[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 17 (Monday, April 29, 2002)]
[Pages 677-678]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7546--National Park Week, 2002

 April 23, 2002

 By the President of the United States

 of America

 A Proclamation

    Our national park system helps preserve our history, heritage, and 
the natural beauty of our Nation for the enjoyment of all our citizens 
and many international visitors. Thanks to our park system, many of 
these treasures retain their original beauty and grandeur. The parks are 
places for recreation, education, and reflection, and we must take care 
of them in a way that preserves them for posterity.
    In 1872, the Congress established in the Territories of Montana and 
Wyoming what we all know now as Yellowstone National Park. This 
beautiful area later became the first to be designated as a national 
park. Our national park system was established in 1916 to protect and 
maintain our natural resources and historic sites. Today, there are 385 
national parks on 84 million acres, visited annually by 280 million 
people from around the world.
    My Administration's ``National Parks Legacy Project'' was initiated 
to ensure proper care for our national park system. Through thoughtful 
and diligent efforts, the National Parks Legacy Project will enhance the 
parks' ecosystems, improve outdoor opportunities, address infrastructure 
needs, and establish accountability through performance goals. The 
National Parks Legacy Project and other actions such as our support for 
the Everglades Restoration Plan and our request to fully fund the Land 
and Water Conservation Fund are important steps to support existing and 
future parks, vital habitats, and threatened ecosystems. I have asked 
the Secretary of the Interior to prepare an annual report on the 
conditions of our national parks and to offer specific recommendations 
for improvements.
    We must also pay tribute to the role that the dedicated 20,000 men 
and women of the National Park Service play in preserving our parks. 
Each day these professionals and more than 120,000 volunteers work to 
make national parks accessible, safe, educational, and well maintained. 
Their job is critical to the future of our parks and national treasures, 
and America is grateful.
     Now, Therefore, I, George W. Bush, 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 22 through April 
28, 2002, as National Park Week. I call upon all the people of the 
United States to join me in recognizing the importance of national parks 
and to learn more about these areas of beauty and their historical 
importance.
     In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-third 
day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand two, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
sixth.
                                                George W. Bush

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:22 a.m., April 24, 
2002]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on April 
25.

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