A listening session will be held as part of the America's Great Outdoors Initiative June 28 in Charleston, South Carolina. State Horse Councils and equestrian associations from the region are encouraged to participate.

In April of this year the President announced the America's Great Outdoors Initiative. The goals of the Initiative are:

• Reconnect Americans with the outdoors by promoting community based recreation and conservation, advance job and volunteer opportunities related to conservation and recreation, as well as educate individuals in American’s history, culture, and natural beauty;

• Build upon State, local, private and tribal priorities for the conservation of land, water, wildlife, historic and cultural resources;

• Use Science-based management practices to restore and protect America’s lands and waters. The American Horse Council participated in the initial event on America’s Great Outdoors held at the US Department of the Interior on April 16.

As part of the initiative the Administration and federal agencies involved are holding listening sessions around the county with tribal leaders, farmers and ranchers, sportsmen, community park groups, foresters, youth groups, businesspeople, educators, State and local governments and recreational and conservation groups. These sessions in conjunction with continued discussions with attendees of the conference, and a report due in November will be used to craft future policy to achieve the goals of the Initiative.

The South Eastern public listening session and discussion on the America's Great Outdoors Initiative will be June 28th from 1-5 p.m. in Charleston, South Carolina, and will include representatives from the U.S. Department of the Interior DOI, U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA, the Environmental Protection Agency EPA, and the White House Council on Environmental Quality CEQ. The AHC encourages regional State Horse Councils and equestrian associations to send representatives to the session. It is important that members of the administration hear from individual members of the equestrian community concerning this initiative