Secretary Sally Jewell

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell delivered a kind of public-lands manifesto in Washington on Tuesday and mentioned Utah while talking about the “course correction” she envisions for the nation’s conservation strategy.

  Interior Secretary Sally Jewell told students at Weber State University today she wants to get more young people involved in the outdoors.  She was the keynote speaker at Weber State’s Sustainability Summit.

Jewell says recent budget cuts and the government shutdown really hurt the National Park Service and other agencies in her department.

  The Interior Department issues a report every year on the economic benefit of national parks.  This year, that was complicated by the government shutdown that closed the parks for 16 days in October.

The report from the National Park Service estimates parks and gateway communities lost more than 400-million dollars in visitor spending during the 16-day government shutdown.

U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell wants young Americans to spend more time outdoors. She spoke to members of the Outdoor Industry Association on Thursday about ways to pay for the initiative.

  Utah Governor Gary Herbert chairs the Western Governors Association, so this year, the group held its annual meeting in Utah.  The topics included reforming health care and education, but a lot of the focus was on energy and public lands.