[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 79 (Wednesday, April 24, 2013)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 24323-24324]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-09869]


 
 
                         Presidential Documents 
 
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 79 / Wednesday, April 24, 2013 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 24323]]


                Proclamation 8961 of April 19, 2013

                
National Park Week, 2013

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                For generations, ordinary Americans have taken it upon 
                themselves to preserve our national landscape. They 
                have been public servants and private citizens, patrons 
                and Presidents--visionaries who saw our natural 
                inheritance not as something to be used up, but as a 
                treasure to be passed on. During National Park Week, we 
                celebrate the wonders entrusted to us by our forebears 
                and recommit to preserving them for our children and 
                grandchildren.

                We also take time to remember that in places like the 
                Grand Canyon and the Teton Range, we see more than raw 
                beauty. We see expansive freedom and rugged 
                independence. We see the big ideas and bold ingenuity 
                that inspired the first conservationists. We see our 
                belief in collective responsibility--the notion that 
                all of us have an equal share in this land and an equal 
                obligation to keep it safe. These spaces embody the 
                best of the American spirit, and they summon us to 
                experience it firsthand.

                This week, the National Park Service will make that 
                opportunity available to everyone by offering free 
                admission to every park in the Union from April 22 
                through April 26. And to keep building on our country's 
                long legacy of conservation, I have been proud to 
                establish eight new National Monuments in the past 
                year. These sites honor rich histories, spectacular 
                landscapes, and pioneering heroes of the American 
                story, from Colonel Charles Young to Harriet Tubman to 
                Cesar Chavez. They also reflect my commitment to 
                advancing a 21st-century conservation strategy that 
                responds to the priorities of the American people, 
                strengthens local economies, and protects our most 
                special places for generations to come.

                As we mark this week, I encourage all Americans to 
                experience our natural heritage by stepping into the 
                outdoors. To find a National Park in your area, visit 
                www.NPS.gov.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim April 20 through 
                April 28, 2013, as National Park Week. I encourage all 
                Americans to visit their National Parks and be reminded 
                of these unique blessings we share as a Nation.

[[Page 24324]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                nineteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
                seventh.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2013-09869
Filed 4-23-13; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F3