[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 204 (Wednesday, October 22, 2003)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 60613-60614]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-26830]



[[Page 60611]]

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Part VII





The President





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Proclamation 7723--National Forest Products Week, 2003



Proclamation 7724--National Character Counts Week, 2003
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  Federal Register / Vol. 68, No. 204 / Wednesday, October 22, 2003 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 60613]]

                Proclamation 7723 of October 17, 2003

                
National Forest Products Week, 2003

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Our forests are a source of pride for our Nation. They 
                benefit many Americans who depend on healthy forests 
                for their livelihoods and quality of life. As we 
                celebrate National Forest Products Week, we recognize 
                the importance of our forest resources. We remain 
                committed to sound, commonsense, forest management.

                Beyond their scenic beauty, our forests are vital to 
                our economy and our way of life. Numerous jobs in the 
                manufacturing and construction industries, as well as 
                in the forest products industries, rely on the health 
                and sustainability of our forests. Forests provide 
                lumber for building our homes, they provide paper for 
                publishing our books and newspapers, and forests are 
                the source of many other wood and paper products that 
                Americans use every day.

                We have a responsibility to maintain the health and 
                productivity of our forests. In the past, forests have 
                been spoiled by overgrowth, decimated by insects and 
                disease, and devastated by wildfires. My 
                Administration's Healthy Forests Initiative will help 
                prevent this kind of destruction. Aided by this 
                Initiative, we treated nearly 2.6 million acres of 
                forests during the last fiscal year to reduce dangerous 
                overgrowth and restore forest health. This is more than 
                double the number of acres that were treated 3 years 
                ago. My Administration is also committed to fulfilling 
                the promise of the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan to 
                protect our most sensitive forest areas, while 
                supporting a viable forest products industry and jobs 
                in rural America. By encouraging active forest 
                management and sustainable timber harvesting, we 
                strengthen our economy and ensure the lasting beauty of 
                our woodlands.

                Recognizing the importance of our forests in ensuring 
                the long-term welfare of our Nation, the Congress, by 
                Public Law 86-753 (36 U.S.C. 123), as amended, 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.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the 
                United States of America, do hereby proclaim October 19 
                through October 25, 2003, as National Forest Products 
                Week. I call upon all Americans to observe this week 
                with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

[[Page 60614]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                seventeenth day of October, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand three, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and twenty-eighth.

                    (Presidential Sig.)B

[FR Doc. 03-26830
Filed 10-21-03; 9:20 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P