Presidential Documents

54751

Federal Register

Vol. 62, No. 203

Tuesday, October 21, 1997

Title 3—

The President

Proclamation 7042 of October 17, 1997

National Forest Products Week, 1997

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

America’s forests are a precious resource, making numerous rich contributions not only to the natural splendor of our Nation, but also to the wellbeing of our people. Whether part of the vast acreages that make up our

industrial, State, and National forests or rural woodlots and urban forests,

they offer us clean water and air, priceless wildlife habitat and fisheries,

welcome settings for recreation, and breathtaking beauty. Our forests also

provide us with more tangible products essential to everyday living: wood

and paper products for our homes, schools, and offices, and even medicines

and food.

While the wood products we harvest from our forests can be so durable

that they last for centuries, forest ecosystems themselves are very fragile.

America’s growing population and urban expansion are putting ever-increasing demands on forest lands and resources. We must work together to

devise imaginative forest management approaches that will allow us to preserve and cultivate healthy forest ecosystems, meet the need for forest products, provide jobs for those who depend on forests for their livelihood,

and continue to offer Americans enjoyable recreational opportunities.

Fortunately, forest research is equipping us with vital knowledge that can

help us to balance the many and varied demands on our woodlands. Thanks

to such research, we are now using new products and innovative technologies

and employing new recycling methods that not only extend the available

supply of raw materials, but also help us to process those materials more

efficiently and with fewer harmful by-products. This use of science to balance

the needs of our people both for forest products and a healthy environment

will help us to achieve our goal of sustainable forest management.

All of us are indebted to past generations of Americans whose vision and

generosity preserved so many of our Nation’s great forests for our use and

pleasure. Now it falls to us to continue their wise stewardship so that

we may pass on to future generations this priceless natural legacy.

In recognition of the central role our forests play in the long-term welfare

of our Nation, the Congress, by Public Law 86–753 (36 U.S.C. 163), has

designated the week beginning on the third Sunday in October of each

year as ‘‘National Forest Products Week’’ and has authorized and requested

the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this week.
54752 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 203 / Tuesday, October 21, 1997 / Presidential Documents

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States

of America, do hereby proclaim October 19 through October 25, 1997, as

National Forest Products Week. I call upon all Americans to observe this

week with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventeenth

day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninetyseven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two

[FR Doc. 97–28081

Filed 10–20–97; 8:45 am]

Billing code 3195–01–P

hundred and twenty-second.

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