    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (1999, Book II)]
    [October 13, 1999]
    [Pages 1762-1764]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 1762]]

    Remarks at George Washington National Forest, Virginia
    October 13, 1999

        Thank you very much, Peter Pinchot,
    Secretary Glickman, Under Secretary
    Lyons. I also want to acknowledge Mike
    Dombeck, the Chief of the Forest Service, and
    George Frampton, the Chair of the
    Council on Environmental Quality.
        There are many, many things I'd like to say today, but before I
    begin, there has been--there was a development in the news today that I
    need to make a comment on, because I believe this is my only opportunity
    to see the press and, through them, to speak to the American people.

    Philip Morris Company Admission

        So I would like to just take a moment to note that after years of
    denial and deception, the Philip Morris Company has admitted that
    cigarette smoking causes lung cancer and other diseases. This formal
    acknowledgement comes far too late, but still we must all welcome it. It
    can be the beginning of clearing the air.
        It certainly makes clear, as I've said for years, that the tobacco
    companies should answer for their actions in court. They should stop
    marketing their products to children. And certainly, they should do much
    more to reduce youth smoking. So this is a good day for the cause of
    public health and our children in America.

    Forest Roadless Areas

        Now, Peter talked about his grandfather and Theodore Roosevelt. One
    of my proudest possessions--some of you know I collect old books about
    America. I just finished reading a fascinating account by Frances
    Perkins, the first woman to serve in the Cabinet, who was President
    Franklin Roosevelt's Labor Secretary during his entire tenure, about her
    35-year relationship with Roosevelt. One of my proudest old American
    books is a first printing of the proceedings of the very first
    Governors' conference, held at the invitation of Theodore Roosevelt in
    1908. The subject was the conservation of America's natural resources.
        In my private dining room at the White House I have a picture of
    Theodore Roosevelt and all those Governors, signed by all the Governors
    with whom I served in 1992, when I was elected President. That first
    Governors' conference remains one of the most important ever held in the
    White House. So much of what we've done as a nation to conserve our
    natural resources extends from that day. Peter's grandfather was a
    guiding spirit behind that conference.
        Theodore Roosevelt, himself, said of Gifford Pinchot, ``If it hadn't
    been for him, this conference neither would have nor could have been
    called.'' Gifford Pinchot used to say that we must prefer results to
    routine. I like that a lot. [Laughter] And let me say that, in my view,
    no one illustrates that principle in our public life today better than
    Mike Dombeck, who has done such a remarkable
    job of returning the Forest Service to the vision of stewardship on
    which it was founded. And I thank you, sir.
        A century ago, when Mr. Pinchot was first dreaming up his plan to
    protect our forests, this vista looked very different than what we see
    today. In fact, it was more wasteland than forest. According to one
    eyewitness, and I quote, ``Weather-white ghosts of trees stood on the
    desolate slopes as a pitiful, battle-scarred fragment of the glory that
    was once a virgin forest. Not only were the slopes nearly bare,
    tanneries and dye plants had poisoned the lakes and the mountain
    streams. The deer and black bear and turkey nearly were wiped out. The
    land and water were so thoroughly abused that most people thought the
    area had no value at all.''
        I know that they don't agree with that now because we have so many
    of the fine local officials from this area show up here today. I thank
    them for their presence, and they can be proud of what they represent.
        Visionaries like Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot, the other
    men and women of the Forest Service who have cared for this land since
    1917, made those dark descriptions a part of history. Nowadays, hundreds
    of thousands of visitors come here every year to hike, swim, bike, hunt,
    fish, or just to breathe the fresh air and take in the beautiful sights.
    The land that once no one wanted is now a thriving forest everyone can
    enjoy.
        This kind of land has been important to me since I was a boy, where
    I learned by walking the Ozark and Quachita National Forests of my

    [[Page 1763]]

