    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book II)]
    [August 16, 2003]
    [Pages 1024-1025]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    August 16, 2003

        Good morning. This week, I traveled to Arizona and California to see
    some of America's forests and parks and to talk about my commitment to
    good stewardship of these natural treasures.
        On Monday, I visited the Coronado National Forest in Arizona, where
    wildfires recently consumed thousands of acres of forest and destroyed
    hundreds of homes. Nearby, I also saw forests that remained largely
    intact thanks to wise forest-management policy. Fire professionals and
    forest and park rangers agree, by thinning overgrown forests we will
    reduce the risk of catastrophic fire and restore the health of forest
    ecosystems.
        That is the purpose of my Healthy Forest Initiative. We're cutting
    through bureaucratic redtape to complete urgently needed forest-thinning
    projects. We are speeding up environmental assessments and consultations
    required by current law. And we're expediting the administrative appeals
    process to resolve disputes more quickly. By the end of this fiscal year
    in September, we will have treated more than 2.6 million acres of
    overgrowth, more than twice the acreage that was treated in the year
    2000.
        Under current law, however, litigation often delays projects, while
    some 190 million acres of forest remain at high risk of dangerous fires
    and nearby communities remain vulnerable. So I'm asking Congress

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    to reform the review process for forest projects. The ``Healthy Forests
    Restoration Act'' would make forest health a high priority when courts
    are forced to resolve disputes, and it would place reasonable time
    limits on the litigation process after the public has had an opportunity
    to comment and a decision has been made. For the health of America's
    forests and for the safety and economic vitality of our communities, the
    Congress must complete work on this bill. The House has passed the
    legislation, and now the Senate must act.
        As we protect America's forests, we must also preserve the beauty of
    America's nearly 80 million acres of national parkland. On Friday, I
    visited the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in southern
    California. It is one of America's 388 national park areas, including
    historic sites and battlefields, recreation areas, monuments, and
    shores. Every one of them is a point of pride for the Nation and for
    local communities.
        Yet in the past, not all of these sites have been given the
    attention they require. Some of our national park areas are not in good
    condition. And for many years, Government did not even have the basic
    information about which places were most in need of repair or
    restoration. To meet this challenge, I pledge to spend $4.9 billion over
    5 years on needed work and maintenance in our national park areas.
        With the support of Congress, we're keeping that commitment. In the
    first 2 years of my administration, Congress provided nearly $1.8
    billion for park maintenance and roads. And my request for the next
    three budgets will bring total funding for park maintenance and roads to
    more than $5 billion over 5 years.
        With this funding, we've already undertaken approximately 900 park
    maintenance projects. This year, the Park Service is working on 500 more
    projects, and nearly 400 more are planned for next year. As we attend to
    needed repairs, we're also putting in place a new system of inventory
    and assessment to assure that America's parks stay in good condition. We
    have set a new course for our national parks, with better management and
    renewed investment in the care and protection. After all, the parks
    belong to the people.
        I look forward to traveling next week to Oregon and Washington
    State, and I will be carrying the same message: Our system of national
    parks and forests is a trust given to every generation of Americans. By
    practicing good management and being faithful stewards of the land, our
    generation can show that we're worthy of that trust.
        Thank you for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 9:55 a.m. on August 14 at the Bush
    Ranch in Crawford, TX, for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on August 16. The
    transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on
    August 15 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office
    of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of
    this address.