[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 35 (Monday, September 2, 2002)]
[Pages 1437-1438]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

August 24, 2002

    Good morning. While visiting the west coast this week, I saw the 
destructive effects of one of the worst wildfire seasons in history. The 
catastrophic blazes we have seen this summer, and which I saw firsthand 
in Oregon, threaten the safety of forest communities and firefighters, 
destroy homes, businesses, farms and critical wildlife habitat, and 
leave behind long-lasting environmental damage. I join all Americans in 
thanking the brave firefighters for their service.
    As we work to put out the fires and bring relief to their victims, 
we also have a responsibility to prevent the devastation that can be 
caused by future fires. For too long, America's fire prevention strategy 
has been shortsighted. Forest policies have not focused on thinning, the 
clearing of the forest floor of built-up brush and densely packed trees 
that create the fuel for extremely large fires like those experienced 
this year.
    This hands-off approach to forest management has been devastating to 
our environment, and it can take more than a century for forests to 
recover from these fires. One forest ranger said of this year's fire 
season, ``In the next few years to come, it won't be the exception; it 
will be the norm because of how we have managed our forests.''
    We need a different approach. People who fight fires and study 
forests agree that we must strengthen the health of our forests through 
a combination of thinning and quickly restoring areas damaged by fires. 
By actively managing our forests in this way, we'll help our environment 
by reducing the number of acres of forest land that catastrophic fires 
burn each year.
    On Thursday, I announced important new steps to restore the health 
of America's forests and help prevent the kind of devastating fires we 
have seen this year. We will guard against excessive redtape and endless 
litigation that stand in the way of sensible forest management 
decisions.
    I have directed Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman and Secretary 
of the Interior Gale Norton to reduce bureaucracy and speed up the 
process of thinning on public lands. And I urge Congress to pass 
legislation that will ensure that vital forest restoration projects are 
not tied up in courts forever. Some Members of Congress have already 
gotten important forest reform passed for their States because they know 
it is the fastest and most effective way to get forests thinned. We 
should pass this important reform to help protect all of America's 
forests.
    My administration will work with Congress to deliver on the 
unfulfilled promises of the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan. The plan was 
crafted to protect wildlife habitat and recreational areas, while 
employing more than 100,000 people through sustainable timber harvesting 
in a small portion of the forests. My proposals will reduce the threat 
of wildfires that have destroyed people's homes and livelihoods. They 
will restore the health of America's forests, provide greater safety to 
our citizens, and protect our environment for generations to come.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 9:35 a.m. on August 21 at the Bush 
Ranch in Crawford, TX, for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on August 24. The 
transcript was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on 
August 23 but was embargoed for release until the broadcast. The Office 
of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish language transcript of 
this address.

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