    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
    [November 12, 1996]
    [Pages 2111-2112]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on Signing the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act
    of 1996
    November 12, 1996

        Today I have signed into law H.R. 4236, the ``Omnibus Parks and
    Public Lands Management Act of 1996,'' a comprehensive bill addressing
    the management of the Nation's invaluable national parks, forests, and
    other natural resources.
        I am pleased the Congress passed this legislation with bipartisan
    support in both Houses and has removed numerous provisions to which my
    Administration strongly objected.
        The Act will create or improve almost 120 national parks, trails,
    rivers, or historical sites in 41 of our States. As President Teddy
    Roosevelt said: ``[t]he nation behaves well if it treats the natural
    resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation
    increased, not impaired, in value.'' This Act will help ensure that we
    follow that advice and protect for the next generation some of our most
    valuable natural and historical resources.
        One of the most important provisions that my Administration
    supported would improve the management of the Presidio in San Francisco.
    This military post, dating from 1776, includes both beautiful open
    spaces appropriate for National Park Service management and hundreds of
    unused buildings requiring a more innovative approach. This Act
    establishes a government corporation, known as the Presidio Trust, to
    refurbish and lease these buildings quickly and efficiently, but in a
    manner consistent with overall park management requirements.
        Another laudable provision authorizes appropriations of $17.5
    million to help the New York-New Jersey Palisades Interstate Park
    Commission to acquire lands within the Sterling Forest Reserve, just 40
    miles from midtown Manhattan. This is one of the last areas of pristine
    forest in the Northeast and the area is critical for supplying safe
    drinking water to northern New Jersey.
        I am also pleased that the Act establishes the Tallgrass Prairie
    National Preserve in Kansas. The North American Continent was once
    covered by over 400,000 square miles of tallgrass prairie. Today, less
    than 1 percent remains. This Act will help to restore 11,000 acres of
    tallgrass prairie, an ecosystem of grass as tall as 9 feet, and includes
    trees, flowers, birds and other wildlife. This ecosystem is nationally
    significant and the Preserve is a welcome addition to the National Park
    System.
        My Administration supports many other provisions in this omnibus
    legislation, including designation of 10 separate nonfederal national
    heritage areas in Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia,
    Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Iowa, Ohio, and New York.
    Other provisions would help to preserve the Nation's cultural heritage
    by authorizing memorials, protecting historic areas, designating the
    Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail in Alabama, and authorizing
    the establishment of a Martin Luther King, Jr., memorial in the District
    of Columbia.
        This Act also includes scores of park boundary adjustments, land
    exchanges, and provisions to assist agencies in protecting national
    parks, forests, and public lands.
        At the same time, the bill deletes almost all of the provisions of
    the earlier conference agree-

    [[Page 2112]]

    ment that my Administration had found objectionable. These provisions
    include those that would have adversely affected the Tongass National
    Forest in Alaska, the Shenandoah National Park and Richmond Battlefields
    National Park in Virginia, the Sequoia National Park in California, and
    other national parks and Federal lands. Unfortunately, the Act still
    includes a few objectionable provisions. Among them is a provision that
    changes the status of about 70 acres of fragile land that was previously
    protected as part of the Coastal Barrier Resources System. Prior to my
    signing of the Act this land could only be developed at private expense.
    Now, this land will be eligible for Federal development subsidies in the
    form of infrastructure funding and flood insurance. The taxpayer should
    not bear the risk of development in these damage-prone areas, and my
    Administration will strongly resist any similar legislative efforts in
    the future. In addition, several provisions exempt specific land
    transactions from environmental laws. Where these provisions allow, my
    Administration will work to complete the transactions in full compliance
    with our environmental laws.
        I must also note that two sections of the Act require careful
    construction and application to avoid violating the Appointments Clause
    of the Constitution. First, to avoid an unconstitutional limitation on
    the President's power to appoint officers, I will regard the limitations
    on my ability to make appointments to the Board of Directors of the
    Presidio Trust as advisory. The second issue involves officers of the
    National Park Service (NPS). To avoid an unconstitutional congressional
    removal of an officer, I will not construe the Act to require that the
    current NPS Director be subjected to the new appointment process
    established by the bill. Further, appointments to the NPS Deputy
    Director positions created by the Act must be made in a manner
    consistent with the Appointments Clause in order for them to exercise
    significant governmental authority.
        As I said on September 29th following House passage of this
    legislation, this is not a perfect bill. But overall, the Act represents
    a significant step forward in the conservation and management of our
    national parks and other Federal lands for the benefit of this and
    future generations.
        I am pleased to sign H.R. 4236 into law.

                                                          William J. Clinton

    The White House,

    November 12, 1996.

    Note: H.R. 4236, approved November 12, was assigned Public Law No. 104-
    333.