[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 41 (Monday, October 18, 1999)]
[Pages 2020-2023]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at George Washington National Forest, Virginia

October 13, 1999

    Thank you very much, Peter Pinchot, Secretary Glickman, Under 
Secretary Lyons. I also want to acknowledge Mike Dombeck, the Chief of 
the Forest Service, and George Frampton, the Chair of the Council on 
Environmental Quality.
    There are many, many things I'd like to say today, but before I 
begin, there has been--there was a development in the news today that I 
need to make a comment on, because I believe this is my only opportunity 
to see the press and, through them, to speak to the American people.

Philip Morris Company Admission

    So I would like to just take a moment to note that after years of 
denial and deception, the Philip Morris Company has admitted that 
cigarette smoking causes lung cancer and other diseases. This formal 
acknowledgement comes far too late, but still we must all welcome it. It 
can be the beginning of clearing the air.
    It certainly makes clear, as I've said for years, that the tobacco 
companies should answer for their actions in court. They should stop 
marketing their products to children. And certainly, they should do much 
more to reduce youth smoking. So this is a good day for the cause of 
public health and our children in America.

Forest ``Roadless'' Areas

    Now, Peter talked about his grandfather and Theodore Roosevelt. One 
of my proudest possessions--some of you know I collect old books about 
America. I just finished reading a fascinating account by Frances 
Perkins, the first woman to serve in the Cabinet, who was President 
Franklin Roosevelt's Labor Secretary during his entire tenure, about her 
35-year relationship with Roosevelt. One of my proudest old American 
books is a first printing of the proceedings of the very first 
Governors' conference, held at the invitation of Theodore Roosevelt in 
1908. The subject was the conservation of America's natural resources.
    In my private dining room at the White House I have a picture of 
Theodore Roosevelt and all those Governors, signed by all the Governors 
with whom I served in 1992, when I was elected President. That first 
Governors' conference remains one of the most important ever held in the 
White House. So much of what we've done as a nation to conserve our 
natural resources extends from that day. Peter's grandfather was a 
guiding spirit behind that conference.
    Theodore Roosevelt, himself, said of Gifford Pinchot, ``If it hadn't 
been for him, this conference neither would have nor could have been 
called.'' Gifford Pinchot used to say that we must prefer results to 
routine. I like that a lot. [Laughter] And let me say that, in my view, 
no one illustrates that principle in our public life today better than 
Mike Dombeck, who has done such a remarkable job of returning the Forest 
Service to the vision of stewardship on which it was founded. And I 
thank you, sir. [Applause] Thank you.
    A century ago, when Mr. Pinchot was first dreaming up his plan to 
protect our forests, this vista looked very different than what we see 
today. In fact, it was more wasteland than forest. According to one 
eyewitness, and I quote, ``Weather-white ghosts of trees stood on the 
desolate slopes as a pitiful, battle-scarred fragment of the glory that 
was once a virgin forest. Not only were the slopes nearly bare, 
tanneries and dye plants had poisoned the lakes and the mountain 
streams. The deer and black bear and turkey nearly were wiped out. The 
land and water

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were so thoroughly abused that most people thought the area had no value 
at all.''
    I know that they don't agree with that now because we have so many 
of the fine local officials from this area show up here today. I thank 
them for their presence, and they can be proud of what they represent.
    Visionaries like Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot, the other 
men and women of the Forest Service who have cared for this land since 
1917, made those dark descriptions a part of history. Nowadays, hundreds 
of thousands of visitors come here every year to hike, swim, bike, hunt, 
fish, or just to breathe the fresh air and take in the beautiful sights. 
The land that once no one wanted is now a thriving forest everyone can 
enjoy.
    This kind of land has been important to me since I was a boy, where 
I learned by walking the Ozark and Quachita National Forests of my home 
State that national forests are more than a source of timber, they are 
places of renewal of the human spirit and our natural environment. At 
the dawn of the new century we have the opportunity to act on behalf of 
these forests in a way that honors the vision of our forebears, 
Roosevelt and Pinchot.
    Within our national forests there are large parcels of land that 
don't contain roads of any kind and, in most cases, never have. From the 
beautiful stretch of the Alleghenies that we see here to the old-growth 
canyonlands of Tahoe National Forest, these areas represent some of the 
last, best unprotected wildlands anywhere in our Nation. They offer 
unparalleled opportunities for hikers, hunters, and anglers. They're 
absolutely critical to the survival of many endangered species, as you 
have just heard. And I think it's worth pointing out they are also very 
often a source of clean and fresh water for countless communities. They 
are, therefore, our treasured inheritance.
    Today we launch one of the largest land preservation efforts in 
America's history to protect these priceless, back-country lands. The 
Forest Service will prepare a detailed analysis of how best to preserve 
our forests' large roadless areas and then present a formal proposal to 
do just that. The Forest Service will also determine whether similar 
protection is warranted for smaller roadless areas that have not yet 
been surveyed.
    Through this action, we will protect more than 40 million acres, 20 
percent of the total forest land in America in the national forests, 
from activities such as new road construction which would degrade the 
land. We will ensure that our grandchildren will be able to hike up to 
this peak, that others like it across the country will also offer the 
same opportunities. We will assure that when they get to the top they'll 
be able to look out on valleys like this, just as beautiful then as they 
are now.
    We will live up to the challenge Theodore Roosevelt laid down a 
century ago to leave this land even a better land for our descendants 
than it is for us.
    It is very important to point out that we are not trying to turn the 
national forests into museums. Even as we strengthen protections, the 
majority of our forests will continue to be responsibly managed for 
sustainable timber production and other activities. We are, once again, 
determined to prove that environmental protection and economic growth 
can and must go hand in hand.
    Let me give you an example, because I've seen a lot of people 
already saying a lot of terrible things about what I'm doing today and 
how it is going to end the world as we know it. [Laughter] This 
initiative should have almost no effect on timber supply. Only 5 percent 
of our country's timber comes from the national forests. Less than 5 
percent of the national forests' timber is now being cut in roadless 
areas. We can easily adjust our Federal timber program to replace 5 
percent of 5 percent, but we can never replace what we might destroy if 
we don't protect these 40 million acres.
    As the previous speaker said, today's action is the latest step 
taken under the administration of Vice President Gore and me to expand 
our children's natural treasures. Over the past 6\1/2\ years, we've 
protected millions of acres, from the Yellowstone to the Everglades, 
from the ancient redwoods of Headwaters to the red rock canyons of Utah. 
We're working now to save New Mexico's spectacular Baca Ranch.
    As Secretary Babbitt has said many times, our administration has now 
protected more

