Asheville to host ‘listening session’ on President Obama’s plan to enhance outdoor conservation, recreation efforts

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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President Barack Obama’s administration will hold a “listening session” in Asheville on July 15 to hear from the public regarding outdoor conservation and recreation efforts, according to Asheville City Councilman Gordon Smith and a press release from U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler. Smith made the announcement via Twitter.

The listening session is one in a series to be held across the country to gather feedback, which will be used in a report to Obama to be delivered in November. It’s all part of the America’s Great Outdoors initiative.

The session will likely bring top administration officials to Asheville for the meeting. On Thursday, for example, there’s a listening session in Los Angeles, and here’s the list of Obama administration officials attending: 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley, Agriculture Under Secretary Harris Sherman, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Assistant Secretary Jo-Ellen Darcy will participate in the session.

More background: 

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.

Looks like Asheville is still on the Obama radar.