[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 37, Number 23 (Monday, June 11, 2001)]
[Pages 845-847]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at Everglades National Park, Florida

June 4, 2001

    Thank you all very much. Thank you. Thank you, Brother. [Laughter] I 
love my brother. People in Florida are lucky to have this good man as 
Governor.
    I'm honored to be here with two fine United States Senators; thank 
you both for being here. Senator Graham, thanks for flying down with us, 
and Senator Nelson, it was good to see you at the airport today.
    Peter Deutsch, this is his district. Congressman, thanks so much for 
coming. We're honored to have you here. Congressman--I just call her 
Ileana--[laughter]--thanks so very much for being here, Ileana, and same 
to you, Lincoln. I'm honored that you're here. The two chairmen, 
Chairman Shaw and Chairman Young, I'm honored that you all are here, as 
well. I don't see Congressperson Meek. I think she was going to be here. 
She's not, but Jerry, I appreciate you. I appreciate your staff. I 
appreciate so very much Maureen Finnerty for giving us the briefing. And 
I appreciate Larry Belli, as well, for taking time to chopper over this 
beautiful slice of heaven. Thank you both. And thank all your staff for 
making this experience such a meaningful experience for all of us. It's 
an honor to be here, especially in these surroundings.
    Visitors from around the world come to this beautiful State to see 
the coasts and the Keys and the sandy beaches. Today we're standing in 
just as wondrous a scene in Florida and just as an important part of 
this State. It commands our care and attention. This area needs our 
protection. And I am here to join with your Governor in the cause of 
preserving and protecting the Florida Everglades.
    Last week I visited the great Sequoia National Park in California. 
Just to get there we covered many miles of land that appeared exactly as 
it did to the first people who saw it. The same can be said of these 
surroundings and of this park. They are here to be appreciated, not 
changed. Their beauty is beyond our power to improve.
    Our job here is to be good stewards of the Everglades, to restore 
what has been damaged and to reduce the risk of harm. The Everglades 
National Park was established more than 50 years ago. It is not just a 
beautiful place to visit but, as everybody down here knows, is a vital 
part of south Florida's ecosystem. The park extends nearly 1.4 million 
acres and is our country's largest remaining subtropical wilderness. It 
includes most of Florida Bay, mangrove forests, coastal prairie, cypress 
forests, pine lands, and freshwater streams that form, as they are now 
called, the River of Grass.
    We're also visitors today in the home of 68 endangered species and 
the only place on Earth where crocodiles and alligators live side by 
side. We're kind of hoping that's the way it gets to be in the United 
States Congress one of these days. [Laughter]
    Over the same half century, since the park was created, south 
Florida's population has doubled many times over, and it will continue 
to grow. For ages, the waters of the Everglades have sustained animal 
life. Today, south Florida's human population relies upon them, as well. 
Growth and progress are desirable, and environmental destruction is not 
inevitable. We must build and plan with respect for nature's prior 
claims.
    Lost, if we are careless, are the sparrows and wading birds, 
panthers and bears who live here, and the chance for future generations 
to see these creatures in the place that nature gave them. We must meet 
the demands of growth but without harming the very things that give 
Florida and the Everglades their beauty.

[[Page 846]]

    For its part, the Federal Government carries important 
responsibilities and stewardship. It is not enough to regulate and 
dictate from afar. To preserve places like this, we must bring to our 
work a new spirit of respect and cooperation, what I call a new 
environmentalism for the 21st century. This was the spirit behind the 
Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, which passed Congress last 
year with strong bipartisan majorities in both Houses. The late Senator 
John Chafee of Rhode Island set the law in motion. It was advanced by 
the good work of a New Hampshire Senator, Bob Smith, and received 
crucial support from the Florida delegation, especially from former 
Governor and current United States Senator Bob Graham.
    It shows--protecting the Everglades shows that bipartisanship is 
possible but, more importantly, crucial to doing the will of the 
American people. When we talk about empowering State and local 
governments to do more to protect the environment, we do not mean 
Washington will do less. We mean that the Federal Government will work 
more closely and effectively with people closest to the problem and, 
therefore, best equipped to solve it. Everglades restoration is a good 
example. It is a long-term commitment shared by the Federal Government 
and by the State of Florida.
    Restoration will not take years, but it'll take decades. It will 
require the best efforts of all involved for a long period of time, from 
government officials to tribal leaders to landowners and 
environmentalists. The hard work, patience, and goodwill of these groups 
have brought us thus far in restoring the Everglades. We will need the 
same qualities to finish the job in years ahead. For my administration, 
the people of Florida can count on the commitment to carry out this 
important project.
    My budget for next year proposes an investment of $219 million, a 36 
percent increase from last year. Working together, the State of Florida 
and the Federal Government will provide nearly $8 billion in the coming 
decades for Everglade restoration.
    The Federal Government has clear responsibility for the Everglades, 
as in each of the nearly 400 other national parks. In recent years, that 
obligation has sometimes been neglected. Many parks have lacked the 
resources they need for their basic care and maintenance. My 
administration will restore and renew America's national parks. Last 
week I announced our National Parks Legacy Project, a major investment 
in preserving places such as this. We will clear up nearly $5 billion in 
maintenance to make our parks more inviting and accessible to all 
Americans.
    We are also the first administration to request full funding of the 
Land and Water Conservation Fund. This fund provides Florida and other 
States with the means to set aside new parks, vital habitats, and 
restore threatened ecosystems.
    To protect our parks and their inhabitants, we must have the best 
available information, so I've directed Secretary Norton to prepare an 
annual report that describes the condition of our parks and offer 
specific recommendations to improve them. I've also asked the people who 
know our parks best, our rangers, to prepare stewardship plans.
    As many of you know, Florida was recently voted as America's best 
State park system. To be the best, you have to assemble the best team 
for the job. And joining Secretary Norton in that effort will be a new 
Director of the National Park Service. You know her well. I'm pleased to 
announce that Fran Maniella, Florida's director of State parks, is my 
choice to lead the National Park Service.
    She's been a steady and conscientious steward of Florida's 500,000 
acres of park lands. With the support of Senators Graham and Nelson and 
their colleagues, I'm hopeful she will soon assume responsibility for 
America's more than 80 million acres of parkland. Under her leadership, 
the National Park Service will continue to do its very important work.
    I respect our park rangers, the folks who work in our national 
parks, a lot. Theirs is an incredibly tough job. Many times it's a 
thankless job. So on behalf of your Government and the people of the 
United States, thank you for your dedication to America. And thank you 
so very much for welcoming us to America's River of Grass.
    Thank you all for coming. God bless.

[[Page 847]]

Note: The President spoke at 11:15 a.m. at the Royal Palm Visitors 
Center. In his remarks, he referred to Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida; 
Representatives Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, C. W. Bill 
Young, chairman, Committee on Appropriations, and E. Clay Shaw, Jr., 
chairman, Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee; Jerry Belson, 
regional director, southeastern region, National Park Service; Maureen 
Finnerty, superintendent, and Lawrence A. Belli, deputy superintendent, 
Everglades National Park. The President also referred to Title VI, 
Section 601--Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, part of Public 
Law 106-541, the Water Resources Development Act of 2000.