    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
    [July 4, 1996]
    [Pages 1072-1074]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 1072]]

    Remarks on Independence Day at Patuxent River Naval Air Station,
    Maryland
    July 4, 1996

        Thank you very much. First of all, Admiral Newsome, thank you for
    welcoming us, and thank you for the fine work that you and your
    colleagues do here every day to make our country stronger in so many
    ways.
        Congressman Hoyer, thank you for your leadership, thank you for
    being with us today on Independence Day and for what you do every day
    for this district and for our Nation.
        I'd like to say a special word of thanks to Craig Koppie, who saved
    both of our lives out there when the eagle got a little nervous--
    [laughter]--she wanted to be free even more than we wanted to free her,
    I think--[laughter]--and to Jamie Clark and to all those here who work
    to conserve our Nation's treasures.
        We have Federal employees here. We have some State employees here
    from Maryland who are devoting their careers to preserving our
    environment, our natural resources, and our precious species. And I'd
    like to ask all the rest of us on this Independence Day to thank them
    for what they do for America. [Applause] Thank you very, very much.
        I want to thank all the people who are here from the Department of
    the Interior. I see Deputy Secretary Garamendi, and there are many
    others here from the Interior Department. We've seeded this crowd today.
        And I want to say a special word of thanks to Bruce Babbitt. We have
    fought in many ways to try to make sure that America would enhance the
    quality of its environment and enhance the diversity and strength of its
    natural resources as we continue to grow the economy and move into the
    21st century. I said when I sought this position in 1992 that I did not
    believe that we could march into the 21st century and leave our children
    and grandchildren the legacy they deserved unless we found a way to grow
    the American economy and preserve the environment, enhance our natural
    resources. Bruce Babbitt has been the point person in that endeavor. He
    has certainly endured more personal attacks for standing up for
    America's environment and for our natural resources than any other
    member of this administration. He has fought a long and sometimes lonely
    battle. But in the last year we have seen the American people clearly
    adopting the position we have fought for all along. They know that
    America's future depends upon the preservation of our natural resources.
    And that will be Bruce Babbitt's enduring legacy. I am very grateful to
    him, and I know all Americans are.
        I want to thank the State officials from Maryland who are here,
    including Maryland State Treasurer Richard Dixon and Senator Mike
    Miller, the president of the Maryland Senate; and other senators and
    delegates who are here; and people from Saint Mary's County, the county
    commissioners who are here. I thank all of them for coming. I thank John
    Griffin, the secretary of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
        And I'd like to ask, since Jamie recognized them, I'd like to ask
    Mollie Beattie's aunt and uncle to please be recognized: Herb and
    Michelle Morris. Would you all stand up and be recognized? Thank you so
    much for being here today. [Applause] Thank you.
        I want to say a few words about Independence Day and American
    eagles, but before I do, I'd like to take just a moment on our
    Independence Day to celebrate and applaud the freedom and independence
    exercised yesterday in another part of the world. As people who cherish
    the right to choose our leaders and have a say in our Nation's destiny,
    we should take just a moment on our Independence Day and reflect on what
    happened in Russia yesterday.
        When I was a boy growing up, it would have been unthinkable that in
    just a few decades the Soviet empire would be no more, the Soviet Union
    would be a collection of independent countries, and the great Russia
    would be a free country with free elections.
        Millions and millions of Russians, well over 60 percent of the
    eligible voters, returned to the polls yesterday and cast a free and
    open vote for Russia's democratic future. This is a historic
    achievement. The Russian people have turned their back on tyranny; they
    are turning the corner toward freedom. They and their leaders have
    cleared another important hurdle in building a new and enduring
    democracy.

