Obama launches conservation plan, admits he won’t replicate Roosevelt’s bear hunting

President Barack Obama on Friday launched a new outdoor recreation and conservation program, and in the process admitted he won’t measure up to former President and famed outdoorsman Theodore Roosevelt.

Obama signed a memorandum creating the interagency America’s Great Outdoors Initiative, which is aimed at reconnecting Americans – especially kids – to parks, forests and other conservation areas. It is also aimed at boosting conservation of land and wildlife by building on state, local and other efforts.

Obama lauded Roosevelt – who he noted was an avid birdwatcher and bear hunter – for creating many national parks, forests and monuments.

"Now, that legacy is an extraordinary achievement – and no matter how long I have the privilege of serving as President, I know I can never match it,” Obama said in announcing the program at the Interior Department.

“And I will probably never shoot a bear. That’s a fair bet there, fair guess. But I do intend to enrich that legacy, and I feel an abiding bond with the land that is the United States of America,” he added.

Obama said the Outdoors Initiative would be a bottom-up effort.

“In the months ahead, members of this administration will host regional listening sessions across America. We’ll meet with everybody – from tribal leaders to farmers, from young people to businesspeople, from elected officials to recreation and conservation groups.  And their ideas will help us form a 21st century strategy for America’s great outdoors to better protect our natural landscape and our history for generations to come,” he said.