[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 42 (Monday, October 24, 1994)]
[Pages 2038-2039]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6744--National Forest Products Week, 1994

October 14, 1994

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    America's National Forests grace more than 191 million acres of our 
land. Thirty-four million of those acres are part of our wilderness 
preservation system, which works to safeguard this invaluable resource 
for future use and enjoyment. The American National Forests are among 
our country's greatest gifts--gifts we share with all of Earth's 
creatures today and with generations of new life to come.

    One of our Nation's foremost priorities must be to ensure that 
forest ecosystems are maintained and protected. With proper care, these 
precious lands can remain healthy, diverse, and resilient. We are moving 
toward a new era in the stewardship of public lands. Today, we recognize 
the importance of taking a comprehensive approach--one that balances the 
needs of our people and of the environment. Grounded in sound science 
and compliance with existing law, sustainable forest management presents 
our best hope for saving the more than 250 threatened or endangered 
species of fish, animals, and plants that have made this land their 
home. At the same time, such management efforts offer our best chance 
for building a lasting and productive economic base for the people who 
have made this land their life and livelihood.

    America's National Forests provide for our Nation in countless 
ways--from the houses we live in to the newspapers we read to our 
spiritual and physical well-being--the splendor and glory of nature's 
gift to America enriches our daily lives immeasurably. National Forest 
visitors enjoy more than 4,300 miles of wild and scenic rivers for 
fishing, swimming, or just taking in the view. Wood and paper products 
from forests are our country's leading renewable natural resource, 
accounting for about 4.2 percent of our Gross Domestic Product and 8.5 
percent of all manufacturing in the United States, and support- 

[[Page 2039]]

ing more than 1.7 million American workers. Taxol, taken from the bark 
of certain trees, has been found effective in treating some forms of 
cancer. Althea, balsam gum, dill oil, and Indian breadroot are just a 
few examples of products used for medicinal purposes. Beargrass and 
white birch bark are used for basketmaking and chair caning. Dandelion, 
fern, and salmonberry shoots are used for cooking spices, aromatics, 
animal bidding and for dyes and tanning that are a source of income for 
citizens across the country.
    In recognition of the central role our forests play in the long-term 
welfare of our Nation, the Congress, by Public Law 86-753 (36 U.S.C. 
163), has designated the week beginning on the third Sunday in October 
of each year as ``National Forest Products Week'' and has authorized and 
requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this 
week.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, do hereby proclaim the week beginning October 16, 
1994, as National Forest Products Week and call upon all Americans to 
observe this week with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day 
of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-four, 
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 
and nineteenth.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 1:41 p.m., October 19, 
1994]

Note: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on October 15, and it was published in the Federal Register on 
October 21.