[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 42 (Monday, October 19, 1998)]
[Pages 2065-2066]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7142--National Forest Products Week, 1998

October 16, 1998

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Our Nation has been blessed with abundant natural resources, and 
among the most precious of these are our forests. Because forests cover 
about one-third of the land area of the United States, their splendor is 
not limited to one region, but is shared by our entire country. All 
Americans can experience the variety and beauty of our forests, parks, 
and woodlands and share the joys of hiking, camping, bird watching, and 
other recreational activities. Likewise, all Americans benefit from the 
essentials for life that forests provide: clean water, clean air, soil 
stability, pollution reduction, and a rich habitat for plants and 
animals. Forests also supply us with products vital to our society and 
economy, from building materials to paper products to medicines.
    Maintaining the health of our Nation's forests is an important and 
delicate task. As we continue to grow, both in terms of population and 
in land developed, we put increased pressure on our forests and woodland 
areas. In the past, such growth occurred without regard to its impact 
and often threatened the very existence of our forests and the diverse 
wildlife they support. Learning from our mistakes, today we use wise 
forest management strategies and careful stewardship to ensure that our 
forests will remain both healthy and productive.
    Such management requires strong cooperation among private citizens, 
government agencies, and the forestry industry. Half of our Nation's 
forestlands belong to private landowners, the Federal Government and 
State governments own 40 percent, and the forest products industry owns 
the remaining 10 percent. All three groups have been working together to 
ensure the sustainable development of our forests and woodlands. State 
Foresters and Cooperative State Extension Agents, with assistance from 
the U.S. Department of Agriculture, play a vital

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role in this endeavor, helping private landowners properly manage their 
forestlands through technical assistance, educational programs, and 
voluntary incentives. Working in partnership, government, industry, and 
private citizens are making progress in the vital task of preserving the 
health of America's forests and woodlands while providing essential 
products to the American people.
    To recognize the importance of our forests in ensuring 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 October 18 through October 24, 
1998, as National Forest Products Week. I call upon all Americans to 
observe this week with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this sixteenth day 
of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, 
and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred 
and twenty-third.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 12:05 p.m., October 19, 
1998]

Note: This proclamation will be published in the Federal Register in 
October 20.