Protecting America's Great Outdoors

Yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act and the Wilderness Act -- two landmark pieces of conservation legislation.

Using revenues from offshore oil and gas development, the Land and Water Conservation Fund has increased access to the outdoors, protected iconic places like National Parks and Civil War battlefields, and advanced more than 40,000 local projects. And thanks to the Wilderness Act, more than 109 million acres of wildland have received our country's strongest protections.

But protecting the outdoors isn't just good for our air and water -- it's good for our economy, too. In 2012, more than 900 million visits to federally managed lands and waters helped support over $646 billion in spending on outdoor recreation.

Find out how these acts are protecting America's lands and boosting local economies.

All times are Eastern Time (ET)

4:40 AM: The President and Prime Minister Cameron visit a school

6:00 AM: The President joins a meeting on Ukraine

7:25 AM: The President is greeted by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Prime Minister Cameron

7:30 AM: The President takes an official family photo

8:00 AM: The President joins NATO leaders for a meeting on Afghanistan

11:45 AM: The President joins NATO leaders for a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission

3:15 PM: The President arrives Cardiff Castle

3:30 PM: The President takes an official family photo

3:40 PM: The President participates in a leaders' working dinner

7:00 PM: The Vice President and Dr. Jill Biden host a reception for military athletes representing the United States at the Invictus Games