In June, I joined a select group of chief executives from national conservation and recreation organizations for a meeting with Sally Jewell, our nation’s 51st Secretary of the Interior. I found her to be refreshingly candid about her challenges and her enthusiasm about working with NRPA. She is totally committed to many of our most important priorities.

First, she is a big believer in the Land and Water Conservation Fund — specifically the LWCF State Assistance Program. She had just returned from England and marveled about their pocket parks. She recognizes that people must have easy access to their local parks in order to connect with the environment. She is particularly committed to engaging urban communities and wants to develop innovative solutions to their conservation challenges. Given this recognition of the importance of community parks, we hope she will champion efforts to provide more resources at the state and local levels.

Second, she is concerned that we are not engaging youth where they live and in ways that are meaningful to them. She fears, as we do, that we will quickly lose touch not just with this generation, but coming generations as well, and there will be no future stewards of our natural resources and public lands. She was very interested in NRPA’s partnership with National Wildlife Federation to connect 10 million kids to nature and the outdoors.

Perhaps most importantly for us, she believes strongly in data-driven solutions to complex issues. As CEO of REI, she was the driving force behind the Outdoor Industry Association’s research on the economic impacts of outdoor recreation. The highly respected OIA economic analysis reports are frequently cited by elected officials, including members of Congress. She expressed great interest in PRORAGIS and its ability to contribute to the body of knowledge concerning the value of parks and recreation. It’s clear that she will have to rely on NRPA for this data, and it’s imperative that we deliver.

Finally, the key conviction that she expressed was her belief that many people have moved away from an understanding that parks and public lands are an essential part of the common good. Her belief was unshakable that these lands and waters — from local to state to national — are part of an irreplaceable public trust. While she keenly recognizes the role that philanthropic contributions and private capital play, she believes the private sector cannot and will not provide all that is needed to keep and maintain public lands.

Sally Jewell is off to a very good start as Secretary of the Interior, and I wish her well. I hope to have many more conversations with her about her priorities and ours, and how we can mutually achieve our goals. I’ll bring you updates of our collective progress.