[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 131, 115th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
Proclamation 9592 of April 14, 2017

National Park Week, 2017

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

This year we celebrate National Park Week as the National Park Service
begins its second century as a critical guardian of America's Federal
public lands. During National Park Week, national parks across our
country waive their entrance fees and welcome all explorers to
experience, as past generations have, the history and splendor of our
Nation's treasures.
The national park system started with a painting. In 1872, Thomas Moran
painted The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, presented it to the
Congress, and captivated countless Americans. Inspired by Moran's
beautiful illustration and western explorers' stories, photographs, and
sketches, the Congress and President Ulysses S. Grant enacted the
Yellowstone National Park Protection Act. This law established
Yellowstone as the world's first national park and transformed how we
protect many of our Nation's landmarks.
Forty years later, President Theodore Roosevelt, known as the
``Conservation President,'' established Crater Lake, Oregon, as our
fifth national park. During his presidency, Roosevelt doubled the number
of national parks, designating, in addition to Crater Lake: Wind Cave,
South Dakota; Sullys Hill, North Dakota; Mesa Verde, Colorado; and
Platt, Oklahoma. Given his instrumental role in expanding our national
park system, it is fitting that his likeness endures at Mount Rushmore
National Memorial.
Today, visitors from around the world travel to our Nation's 59 national
parks to climb snow-capped peaks, splash under majestic falls, rappel
into the deepest canyons, and find peace in shaded forests. Our parks
routinely provide visitors with unforgettable, sometimes life-changing
experiences. From their unsurpassed beauty to their unmatched physical
challenges, our parks capture the spirit of America's pioneering
history. They symbolize our ongoing commitment to the preservation of
our land and wildlife, and they set the conservation standard for the
rest of the world.
It is a priority of my Administration to protect these magnificent
lands, and to ensure all Americans have access to our national parks, as
well as to other National Park Service sites, throughout the next
century. For this reason, I chose to donate the first portion of my
salary as President to the American Battlefield Protection Program,
which the National Park Service uses to preserve significant American
battlefields. It is my hope that we will pass down these natural and
historic sites to our children and grandchildren.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 15 through April
23, 2017, as National Park Week. I encourage all Americans to celebrate
by visiting our national parks and learning more about the natural,
cultural, and historical heritage that belongs to each and every citizen
of the United States of America.

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day of
April, in the year of our Lord two thousand seventeen, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
first.
DONALD J. TRUMP