AMERICA'S GREAT OUTDOORS: Salazar, Bloomberg to Announce Major Partnership to Enhance Jamaica Bay as a Great Urban Park

NEW YORK CITY – On Tuesday, July 17, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will announce an innovative new partnership between the National Park Service and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to cooperatively manage the City's and the National Park Service's urban parks in and around Jamaica Bay and connect urban communities to the natural beauty and history of the region. Today's announcement builds on a commitment made between the Mayor and the Secretary in October 2011 to work together to establish the Jamaica Bay area as a great urban park.

Earlier in the day, Secretary Salazar will deliver remarks as part of Greater & Greener: Re-Imagining Parks for 21st Century Cities – an international urban parks conference. He will discuss the Obama administration's bold vision to build and expand America's great urban parks so that they remain healthy, connected, and accessible to every American. More information is available here.

In cities and metropolitan areas across the country, the Department of the Interior is working with communities to connect people – especially young people – to green spaces, waterways, recreation opportunities and cultural landmarks. As part of President Obama's America's Great Outdoors initiative, Interior is expanding outdoor recreation opportunities, restoring urban natural resources, strengthening outreach programs for school children, improving connections among existing parks, and restoring public access to natural, cultural, and historic resources.

The Obama administration's America's Great Outdoors initiative supports locally-driven projects and strengthen economies by creating greater access to open spaces and outdoor recreation. These efforts are a direct result of the 51 listening sessions the Department of the Interior held with citizens across the U.S. who identified ways to strengthen their local economies and called for more access to green spaces, parks, and rivers where they live.

EVENT #1: Remarks on the Obama Administration's Vision for Great Urban Parks

EVENT #2: Announcement Regarding New York City Parks Cooperative Management