With a goal of luring more youngsters, and their parents, into the National Park System and onto other public lands, President Obama on Thursday announced the Every Kid in a Park initiative that will provide every fourth-grader in the country a park pass good for one full year of free access to the nation's public lands.

Part of the decision to create the program, the administration said, was the fact that young people are spending more time in front of TV screens and computer monitors than outside, "and that means they are missing out on valuable opportunities to explore, learn and play in the spectacular outdoor places that belong to all of them."

The Every Kid in a Park initiative calls on each of the country's land-management agencies to help get all children to visit and enjoy the outdoors and inspire a new generation of Americans to experience their country’s unrivaled public lands and waters. Starting in September, every fourth-grader in the Nation will receive an “Every Kid in a Park” pass that’s good for free admission to all of America’s federal lands and waters -- for them and their families -- for a full year.

"Because we know that a big reason many kids don’t visit these places is because they can’t get there easily, we will also help schools and families arrange field trips and visits by providing key trip-planning tools, and helping to cover transportation costs for schools with the greatest financial need," an Interior Department release said. "For example, the National Park Foundation, the congressionally chartered foundation of the National Park Service, is expanding its program to award transportation grants for kids to visit parks, lands, and waters. The President has also requested new funding in his FY 2016 Budget to support youth education programs and to support transportation for school outings to parks for students from low-income areas."