earth.

For centuries, America's great outdoors have given
definition to our national character and inspired us
toward bold new horizons. This month, let us reflect on
those timeless gifts, and let us vow to renew them in
the years to come.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim June 2013 as Great
Outdoors Month. I urge all Americans to explore the
great outdoors and to uphold our Nation's legacy of
conserving our lands and waters for future generations.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord two
thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
seventh.