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We just want to welcome you to beautiful and sunny Washington D.C. today for a special
live chat with Secretary Ken Salazar, who has graciously given up some of his time to
answer your questions.
It's been a busy week at Interior. On Tuesday President Obama proclaimed Fort Monroe the
396th national monument in the National Park system. And today we are releasing our 50-state
America's Great Outdoors report, which has projects in every state across the country.
We will be talking about some of those today.
We want to thank you all for submitting your questions, but before we get there, we just
want to give the Secretary a moment to just give some introductory remarks, so...Secretary
Salazar?
Ken Salazar: Thank you very much, Tim. And thank you to all of you who are listening
in today on this web chat. We're very proud of the conservation agenda for President Obama,
and our efforts to create a 21st century conservation program for the United States of America.
We started out this effort way back at the early part of the Administration with the
passage of the 2009 Public Lands Act that designated two million acres of wilderness,
1000 miles of wild and scenic rivers, and created new national parks.
And we continue our march under the umbrella of the America's Great Outdoors agenda. The
America's Great Outdoors agenda, led by my wise counselor Will Shafroth, has really put
forward a vision for the next century of conservation for America.
The President asked his cabinet to pull together the America's Great Outdoors report. We did
that with my colleagues at the Department of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, and other people
who have been very involved with us in this effort.
Today we're announcing one of the milestones of the America's Great Outdoors effort, and
that is the report which has identified 101 projects from sea to shining sea, two in each
of our 50 states and one in the District of Columbia, that will help usher in the reality
of America's Great Outdoors.
The projects that are included, Tim and the audience and this 101 set of projects, include
river restoration projects. We have more than 20 river restoration projects. We're trying
to make sure that we're putting a major focus on how we restore our rivers as part of a
vital reality of our communities and economic development engines as well.
We also are opening up a new chapter on urban parks in America in places like New York and
St. Louis and all across the country. We also are moving forward with our agenda to make
sure that the great rural landscapes of America are protected, and that includes places like
the Crown of the Continent. Places like the Dakota grasslands and the foothills of Kansas.
So today's an important day. We are looking very much forward to working with communities
and conservationists and economic developers all around the country as we make these projects
a reality in the years ahead.
Great. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Well, we have a lot of great questions, so we're going
to just jump right into it. The first one comes from Catherine in Minnesota, who says,
"I'm delighted that you have designated Fort Monroe as a national monument. How can we
Americans encourage people of color to use our national monuments and parks as much as
those of other heritages do?"
That's a very good question, and part of what Director Jarvis and I have been doing is making
sure that we have the national parks relevant to all of the American people. We strongly
believe, the President has been very clear with me and it's an agenda which he and I
have shared for a long time, that we're about an inclusive America. That means everybody
has to be involved. When Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan prepared their report on the national
parks, it held that America's best idea. Urban communities, people in rural America, people
everywhere. No exceptions.
And so Fort Monroe is a very special place because it was the beginning of slavery in
North America. It also was the end of slavery, because the Freedom Fortress there at Fort
Monroe became the crucible for Abraham Lincoln to really think about the outcomes of the
War. It's very interesting, as I was at the Lincoln Memorial last night studying the Gettysburg
Address.
As the War started, what Abraham Lincoln had said is that he wanted to uphold the Constitution
of the United States. So when the Confederate colonel with the owner of the slaves came
to claim his three slaves at Fort Monroe, the upholding of the Constitution at the time
would have meant that the slaves would have been turned over to the Confederate colonel.
But the general, General Butler, in charge of the port at that time, came up with a legal
theory called the Contraband Theory and said, "No, I can't turn these slaves over to you."
As a result, in a few days there were over a thousand slaves that actually came into
Fort Monroe and sought it as a refuge. It became known as Freedom Fortress. Several
years later, as things had progressed, it really was seen as a place where the best
thinking on the Emancipation Proclamation took place.
So Fort Monroe is a great place for history. It also is going to be a great economic engine
for Virginia. We're very much looking forward to making a reality.
Great. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. Speaking of the economic drivers that the parks do,
the next question is from Chuck in Colorado, who asks, "What role does the Department of
the Interior in the area of employment, youth employment and education in environmental
preservation?"
