Great Outdoors Month, 2014

Proclamation 9135 of May 30, 2014

Great Outdoors Month, 2014

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

On windswept coastlines, in lush forests, and atop
striking mountain peaks, Americans take in sights that
have inspired generations. Our natural landscapes
provide refuge for those seeking solitude. They attract
tourism, create jobs, and honor our history and
cultural heritage. They are family campgrounds, arenas
for recreation, and backdrops for countless adventures.
During Great Outdoors Month, we celebrate the rugged
beauty that echoes the independence at the heart of the
American spirit, and we rededicate ourselves to
protecting these open spaces for tomorrow's explorers,
athletes, and lovers of nature.

America's conservation legacy is rooted not only in its
forward-thinking leaders like Presidents Thomas
Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt--but
also in all the Americans who did their part to
safeguard a small slice of the land they love. It falls
to each of us to advance their legacy in our time. That
is why I have permanently protected more than 3 million
acres of public land--including 11 new National
Monuments established through the Antiquities Act and
new wilderness areas in nine States across the
country--and designated more than a thousand miles of
wild and scenic rivers. In my first term, I was proud
to launch the America's Great Outdoors Initiative,
which increases access to public lands and empowers
Americans to better care for the parks, waterways, and
natural treasures in their own communities.

My Administration remains committed to developing the
next generation of environmental stewards. We created
the 21st Century Conservation Service Corps, which
provides quality jobs, career pathways, and service
opportunities for young people and veterans. We are
working to bring public lands into the classroom and to
extend educational opportunities to millions of
children. And through First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's
Move Outside! initiative, we are encouraging children
to get active while getting to know the great outdoors.

This month, as we enjoy the natural splendor of our
Nation, let us stay true to a uniquely American idea--
that each of us has an equal stake in the land around
us, and an equal responsibility to protect it.
Together, let us ensure our children and grandchildren
will be able to look upon our lands with the same sense
of wonder as all the generations that came before.

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 2014 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.

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