Environment America Applauds Progress on America’s Great Outdoors

Media Contacts
John Rumpler

Clean Water Director and Senior Attorney, Environment America

Environment America

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the Obama administration released a progress report on the America’s Great Outdoors initiative.  Through this campaign, the administration has worked to promote outdoor recreation and preserve America’s great lands.

Dan Levine, Preservation Associate with Environment America gave the following statement:

“We are pleased to see the administration take an active role in preserving the best of America and encouraging outdoor recreation.

“From the shores of Acadia and the grasslands of Otero Mesa to the summits of Glacier and Mt. Rainier and the depths of Crater Lake and the Grand Canyon, America’s national parks and public lands truly represent America’s best idea.  These are places where Americans can enjoy the great outdoors and they should be protected for future generations.  

“Yet these lands and others across the country face serious threats from mining, drilling, logging and development.  Uranium mining threatens to mar of the Grand Canyon and put the Colorado River at risk of contamination.  Drilling and mining in Otero Mesa would scar the pristine landscape and potentially destroy the largest and wildest grasslands left on public lands, as well as New Mexico’s last untapped groundwater source.  

“We are pleased that the administration is already working to protect America’s great lands. We encourage the administration to take the next steps on our most treasured landscapes including taking one million acres around the Grand Canyon off limits to new uranium mining claims and creating a national monument at Otero Mesa to stop destructive drilling.  

“We applaud the administration for working to strengthen the Land and Water Conservation Fund and urge Congress to support this vital funding source for protecting great lands and popular recreation areas.”