Interior Announces New Website to Encourage Youth Employment, Activity in America's Great Outdoors

WASHINGTON, DC — Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced that the Department of the Interior has established a website for youth that will serve as a one-stop shop for information on job and internship opportunities, upcoming outdoor events, educational resources and more. Secretary Salazar made the announcement about YouthGo.gov today during a live webchat on the White House website with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack about President Obama's America's Great Outdoors Initiative.

“This website is designed to help young people get out, get involved, and get a job when it comes to the great outdoors,” said Secretary Salazar. “Young people are the next generation of conservationists and we must empower them to take a leadership role in shaping their future.”

The new website – www.YouthGO.gov – is part of an Interior-wide effort to engage young people in recreation and conservation efforts and to increase employment and career opportunities. After establishing a Youth in the Great Outdoors office, Interior hired more than 21,000 youth in 2010 – an increase of 45 percent over the previous year. The website features links to a wide variety of internships and seasonal and permanent job opportunities within Interior, ranging from working concessions in a National Park to building trails on public lands.

The website, spearheaded by the National Conservation Training Center of the Fish and Wildlife Service, will also serve as a means for federal partners, educators, and community organizations to showcase their events and employment opportunities. Youth can also share their stories – and find ways to interact with federal agencies and partners directly.

Youth employment, education and engagement is a top priority of President Obama's America's Great Outdoors initiative to establish a recreation and conservation ethic for the 21st century based on the priorities of American communities. The initiative is the result of a national dialogue that included 51 administration-hosted listening sessions around the country - 21 focused on youth – and more than 100,000 comments received in person or in writing.