[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 206 (Wednesday, October 23, 1996)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 54927-54928]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-27351]


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                         Presidential Documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 206 / Wednesday, October 23, 1996 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 54927]]

                Proclamation 6944 of October 21, 1996

                
National Forest Products Week, 1996

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                 For much of our Nation's history, forests, like other 
                natural resources, were considered inexhaustible. In 
                this century, we began to recognize that forests are a 
                precious birthright for all Americans--not only for us 
                and for our children, but also for future generations. 
                As part of this recognition, we observe National Forest 
                Products Week.

                 Forests are an important source of fuel and building 
                materials, and they provide many valuable jobs. They 
                also offer us unmatched recreational environments, as 
                well as a spiritual refuge from city life. They provide 
                essential habitat for myriad species of plants and 
                animals, including hundreds that are endangered or 
                threatened. Increasingly, their trees, shrubs, herbs, 
                fungi, and microorganisms are yielding new and wondrous 
                medicinal products and foods. And thanks to better 
                planning and resource management that replace harvested 
                lands with new forests, thousands of Americans will 
                continue to earn their livelihood from our Nation's 
                forests, even as we protect them. Today, the same 
                citizens who are reaping the forests' bounty are 
                personally and professionally involved in efforts to 
                preserve it for future generations.

                 Government, citizens, and the forestry industry now 
                work hand-in-hand in a new cooperative stewardship that 
                emphasizes healthy, diverse, and sustainable forests. 
                Using the best available science and complying with all 
                current environmental laws, we are examining past and 
                present forest management practices to find the best 
                mix of resource use, conservation, and recycling that 
                will ensure continued productivity. America must 
                promote environmental responsibility and observe the 
                highest possible standards of conservation to lead the 
                way for other nations.

                One of our most important tools in this endeavor is 
                investment in forest research. Forest research is 
                developing new wood products that extend raw material 
                supplies, new technologies to extract and process wood 
                products with less waste and fewer harmful byproducts, 
                and new ways of reducing demand for forest raw 
                materials through recycling. It is also unlocking the 
                potential of forests to provide new products that will 
                benefit people. With proper care, these lands can 
                remain healthy, diverse, and resilient, capable of 
                sustaining the lives--human and animal--that are 
                dependent on them.

                 In recognition of the central role 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 each year 
                as ``National Forest Products Week'' and has authorized 
                and requested the President to issue a proclamation in 
                observance of this commemoration.

                 NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of 
                the United States of America, do hereby proclaim 
                October 20 through October 26, 1996, as National Forest 
                Products Week. I call upon the people of the United 
                States to honor the vital role forests play in our 
                national life and to observe this week with appropriate 
                ceremonies and activities.

[[Page 54928]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-first 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. 96-27351
Filed 10-22-96; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P