    [[Page 1073]]

        While the final results have not yet been announced, it is clear
    that a majority, a substantial majority of the Russian people, voted for
    President Yeltsin and for the path of reform. I want to congratulate
    President Yeltsin on his reelection--has a nice ring to it. [Laughter] I
    want to congratulate the Russian people most of all on this milestone.
    They have been consistent in being good citizens, turning out in these
    elections, and showing that they are fully capable of exercising the
    powers of democracy.
        So as we celebrate our freedom and independence, we applaud them for
    their freedom and independence as well. That bodes very good news for
    the future of the entire world as we move together into a new century.
        I think it is altogether appropriate for us to begin the celebration
    of our democracy on the Fourth of July with the celebration of the
    rebirth of our national symbol. After our Nation was founded two
    centuries and two decades ago, the Founders chose the bald eagle to
    represent all that America stands for. The American President has always
    carried that symbol everywhere, as I have here today.
        Since Secretary Babbitt mentioned it, and since Benjamin Franklin
    had such a good sense of humor, I'm sure he would be amused to know that
    many people identify those of us in public life with turkeys as often as
    eagles, I think. [Laughter]
        On our first Independence Day--listen to this--on our first
    Independence Day, as many as a quarter-million bald eagles soared over
    what is now the continental United States. Those eagles seemed as
    enduring as the strength, the unity, the justice, and the freedom upon
    which our Nation was founded. And so it didn't seem to matter much in
    the beginning and for a long time that their treetop habitat was
    destroyed and that they were shot down from the sky.
        But Thomas Jefferson warned Americans about our environment. He
    wrote, ``For if one link in nature's chain might be lost, another might
    be lost, until the whole of things will vanish by piecemeal.'' The bald
    eagle, the symbol of Jefferson's words in our Declaration of
    Independence, became a symbol of his warnings as well. They became the
    victims of vanishing forests and poisonous pesticides. And 25 years ago
    there remained only 400 pairs of bald eagles in the lower 48 States. Our
    noble bird was dying off.
        That made our country take a good look at itself. We saw our dirty
    lakes and streams, and we began to clean them. We saw soot and began to
    remove it and other dangerous particles from the air. We saw waste sites
    bordering places where families live and children go to school, and we
    began the work of removing hazards from our soil. We banned DDT, and
    both parties came together to pass the Endangered Species Act. Because
    America made this commitment to work together, we began to make our
    environment whole. We renewed our compact with nature.
        On this Independence Day let me say to all Americans, we must not do
    anything that would weaken our health and safety and environmental laws.
    The freedom to breathe clean air, drink safe water, pass a safe world to
    our children, to share our environment with God's other creatures, these
    are liberties we dare not take for granted and we dare not turn our back
    on. Let us rededicate ourselves to our common, nonpartisan American
    commitment to preserve the environment.
        Though human deeds almost erased America's symbol from our skies,
    human wisdom and good sense brought it back. Now the time of the bald
    eagle has come again. Now more than 4,500 bald eagle pairs nest in our
    lower 48 States.
        Two years ago Mollie Beattie, who was the first woman to serve as
    the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, released a bald
    eagle to mark a milestone in its reverse. The bald eagle was being
    officially reclassified from endangered to threatened. Last week Mollie
    Beattie passed away much too soon. But she left us an enduring legacy of
    passion for our Earth and its creatures which she instilled in all who
    were fortunate enough to know her.
        The bald eagle you saw a few minutes ago has been captive while it
    was nursed back from a fractured shoulder. And you heard Craig say when
    we released it that the bald eagle was named in honor of Mollie Beattie.
    And in her honor today I say, let us all, on Independence Day,
    rededicate ourselves to the preservation of this wonderful land and
    these wonderful creatures which God has given.
        Thank you, and God bless America.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:18 a.m. at the Goose Creek Bridge. In
    his remarks, he referred to Rear Adm. Mary Newsome, Commander,

    [[Page 1074]]

    Naval Air Warfare Center; Craig Koppie, biologist, and Jamie Clark,
    Assistant Director for Ecological Services, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
    Service; and President Boris Yeltsin of Russia.