Before pursuing any specific strategies, initiative leaders solicited feedback from everyday Americans as to what mattered most to them regarding conservation and access to the outdoors. Some 105,000 written comments and many more spoken ones from “listening sessions” held coast to coast streamed in and were crucial to the development of programs. Public feedback continues to shape the initiative’s agenda.

Some of the programs that fall under the umbrella of America’s Great Outdoors include: the Veterans Fire Corps, which employs veterans in forest fire management; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s program providing technical training and work opportunities for underserved youth in habitat restoration and fisheries monitoring; and the establishment of a new network of “water trails” coast to coast to increase everyone’s access to the outdoors.

America’s Great Outdoors was in the news recently when Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced the launch of 21st Century Conservation Service Corps as part of the program. “21CSC,” as Jewell calls it, aims to be a modern incarnation of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) that President Franklin Roosevelt used to help put Americans back to work during the Great Depression. Jewell envisions a 100,000 person strong “CCC 2.0” that will provide opportunities for thousands of young Americans—6.7 million of whom are currently unemployed or not in school—and veterans transitioning back to civilian life to serve their country, feel proud of what they are accomplishing and improve their own lives and the lives of others around them.

Part of what makes America’s Great Outdoors unique is that partners from every sector of American society—not just the federal government—are encouraged to help. 21CSC is partially funded by a $1 million dollar donation from clothing retailer American Eagle Outfitters, and Jewell is in search of another $19 million from other private sector partners to turn the program into a potent force for reducing youth and veteran unemployment while giving our endangered lands and waterways some much-needed attention.