    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book I)]
    [April 2, 1993]
    [Pages 387-389]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Conclusion of the Forest Conference in Portland
    April 2, 1993

        I want to thank all of you for being here and for sitting through
    this long day, and all of the participants for everything you've done.
    I'd like to thank the Cabinet for coming and participating and the Vice
    President and our staff for all the work they did to put this meeting
    together.
        One of the things that has come out of this meeting to me loud and
    clear is that you want us to try to break the paralysis that presently
    controls the situation, to move and to act. I hope that as we leave here
    we are more committed to working together to move forward than perhaps
    we were when we came.

    [[Page 388]]

        I tell you, I'll never forget what I've heard today, the stories,
    the pictures, the passion from all of you. In a funny way, even when you
    were disagreeing, every one of you was a voice for change. Every one of
    you was saying we can't possibly do any worse than to stay within the
    framework which has now undermined our ability to work together and to
    build a sense of common community. Too many people are being hurt, and
    too many resources are being threatened. And we're going to do our best
    to turn this away from at least the short-term politics of just trying
    to avoid the tough decisions.
        I intend to direct the Cabinet and the entire administration to
    begin work immediately to craft a balanced, a comprehensive, a long-term
    policy. And I will direct the Cabinet to report back to me within 60
    days to have a plan to end this stalemate.
        In the meanwhile, I want each of our Cabinet to look within the
    departments to determine which policies are at odds with each other. It
    is true, as I've said many times, that I was mortified when I began to
    review the legal documents surrounding this controversy to see how often
    the departments were at odds with each other, so that there was no voice
    of the United States. I want the Cabinet members to talk with each other
    to try to bring these conflicts to an end, which at their extreme have
    had our own agencies suing one another in courts, often over issues
    which are hard to characterize as monumental. I want everyone to examine
    his or her approach to existing legal and administrative proceedings to
    see if inadvertently any of us are hampering the march toward a solution
    of the larger issues or even toward the particular ones now in
    litigation.
        Regardless of what we are doing, our efforts must be guided, it
    seems to me, by five fundamental principles: First, we must never forget
    the human and the economic dimensions of these problems. Where sound
    management policies can preserve the health of forest lands, sales
    should go forward. Where this requirement cannot be met, we need to do
    our best to offer new economic opportunities for year-round, high-wage,
    high-skill jobs.
        Second, as we craft a plan, we need to protect the long-term health
    of our forests, our wildlife, and our waterways. They are, as the last
    speaker said, a gift from God, and we hold them in trust for future
    generations.
        Third, our efforts must be, insofar as we are wise enough to know
    it, scientifically sound, ecologically credible, and legally
    responsible.
        Fourth, the plan should produce a predictable and sustainable level
    of timber sales and non-timber resources that will not degrade or
    destroy our forest environment.
        And, fifth, to achieve these goals, we will do our best, as I said,
    to make the Federal Government work together and work for you. We may
    make mistakes, but we will try to end the gridlock within the Federal
    Government. And we will insist on collaboration, not confrontation. We
    will do our best to do our part. We will act with a single purpose and a
    single agenda once we have a chance to get all these departments working
    on their respective responsibilities.
        But I want to say, too, that all of you have demonstrated to me
    today your willingness to do your part. I ask you not to let this be the
    end of it. This conference has established a dialog. Even when it was
    somewhat funny between Mr. Kerr and Miss Mater, it was still a dialog.
    And it's got to continue between us and you, and among yourselves. You
    have got to be a part of this solution. Even if we make the most
    enlightened possible decisions under the circumstances, they will be all
    the more resented if they seem to be imposed, without a continuing
    mechanism for people whose lives will be affected here to be involved.
        So when you leave here today, I ask you to keep working for a
    balanced policy that promotes the economy, preserves jobs, and protects
    the environment even as you may disagree, as Mr. Thomas said, over how
    the word ``balance'' should be defined. When you hit an impasse, I plead
    with you not to give up. And don't turn against your neighbors. You
    don't have to fight in a court of law anymore. You can work with us to
    try to have a long-term solution. If you feel frustrated at times--all
    of us will--I ask you to stay at the table and to keep talking and keep
    trying to find common ground. I don't want this situation to go back to
    posturing, to positioning, to the politics of division that has
    characterized this difficult issue in the past. I hope we can stay in
    the conference room and stay out of the courtroom. If we don't give up
    or give in to deadlock or divisiveness or despair, I think we can build
    a more prosperous and a more secure future for our communities and for
    our children. And I think we'll be proud years from now that we were
    here today.

    [[Page 389]]

        I thank you for caring and for coming, for speaking out and for
    reaching out. And I ask you to continue to work with us so that this
    Forest Conference is the beginning, not the end, of a solution. But we
    will move. We will move. And I will do my best to assume the
    responsibility the American people have given me to try to break this
    deadlock in a responsible way. I just ask you to remember that this
    listening cannot be a one-shot deal. We've got to continue to work
    together. And I think, if we do, we'll all be pleased with the results.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 6:10 p.m. at the Oregon Convention Center.
    In his remarks, he referred to Andy Kerr, conservation director, Oregon
    Natural Resources Council, and Jack Ward Thomas, scientist, U.S. Forest
    Service Pacific Northwest Research Station, La Grande, OR.