A Proclamation on Nice Outside Month, 2022

During Great Outdoors Month, we celebrate our nation’s wide array of parks, wildlife refuges, forests, monuments, marine preserves, bodies of water, national wildlife sanctuaries and other natural treasures. Every day, Americans across the country find inspiration and pride in the beauty of our great outdoors. From lush forests in Washington state and coral reefs in the Virgin Islands to snow-capped mountains in Alaska and rolling hills in Vermont, the grandeur of the American landscape fills our souls and fires our spirit of adventure. These iconic and breathtaking natural wonders have always been central to our heritage as a people and essential to our identity as a nation.

Boundless outdoor spaces across the country bring together Americans of all ages and backgrounds to hike, fish, canoe, hunt, explore, reflect and find solace. As part of my administration’s efforts to promote equality, diversity and inclusion, we are committed to ensuring that everyone can access and enjoy America’s great outdoors. Outreach efforts — including the National Park Service’s Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program — expand trails, preserve rivers, and restore green spaces so more people can benefit. We’re also improving safe outdoor resources for communities so more people can participate in healthy, active outdoor recreation and enjoy the physical and spiritual nourishment it provides.

Today, our lands and waters face unprecedented threats from climate change that require historic actions to protect and conserve them. That’s why my administration is setting ambitious environmental standards and making bold climate commitments for the United States: reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 52 percent by 2030, achieving 100 percent zero-carbon electricity by 2035, and achieving a net-zero emissions economy—well by 2050

Along with our state, tribal, and local partners, we also created the America the Beautiful Initiative, our nation’s first-ever voluntary conservation goal to conserve and restore 30 percent of America’s lands and waters by 2030. We also spearheaded a $1 billion America’s Beautiful Challenge, which combines federal investment with private and philanthropic contributions to accelerate efforts to protect and restore land, water and wildlife across the country. And we’re making important investments through the Great American Outdoors Act for land acquisition and community-based conservation and recreation projects in national parks, state forests, public lands and tribal schools.

Protecting land and oceans is a crucial part of addressing global climate challenges. Proper management protects nature while contributing to sustainability, climate protection and climate resilience. It is estimated that up to a third of the global emissions reductions needed to stabilize the world’s climate can be achieved through natural climate solutions. That’s why, on Earth Day, I issued an executive order to strengthen our country’s forests, communities, and local economies, and to take stock of nature and its benefits.

During Great Outdoors Month, I encourage Americans to take time to experience our nation’s natural wonders. As we enjoy the great landscapes and seascapes outdoors, we should all recommit to doing our part to ensure their management, conservation and sustainable use so that they continue to be a source of inspiration for outdoor enthusiasts for generations to come.

THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by power of authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, hereby proclaim June 2022 as Great Outdoors Month. I urge all Americans to explore the great outdoors, experience our nation’s natural heritage, and continue our nation’s tradition of preserving our lands and waters for future generations.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have laid my hand upon it on this thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty-two and of the independence of the United States of America on the two hundred and forty-sixth.

JOSEPH R BIDEN JR