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CHARLESTON (AP) -- U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has told South Carolina residents that despite the Great Recession, this is a good time to talk about protecting the nation's land and water.

Vilsack was in Charleston on Monday for the third of a series of nationwide listening sessions as part of President Barack Obama's America's Great Outdoors Initiative.

Vilsack says people are using parks and forest lands to enjoy themselves during the recession. He says the challenge is finding resources to protect the lands and waters.

Under Obama's initiative announced in April, a report is due back to the president this November. Vilsack says it will be a powerful report with ways people and the government can work to protect nature.

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