    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [February 2, 1998]
    [Page 154]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on Land and Water Conservation Fund Acquisitions
    February 2, 1998

        Last spring, in concluding an historic balanced budget agreement
    with the Congress, one of my highest priorities was ensuring the funds
    needed to continue our efforts to protect America's natural treasures.
    With those funds now appropriated, I am pleased that today Secretaries
    Babbitt and Glickman
    are transmitting to Congress a list of sites that are particularly
    precious to Americans and deserving of our stewardship.
        Each of the 100 sites on this list represents an important piece of
    America's natural and historic legacy. With these acquisitions, we will
    put the finishing touches on the renowned Appalachian Trail and secure
    critical winter range for Yellowstone's bison and elk. We will rebuild
    salmon runs in the Pacific Northwest and protect an ancient caldera in
    New Mexico that is home to one of the country's largest elk herds. We
    will preserve Civil War battlefields where Americans fought and died. We
    will safeguard vital swaths of this great land literally from coast to
    coast.
        I am extremely proud of our success in preserving Yellowstone, the
    Everglades, Lake Tahoe, and the red rock canyons of Utah. The budget I
    submit today to Congress--the first balanced budget in a generation--
    will allow us to save even more of America's natural and historic
    treasures. I am confident that with the bipartisan support of Congress,
    we can continue not only to protect but to restore nature's magnificent
    gifts. Together, we can assure that future generations know and enjoy
    this land in all its true splendor.