You know, Chuck, we are very committed to engaging young people in the America's Great
Outdoors. It's one of the cornerstones of the America's Great Outdoors report, something
which both President Obama and the First Lady have fully embraced in the "Let's Move" and
"Let's Move Outside" set of initiatives. We in the Department of the Interior are doing
everything we can to connect up young people to the work that we do. Over the last several
years, just through a directive that I have issued, we've had about 35,000 young people
working with us in the Department all across America.
Now, it's important for us, Chuck, because we will have at least 40% of our workforce
retired between now and the next four years. And so, if you think about people who are
going to come and replace these workers, it's the young people who are coming up and we
want to you to come and work at our wildlife refuges on our BLM national landscape conservation
areas, and so many other positions we have here in the Interior.
And we're not alone. There's a whole host of other agencies over the Federal, State
and local level who are looking for the young people as a people who will become the next
generation of conservationists.
Great. Thank you. And if you're a student or a young person, and you're looking for
an internship or a job at the Department of the Interior, we actually have a youth program
set up. So if you want to go to YouthGo.gov, there's a lot of information there for you
to check out. So once again, it's YouthGo.gov.
So the next question we'll move onto is another question about Fort Monroe, which is from
Harry in Virginia. He has asked, "How will Fort Monroe be staffed, and how will it be
set up as a national park?"
It began its existence as a national park the minute that the President signed the proclamation
designating it, and that's the authority that comes under a law which has preserved places
like the Grand Canyon and a whole host of other icons of America.
We immediately assigned a superintendent, so we have a superintendent on duty already,
who will deal with staffing matters for Fort Monroe and will be posting to the local community.
So we have a staff already assigned to Fort Monroe, and we're looking forward to completing
the opening of what will be the 396th national park of the United States of America.
Great. Thank you, Mr. Secretary. The next question is a more America's Great Outdoors
question in general. It's from Marla in New York, and she's asking, "What is the best
way to be informed on news and updates from America's Great Outdoors, and how can the
general public be more involved in this project?"
I would say two ways. One is by following us on our website where we're going to have
a place on our website that will give you an update on what we're doing on each of these
projects.
Secondly, and perhaps even more importantly, is making sure you're involved with the local
community and the stakeholders and the rest of us who will be working on each of these
projects. New York, for example, two major projects we've identified include the Harlem
River, where we have a major restoration effort going on there.
I was just there a week or so ago. And we need members of the local community who are
interested in the restoration of the Harlem River to be very involved, and they are. And
so you can become a part of the groups that will ultimately help us design the future
of these great projects across the country.
Great. Thanks. And we actually have an interactive map at doi.gov that will show you all 101
projects that we have listed as priority projects, so you can check those out right after this
chat.
We'll move over to another economic question, and this comes from John in Virginia. A lot
of questions from Virginia this week. "In this current economy, how does the Department
of the Interior plan to support, financially, Fort Monroe and the national monument that
it will require?"
At this point in time, what we're doing is we're finding resources to make sure that
we're able to move forward with the opening of Fort Monroe as a national park and that
we have it staffed. We need to have the resources for our national parks and for the conservation
agenda, and right now there is a reality in Washington and our nation, and that is that
we're dealing with some very difficult economic times and some very tough deficits.
And so, what we're doing is we're being more efficient here at Interior. We're saving some
$500 million just through information technology innovations. We are doing a lot to save money,
but, at the same time, we are also pushing Congress to make sure that they're investing
in conservation. And our hope is that we'll have the resources to be able to continue
the husbandry of these great national assets which the Department of Interior oversees.
Great. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
And just a note for people who are joining us right now. The entire web chat that we're
having...
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Which is another youth question, from Leo, who's asking, "What is the National Parks
Service doing to get the next generation of Americans to visit?"
We recognize that part of what we need to do is to make sure that people know what the
opportunities are to visit some of these places and the rich history. And you need to be able
to communicate to do that, and that means we are going to use a whole panoply of social
media tools to make sure that we have the right outreach. But it's a very good question,
Leo.
