[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book I)]
[May 23, 1994]
[Pages 980-982]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at a Reception Commemorating National Park Week
May 23, 1994

    Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary. Attorney General Reno, Mr. 
Frampton, Mr. Kennedy, Congressman Vento, ladies and gentlemen. I sure 
have had a good time this afternoon.

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    You know, this is a wonderful occasion for all of us as Americans. 
And in many ways it's a very personal occasion. Hillary and I were up 
here whispering to each other; I said, now, didn't we go to the Dinosaur 
National Park in Utah and to the Buffalo, and then I started reeling 
them off. She said, ``Bill, forget it. You will never remember all the 
parks we have visited.'' [Laughter] And we can't. We can't begin to 
remember all the ones we have visited and all the things that have 
happened to us from Florida to northern California and all points in 
between.
     I do want to say that I am personally very grateful to the people 
who have been recognized this year. Ambassador Lane, thank you, sir, for 
your many contributions. Steve Coleman and Josephine Butler and the 
other people from Meridian Hill--we were there on Earth Day. And I want 
you to know that--not that I didn't trust you--but the other day I was 
in the neighborhood, and I had my car sort of drive by the park again 
just to make sure there was no false advertising. [Laughter] And sure 
enough, it was just like it was on Earth Day. And I thank you for that 
urban miracle of nature. I congratulate the Dade County Public Schools. 
And Phyllis Cohen, thank you for coming here and for teaching our young 
people about the importance of our natural resources. The children of 
Florida have a great burden as they grow up now to reconcile our 
responsibility to the remarkable ecostructure of that State and the 
explosion of growth that's going on there. Richard Gale, congratulations 
to you, sir, and thank you for your career.
    You know, we were talking here a moment ago. I'll bet you that more 
American citizens have met employees of the Park Service than any other 
department of the Federal Government. They may have thought more about 
employees of the IRS--[laughter]--but they have actually met more 
employees of the Park Service. And I'll bet you--you think about it--I 
bet each and every one of you here can remember park rangers you met at 
Carlsbad or Yellowstone or Yosemite or you name it. And that's a very 
important thing. At a time when people have such negative impressions of 
Government, this is our Government at its best.
    And I appreciate what Secretary Babbitt said about the budget. Just 
so you'll know exactly how hard that was, this budget recommends the 
outright elimination of over 100 Government programs, slashing over 200 
more. If adopted, it'll be the first time in anybody's memory that the 
Congress and the President have actually worked together to pass an 
executive budget for 2 years in a row and will give us 3 years of 
deficit reduction for the first time since Harry Truman was President. 
But we still spent more on the Park Service, because that's where a lot 
of America's heart is and where a lot of America's future is. And the 
California bill will be an astonishing achievement if we can get it 
through. And we're working hard on that.
    Thank you, Elizabeth Barlow Rogers, for your work in Central Park. 
For all of us who have ever been to the zoo or the carousel or jogged 
around the reservoir with bated breath, we thank you for what you have 
done to give that great park a new lease on life.
    Most important, I'd like to thank Secretary Babbitt. We've been 
friends a long time. We've talked about these things a long time. He 
grew up near the Grand Canyon. I grew up in Hot Springs, which actually 
is, I think, the only city in America, perhaps except this one, that 
actually has a whole national park within the city limits. And it was 
the first reservation set aside by Congress for a national reservation 
in 1932, in recognition of the fact that in the 16th century, Hernando 
DeSoto came there and found the Indians bathing in the hot sulfur 
springs. He was looking for the fountain of youth. I grew up there and 
lost it. [Laughter] But Bruce and I have been through these things for 
so many years. And when we served as Governors, I don't know how many 
times I heard the Western Governors who cared about the environment say 
that there had to be some way that Interior could push this country 
toward sustainable development, push this country toward maintaining its 
resources and still not feel that we were violating the culture and the 
way of life of the people, especially in the West where the Interior 
Department owns so much land. I think he has managed the tension between 
traditional culture and change better than any other person in the 
entire United States could have done it, in the only department that 
really still literally affects the lives of more than half the people in 
many communities in this country. So I am very grateful to him. I thank 
him for what he's done. And I know all of you will join me in expressing 
your appreciation for his brilliant leadership.
    Now I have to say just a parochial word about where I live now. I 
live on National Park Service

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Reservation number one. [Laughter] And I want you all to take note of 
that the next time you hear somebody say the President's off the 
reservation. [Laughter] I'm actually here with Hillary and Chelsea on 
part of the original design of Washington laid out by George Washington 
and Pierre L'Enfant. Like other families who've lived here, we've had 
the honor of planting several trees on these grounds, a willow oak, a 
leaf linden, an American elm. We love this place that is maintained by 
our Park Service.
    I want to recognize two special contributors and say I enjoyed 
having my picture taken with the White House staff, who do so much to 
maintain the house and the grounds, just a moment ago. I want to thank 
our Head Usher, Gary Walters, who does a great job for us on so many 
events here. Where's Gary? There's Gary back there. And I'd like to ask 
Irv Williams, the Executive Grounds Superintendent--for nearly 40 years 
he's been here. Where are you, Irv? Stand up. Thank you so much. Three 
decades ago, Mr. Williams helped Jacqueline Kennedy redesign the First 
Lady's Garden. It was later renamed the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden. It is 
just opposite the Rose Garden in the back of the White House. It's 
another of the wonderful legacies that this fine lady left our country 
with the help of Irv Williams, who's given his life to this work, and we 
thank you, sir.
    Wallace Stegner said, ``The National Parks are the best idea we ever 
had. Absolutely democratic, absolutely American, they reflect us at our 
best rather than our worst.'' I could say it no better. Let us try to 
live by the mottoes of the National Parks. Let us try to lift our 
spirits on a daily basis as we are all uplifted when we visit them. And 
let us for the rest of our lives rededicate ourselves to preserving and 
enhancing them. They are the legacy of every generation. They're our 
hope for the future, our tie to the past, our connection to the land. 
They're bigger than any of us, and they make us all better. And we thank 
you all for your contribution to that end.
    Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 7 p.m. in the East Room at the White House. 
In his remarks, he referred to George T. Frampton, Jr., Assistant 
Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks; Roger 
Kennedy, Director, National Park Service; Laurence W. Lane, Jr., former 
Ambassador to Australia and Japan; Steven W. Coleman, founder and 
president, and Josephine Butler, vice chair, Friends of Meridian Hill; 
Phyllis Cohen, deputy superintendent, Dade County Public School 
District; Richard Gale, director, National Fire Center, Boise, ID; and 
Elizabeth Barlow Rogers, administrator, New York City Central Park. The 
National Park Week proclamation of April 14 is listed in Appendix D at 
the end of this volume.