[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 198 (Thursday, October 10, 1996)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Page 53297]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-26227]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 198 / Thursday, October 10, 1996 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 53297]]


                Proclamation 6932 of October 7, 1996

                
National Wildlife Refuge Week, 1996

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                As we prepare to meet the challenges of the 21st 
                century, protecting the environment remains our sacred 
                responsibility. Our National Wildlife Refuge System is 
                a network of special places set aside to conserve the 
                natural habitat of our fish and wildlife. My 
                Administration is dedicated to strengthening this 
                invaluable network of refuges that truly enhance the 
                lives of all Americans.

                President Theodore Roosevelt established the first 
                National Wildlife Refuge in 1903, and his vision 
                remains the guiding force for the Refuge System today: 
                ``... keeping for our children's children, as a 
                priceless heritage, all the delicate beauty of the 
                lesser and all the burly majesty of the mightier forms 
                of wild life .... Wild beasts and birds are by right 
                not the property merely of the people alive today, but 
                the property of the unborn generations whose belongings 
                we have no right to squander.''

                What began 93 years ago with a small island in Florida 
                has grown into a system of more than 500 refuges 
                spanning all 50 States and several trust territories. 
                It is home to resident and migratory wildlife and 
                includes lands of breathtaking beauty and diversity, 
                from the tropical mangroves of Florida's Key Deer 
                National Wildlife Refuge to the majestic peaks of the 
                Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. This mosaic 
                of magnificent places provides Americans a wide range 
                of opportunities--both educational and recreational--to 
                learn about our environment and our country's heritage, 
                to observe and photograph, and to hunt and fish. Our 
                national wildlife refuges are among our most treasured 
                areas, and we must reaffirm our commitment to 
                preserving these precious resources for our children, 
                for our communities, and for future generations. 
                Working together, we can ensure the health and vitality 
                of our wildlife and our Nation.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United 
                States, do hereby proclaim October 6 through October 
                12, 1996, as National Wildlife Refuge Week. I invite 
                all Americans to learn about, appreciate, and celebrate 
                this magnificent collection of lands that we as a 
                people have set aside for wildlife and for the 
                enjoyment of future generations. I also ask all to join 
                me in a renewed commitment to responsible stewardship 
                of our country's irreplaceable natural resources.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                seventh day of October, in the year of our Lord 
                nineteen hundred and ninety-six, and of the 
                Independence of the United States of America the two 
                hundred and twenty-first.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 96-26227
Filed 10-9-96; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P