Back in April, President Obama announced his "America’s Great Outdoors Initiative" -- a project that seeks to develop a conservation agenda worthy of the 21st century and to reconnect Americans with our great outdoors. As part of the initiative, senior government officials are hosting a series of public listening sessions in cities, towns and rural areas across the country so that citizens can share their ideas about conservation and outdoor recreation.

Late last week, we learned that two of these listening sessions will be here in the Hudson Valley. On Thursday, Aug. 5, from 3 to 5 p.m. a "Youth Listening Session" will be held at the Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Home in Hyde Park to give young people from the Hudson Valley a chance to help shape our country's environmental future. The following morning, Friday, Aug. 6, a Public Listening Session and Discussion will be held at the Marist College Student Center in Poughkeepsie.

These sessions are an exciting opportunity for Hudson Valley residents to share their ideas for improving conservation and outdoor recreation in our region with representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency. Both sessions are free and open to the public, but people are asked to RSVP via the America's Great Outdoors website so that the organizers can ensure that there is enough space for everybody.