Obama Administration Officials Join Rep. Mike Thompson for America’s Great Outdoors Listening Session on July 7th at UC Davis

WASHINGTON – White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley and Congressman Mike Thompson will join senior Administration officials for a listening session at University of California, Davis on President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors Initiative.  The listening session will offer an opportunity to hear from people in the region about solutions for building a 21st century conservation and recreation agenda and reconnecting Americans with the outdoors.

President Obama inaugurated the America’s Great Outdoors Initiative at a White House Conference in April. The conference brought together leaders from communities across the country that are working to protect their outdoor spaces and focused on developing and supporting innovative ideas for improving conservation and recreation at the local level.  The President directed the Chair and other leaders of the initiative to listen and learn from Americans throughout the country about community-driven conservation and reconnecting Americans to the outdoors.

WHO:             Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Center on Environmental Quality
                        Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-01)
                        Will Shafroth, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Department of Interior
                        Ed Burton, State Conservationist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture 
                        Jovita Pajarillo, Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9

WHAT:          America’s Great Outdoors Initiative Listening Session

WHEN:          Wednesday, July 7, 2010 
                       Media availability at 10:30 a.m. and listening session at 11:00 a.m.

WHERE:       University of California, Davis
                      Vanderhoef Studio Theatre in the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts  
                      One Shields Avenue 
                      Davis, CA 95616