    home State that national forests are more than a source of timber, they
    are places of renewal of the human spirit and our natural environment.
    At the dawn of the new century we have the opportunity to act on behalf
    of these forests in a way that honors the vision of our forebears,
    Roosevelt and Pinchot.
        Within our national forests there are large parcels of land that
    don't contain roads of any kind and, in most cases, never have. From the
    beautiful stretch of the Alleghenies that we see here to the old-growth
    canyonlands of Tahoe National Forest, these areas represent some of the
    last, best unprotected wildlands anywhere in our Nation. They offer
    unparalleled opportunities for hikers, hunters, and anglers. They're
    absolutely critical to the survival of many endangered species, as you
    have just heard. And I think it's worth pointing out they are also very
    often a source of clean and fresh water for countless communities. They
    are, therefore, our treasured inheritance.
        Today we launch one of the largest land preservation efforts in
    America's history to protect these priceless, back-country lands. The
    Forest Service will prepare a detailed analysis of how best to preserve
    our forests' large roadless areas and then present a formal proposal to
    do just that. The Forest Service will also determine whether similar
    protection is warranted for smaller roadless areas that have not yet
    been surveyed.
        Through this action, we will protect more than 40 million acres, 20
    percent of the total forest land in America in the national forests,
    from activities such as new road construction which would degrade the
    land. We will ensure that our grandchildren will be able to hike up to
    this peak, that others like it across the country will also offer the
    same opportunities. We will assure that when they get to the top they'll
    be able to look out on valleys like this, just as beautiful then as they
    are now.
        We will live up to the challenge Theodore Roosevelt laid down a
    century ago to leave this land even a better land for our descendants
    than it is for us.
        It is very important to point out that we are not trying to turn the
    national forests into museums. Even as we strengthen protections, the
    majority of our forests will continue to be responsibly managed for
    sustainable timber production and other activities. We are, once again,
    determined to prove that environmental protection and economic growth
    can and must go hand in hand.
        Let me give you an example, because I've seen a lot of people
    already saying a lot of terrible things about what I'm doing today and
    how it is going to end the world as we know it. [Laughter] This
    initiative should have almost no effect on timber supply. Only 5 percent
    of our country's timber comes from the national forests. Less than 5
    percent of the national forests' timber is now being cut in roadless
    areas. We can easily adjust our Federal timber program to replace 5
    percent of 5 percent, but we can never replace what we might destroy if
    we don't protect these 40 million acres.
        As the previous speaker said, today's action is the latest step
    taken under the administration of Vice President Gore and me to expand
    our children's natural treasures. Over the past 6\1/2\ years, we've
    protected millions of acres, from the Yellowstone to the Everglades,
    from the ancient redwoods of Headwaters to the red rock canyons of Utah.
    We're working now to save New Mexico's spectacular Baca Ranch.
        As Secretary Babbitt has said many times, our administration has now
    protected more land than any in the history of the country except those
    of Franklin and Theodore Roosevelt.
        I have also proposed an unprecedented $1 billion lands legacy
    initiative, with permanent funding over the years to guarantee for the
    first time ever a continuing fund for protecting and restoring precious
    lands across America. This initiative represents the largest investment
    in protecting our green and open spaces since President Theodore
    Roosevelt set our Nation on this path nearly a century ago. It would
    allow us to save Civil War battlefields, remote stretches of the
    historic Lewis and Clark Trail, nearly half a million acres in
    California desert parks and wilderness areas. It will also allow us to
    meet the stewardship challenges of the new century by helping
    communities save small but sacred spaces closer to home.
        Unfortunately, this Congress seems intent on walking away from this
    opportunity. They're trying to slash lands legacy funding by a full two-
    thirds this year alone, with no action at all to ensure permanent
    funding in the years ahead. This is not an isolated case, unfortunately.
    Once again, the leaders of the Republican majority are polluting our
    spending bills with special-interest riders that would promote
    overcutting in our forests, allow mining companies to dump

    [[Page 1764]]

    more toxic waste on public land, and give a huge windfall to companies
    producing oil on Federal lands. I have vetoed such bills before because
    they were loaded up with antienvironmental riders. If necessary, I will
    do so again.
        So, as Congress completes its work on the Interior bill, again I ask
    the leadership to send me a clean bill that adequately funds the lands
    legacy initiative and other priorities. But let me be clear: If the
    Interior bill lands on my desk looking like it does now, I will give it
    a good environmental response. I will send it straight back to the
    recycling bin. [Laughter]
        Ever since that first Governors' conference back in 1908,
    conservation has been a cause important enough to Americans to transcend
    party lines. I hope, somehow, we can make it a bipartisan, even a
    nonpartisan, issue again. Theodore Roosevelt was a great Republican
    President. Franklin Roosevelt was a great Democratic President.
    President Nixon signed a bill creating the Environmental Protection
    Agency. Over and over again in the last 7 years in which I have had the
    honor to serve as President, I have worked with people who were both
    Democrats and Republicans on conservation issues.
        Again I have the feeling that this is not a partisan issue anywhere
    but Washington, DC, and perhaps in a few other places throughout the
    country. We can't afford that.
        When I was a boy growing up in my hometown, it was in a national
    park, and I could never be in the downtown of my hometown, which was a
    big city by Arkansas standards, 35,000 people--that even if you were
    anywhere downtown, you weren't more than 5 minutes walk from the woods.
        I know what this can mean to our children and our future. When I was
    Governor, I was proud that, after leaving office after 12 years, we
    had--a higher percentage of our land in Arkansas was timberland than it
    was on the day that I took office, for the first time. And we always did
    this across party lines. No State was more active in using the Nature
    Conservancy to buy land and set it aside, and we always did it across
    party lines.
        When people walk through these woods and run into one another, they
    may talk a lot of things, but I'll bet you very few of them say, ``Are
    you a Republican or a Democrat?'' I'll bet you've never asked anybody
    that on a mountain trail.
        We want this for our children forever. And it is important that we
    set a good example. Earlier, Mr. Pinchot talked about the deterioration
    of the rain forests and the loss of biodiversity around the globe. If we
    want to help other people meet those challenges and the even larger
    challenge of climate change, we have to set a good example. We have the
    wealth and security to do it. We also have no excuse, because now we
    have the scientific knowledge and the technical means to grow the
    economy while we improve the environment.
        It is no longer necessary to grow a modern economy by destroying
    natural resources and putting more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
    In fact, we can create more jobs by following a responsible path to
    sustainable development.
        So I hope this day will be important not only for our forestlands
    but the preservation of fresh water and biodiversity and recreational
    opportunities. I hope it will be the first step in America resuming a
    path of responsible leadership toward the environmental future we will
    increasingly share with our neighbors all across the globe. And I hope
    all of you will always be very proud of the role you have played in this
    special day.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:20 p.m. at Reddish Knob Overlook. In his
    remarks, he referred to Peter Pinchot, environmental consultant, Pinchot
    Institute for Conservation, and grandson of Gifford Pinchot, the first
    Chief of the Forest Service.