Yeah. Most national parks actually have presence on Facebook and Twitter. So if you type in
your local national park, you'll probably be able to find some very detailed information
on what's going on in those parks. It's a great question.
The next one is from Carl in California, and his question is, "How was it decided that
each state would get two priority projects?"
I asked my senior staff, the directors of the bureaus and Counselor Shafroth to meet
with governors in every one of the states. I probably met with 15 or 20 governors around
the country myself. We sent a letter out saying, "We want your priority projects." Some of
them responded right away; some of them didn't. So we came back. We followed up. We had meetings.
At the end of that, we looked for projects that we thought were ones that were doable.
There are thousands of projects, literally, in conservation all across America. Every
state has dozens of projects. But these are two projects in every state where we think
we have something to offer at the national level, from Interior. And with the right kind
of partnerships with the local community, state governments, nonprofits, as well as
the business community, we think that these are projects that we can prioritize and we
can make happen.
Great. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
We have another economic question. This one is also from Catherine in Virginia. She says,
"I am glad that you emphasized job creation in your announcement." And she was asking,
"Have you thought of creating a jobs creation task force within Interior or other types
of groups to focus on the economic issues?"
The answer to that is yes. We strongly believe that as we look at the economic future of
America that tourism and outdoor recreation are a key part of that future. Between now
and the year 2021, we have to create another 21 million jobs for the United States of America.
We believe that somewhere between 2.1 and 3.2 million jobs can be created just through
outdoor recreation and through tourism, and so we have developed an action plan and are
working with other agencies and the president's team to move that program forward.
There is no doubt for people who live in places like Kalispell, Montana, right outside of
Glacier, that when you have a national park in your community it becomes the central economic
driver. And that's what's going to happen to Fort Monroe. Through the Fort Monroe Development
Authority, with a national park there, you're going to see many jobs that are going to be
created.
The outdoor recreation industry alone believes that it creates somewhere in the neighborhood
of 8.4 million jobs a year, and that's out of a recent report that was done by a consulting
group by the name of Southwick. So we know that hunters and bikers and boaters and walkers
and hikers and everybody that uses the outdoors and those who visit places like Fort Monroe
are bringing money into the local community.
In the tourism industry, it's known as "heads on beds." And that means that the more people
you have visiting a community, they bring their dollars, and that ends up creating jobs.
And so that's why each of these projects that we've listed here, these 101 projects, are
very important to job creation in these states.
Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
Well, we have about time for two more questions, so we're just going to get right into it.
This one's from Keith, "Will the AGO Initiative include any programs that will reach Indian
country youth?"
Yes, indeed. We have had an agenda at the Department of Interior, directed by the president,
that we will put up a whole new chapter in our relationship with the nation's first Americans,
and having the nation's first Americans involved with us as we move forward in the conservation
agenda is very important. We have 565 tribes in the United States of America, massive landholdings,
and we're looking for opportunities to make sure that they are part of this America's
Great Outdoors agenda.
Great. Thank you.
And finally, we have a question from Brenda in Pennsylvania. And her question is, "Will
the America's Great Outdoors Initiative help states link their priority projects around
large landscapes, like the Chesapeake Bay, for example?"
Yes, we will do that. In fact, Fort Monroe is on the Chesapeake, and we have other efforts
going on in the Chesapeake. Tomorrow we will be making an announcement with Governor O'Malley
in Maryland on the efforts that we have going on on the Anacostia. The Anacostia is a major
river restoration effort where we've already made significant progress. We have a lot more
work ahead of us, but what will happen as a result of the America's Great Outdoors is
that you'll be able to link up all these various projects on the Chesapeake, and that will
allow us to get the job done on a larger scale than if we were just looking at it project
by project.
Great. Well, thank you, everyone, and thank you, Mr. Secretary. We are, unfortunately,
out of time today. If you asked a question and we weren't able to get to it, we plan
on doing more chats in the future. We'll also be trying to respond to as many people as
we can online. You can send in more questions at doi.gov. You can follow us on Twitter,
@Interior, or on Facebook at USInterior.
Until next time, I want to thank the secretary again and thank everybody. Have a great day,
and we hope to see you again soon. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Thank you, Tim.
Thank you, sir.