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HomeNewsNews 2011Governors Urge Kids to Get Out West! - Get Active

Governors Urge Kids to Get Out West! - Get Active

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 7, 2011

Contact:  Chris McKinnon 303-623-9378 ext. 122

OLYMPIA -- Gov. Chris Gregoire (Wash.), Chair of the Western Governors' Association, said a new survey commissioned by The Nature Conservancy puts a number on what many have suspected - kids today spend more time online, watching TV and playing video games than they do outdoors.

Gregoire has launched WGA's Get Out West! initiative and is working with her colleagues, industry and non-profit groups to identify the best ideas for connecting kids and families to great outdoor opportunities in the West.

"We have more than six million acres of city parks and 14 million acres of state parks in the West, not to mention 50 million acres of national parks and monuments," Gregoire said. "We must find better ways to encourage and assist children to get out and get active if they want to. I applaud The Nature Conservancy for surveying kids to find out about their views on the outdoors."

The TNC survey reveals that fewer than two in five American youth get outdoors at least once a week to hike, fish, hunt or just spend time at a park, creek or beach. More than one out of four kids said a major reason they did not spend time outdoors was that they did not have transportation or there were no recreational areas nearby.

The goals of the Get Out West! initiative are to:

  • help children and their families experience the outstanding outdoor recreation opportunities throughout the West, and
  • increase jobs and revenues in the recreation and tourism sectors of the Western economy.

Several Western states already have or are in the process of developing plans and programs to connect kids with the outdoors. For example:

  • The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department has developed a Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan and Web site called Go Play! (http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/PARKS/GoPlay/)
  • Idaho has developed a "Children in Nature" network that includes citizens working together with city, state and federal agencies; non-governmental organizations; and private business owners. One of their strategies is to use technology to inspire children to get outdoors. (http://www.visitidaho.org/children-in-nature)

Gov. Gregoire will release the results of WGA's Get Out West! efforts at the WGA Annual Meeting next June.

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