[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 24, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 31065-31066]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08904]


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                         Presidential Documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 80 / Wednesday, April 24, 2024 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 31065]]

                Proclamation 10729 of April 19, 2024

                
National Park Week, 2024

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                America's natural wonders and historic treasures are 
                the heart and soul of our Nation. From the high 
                plateaus and deep ravines of the Grand Canyon to the 
                hallowed grounds of Gettysburg and the rolling forests 
                of the Great Smoky Mountains, our national parks unite 
                and inspire us, connecting us to something bigger than 
                ourselves. This week, we recommit to protecting and 
                caring for all 429 parks and encourage Americans 
                everywhere to enjoy them.

                Protecting our national parks preserves their majestic 
                beauty as well as meaningful pieces of our Nation's 
                history and future. They contain irreplaceable 
                ecosystems that help sustain the air we breathe and the 
                water we drink, and make our Nation more resilient to 
                the threat of climate change. They give families 
                priceless memories of sharing the great outdoors and 
                exploring our past, and create hundreds of thousands of 
                jobs in recreation. Many of them help preserve sites 
                and places that are sacred to Tribal Nations, who have 
                stewarded these lands since time immemorial.

                My Administration has pursued the most ambitious land 
                and water conservation agenda in American history--and 
                I am on track to conserve more lands and waters than 
                any other President in history. That work began with 
                setting our first-ever national conservation goal: to 
                protect and conserve at least 30 percent of all our 
                Nation's lands and waters by 2030 by investing in 
                locally led, voluntary conservation and restoration 
                efforts through our ``America the Beautiful'' 
                Initiative. I signed an Executive Order protecting 
                America's forests and harnessing the power of nature to 
                fight climate change while also launching a new 
                National Nature Assessment to help evaluate the status 
                of our lands, waters, and wildlife.

                Since I took office, my Administration has conserved 
                over 41 million acres of our Nation's precious lands 
                and waters--from safeguarding the Tongass National 
                Forest in Alaska, the Nation's largest national forest, 
                to restoring protections for the desert buttes of Bears 
                Ears National Monument in Utah. I established five new 
                national monuments, including Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah 
                Kukveni on the edge of the Grand Canyon, a place that 
                is sacred to many Tribal Nations, and the Emmett Till 
                and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument, which tells 
                the story of the events surrounding Emmett Till's 
                murder and their significance in the civil rights 
                movement. Just last month, I signed an Executive Order 
                to better recognize and integrate the history of women 
                and girls into the parks, monuments, and historic sites 
                that the National Park Service helps protect.

                National parks and the complex ecosystems they contain 
                also help make our Nation more resilient to the 
                existential threat of climate change. My Administration 
                has made the biggest investment in conservation and 
                climate action in history, including $700 million in 
                our national parks for increased staff and much-needed 
                maintenance. My Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests 
                in sustaining our lands and waters with projects to 
                protect salt marshes, remove invasive species from 
                sagebrush ecosystems to reduce wildfire risk, and more. 
                It is helping to build new trails, roads, bridges, and 
                other transportation for our national parks as well, 
                making our parks easier to visit.

[[Page 31066]]

                It pays for bonuses and training opportunities for over 
                20,000 wildland firefighters. Meanwhile, we have been 
                working closely with Tribal Nations to recognize the 
                value of their Indigenous Knowledge and expand Tribal 
                co-stewardship of national parks. My recent Budget asks 
                for over $3 billion for the National Park Service 
                itself to upgrade park infrastructure, work with Tribal 
                Nations in stewarding and managing culturally 
                significant lands, support youth programs that can lead 
                to good-paying jobs, and more. Through the Outdoor 
                Recreation Legacy Partnership, the National Park 
                Service is helping to create and renovate parks and 
                outdoor spaces in communities that have been without 
                them for too long.

                I encourage everyone to explore America's national 
                parks--and on April 20, entry will be free. Each time 
                my family and I have visited one, we have left feeling 
                inspired by our Nation's natural beauty and humbled by 
                the responsibility that we all share to make sure that 
                it endures. This National Park Week, we recommit to the 
                work of protecting our Nation's natural treasures for 
                the ages.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., 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, 2024, as National Park Week. I 
                encourage all Americans to find their park, recreate 
                responsibly, and enjoy the benefits that come from 
                spending time in the natural world.

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

[FR Doc. 2024-08904
Filed 4-23-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P