[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 33, Number 17 (Monday, April 28, 1997)]
[Pages 556-557]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6993--National Wildlife Week, 1997

April 19, 1997

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Our Nation is blessed with a wealth of wildlife, wild places, and 
natural resources that enrich the lives of all Americans. Conserving our 
wildlife--whether antelope or grizzly bear, salmon or serpent, or plumed 
bird--is of urgent importance. Our vast system of wildlife refuges has 
played a vital role in this endeavor. Helping to ensure greater harmony 
between people and nature, more than 92 million acres of land and waters 
are dedicated to wildlife conservation, encompassing 500 refuges, with 
at least one in every State and within a short drive of most major 
cities. These wonderful resources provide opportunities for people of 
all ages and from all walks of life, and from cities, suburbs, and the 
rural heartland, to learn about and participate in the effort to 
preserve the places and wildlife that contribute so much to our Nation's 
heritage and natural wealth.
    The appreciation and protection of wildlife, particularly of 
endangered or threatened species, is both the right and responsibility 
of all Americans. Indeed, countless individuals and private volunteer 
organizations across the United States have already made a significant 
contribution to wildlife protection. Only by engaging communities in 
conservation, by taking note of and rewarding community service efforts, 
and by maintaining diverse approaches to wildlife protection, can we 
preserve our wildlife today and for future generations.
    We set aside this week to celebrate the role that citizens and 
private volunteer organizations play in engaging in service activities, 
and in advancing the knowledge, appreciation, and protection of wildlife 
and the environment. Let us also work to spread this message to broader 
audiences and encourage all individuals and groups to contribute to this 
national goal. I urge all Americans, private organizations, businesses, 
community leaders, elected officials and governmental agencies to do all 
they can to preserve and

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value the role of wildlife resources in our lives. This tradition of 
nature education will continue to teach our children how to be lifelong 
stewards of the environment and help to build the knowledge and 
understanding essential to the protection of nature's abundant gifts.
    Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United 
States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the 
Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 20 
through April 26, 1997, as National Wildlife Week. I ask all Americans 
to find ways to promote the conservation and protection of our wildlife 
and wild places.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this nineteenth day 
of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-seven, and 
of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and 
twenty-first.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 10:59 a.m., April 22, 
1997]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on April 
23.