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land than any in the history of the country except those of Franklin and 
Theodore Roosevelt.
    I have also proposed an unprecedented $1 billion lands legacy 
initiative, with permanent funding over the years to guarantee for the 
first time ever a continuing fund for protecting and restoring precious 
lands across America. This initiative represents the largest investment 
in protecting our green and open spaces since President Theodore 
Roosevelt set our Nation on this path nearly a century ago. It would 
allow us to save Civil War battlefields, remote stretches of the 
historic Lewis and Clark Trail, nearly half a million acres in 
California desert parks and wilderness areas. It will also allow us to 
meet the stewardship challenges of the new century by helping 
communities save small but sacred spaces closer to home.
    Unfortunately, this Congress seems intent on walking away from this 
opportunity. They're trying to slash lands legacy funding by a full two-
thirds this year alone, with no action at all to ensure permanent 
funding in the years ahead. This is not an isolated case, unfortunately. 
Once again, the leaders of the Republican majority are polluting our 
spending bills with special-interest riders that would promote 
overcutting in our forests, allow mining companies to dump more toxic 
waste on public land, and give a huge windfall to companies producing 
oil on Federal lands. I have vetoed such bills before because they were 
loaded up with anti-environmental riders. If necessary, I will do so 
again.
    So, as Congress completes its work on the Interior bill, again I ask 
the leadership to send me a clean bill that adequately funds the lands 
legacy initiative and other priorities. But let me be clear: If the 
Interior bill lands on my desk looking like it does now, I will give it 
a good environmental response. I will send it straight back to the 
recycling bin. [Laughter]
    Ever since that first Governors' conference back in 1908, 
conservation has been a cause important enough to Americans to transcend 
party lines. I hope, somehow, we can make it a bipartisan, even a 
nonpartisan, issue again. Theodore Roosevelt was a great Republican 
President. Franklin Roosevelt was a great Democratic President. 
President Nixon signed a bill creating the Environmental Protection 
Agency. Over and over again in the last 7 years in which I have had the 
honor to serve as President, I have worked with people who were both 
Democrats and Republicans on conservation issues.
    Again I have the feeling that this is not a partisan issue anywhere 
but Washington, DC, and perhaps in a few other places throughout the 
country. We can't afford that.
    When I was a boy growing up in my hometown, it was in a national 
park, and I could never be in the downtown of my hometown, which was a 
big city by Arkansas standards, 35,000 people--that even if you were 
anywhere downtown, you weren't more than 5 minutes walk from the woods.
    I know what this can mean to our children and our future. When I was 
Governor, I was proud that, after leaving office after 12 years, we 
had--a higher percentage of our land in Arkansas was timberland than it 
was on the day that I took office, for the first time. And we always did 
this across party lines. No State was more active in using the Nature 
Conservancy to buy land and set it aside, and we always did it across 
party lines.
    When people walk through these woods and run into one another, they 
may talk a lot of things, but I'll bet you very few of them say, ``are 
you a Republican or a Democrat?'' I'll bet you've never asked anybody 
that on a mountain trail.
    We want this for our children forever. And it is important that we 
set a good example. Earlier, Mr. Pinchot talked about the deterioration 
of the rain forests and the loss of biodiversity around the globe. If we 
want to help other people meet those challenges and the even larger 
challenge of climate change, we have to set a good example. We have the 
wealth and security to do it. We also have no excuse, because now we 
have the scientific knowledge and the technical means to grow the 
economy while we improve the environment.
    It is no longer necessary to grow a modern economy by destroying 
natural resources and putting more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. 
In fact, we can create more jobs by following a responsible path to 
sustainable development.

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    So I hope this day will be important not only for our forestlands 
but the preservation of fresh water and biodiversity and recreational 
opportunities. I hope it will be the first step in America resuming a 
path of responsible leadership toward the environmental future we will 
increasingly share with our neighbors all across the globe. And I hope 
all of you will always be very proud of the role you have played in this 
special day.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 1:20 p.m. at Reddish Knob Overlook. In his 
remarks, be referred to Peter Pinchot, environmental consultant, Pinchot 
Institute for Conservation, and grandson of Gifford Pinchot, the first 
Chief of the Forest Service.