[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 39, Number 43 (Monday, October 27, 2003)]
[Page 1423]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7723--National Forest Products Week, 2003

October 17, 2003

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    Our forests are a source of pride for our Nation. They benefit many 
Americans who depend on healthy forests for their livelihoods and 
quality of life. As we celebrate National Forest Products Week, we 
recognize the importance of our forest resources. We remain committed to 
sound, commonsense, forest management.
    Beyond their scenic beauty, our forests are vital to our economy and 
our way of life. Numerous jobs in the manufacturing and construction 
industries, as well as in the forest products industries, rely on the 
health and sustainability of our forests. Forests provide lumber for 
building our homes, they provide paper for publishing our books and 
newspapers, and forests are the source of many other wood and paper 
products that Americans use every day.
    We have a responsibility to maintain the health and productivity of 
our forests. In the past, forests have been spoiled by overgrowth, 
decimated by insects and disease, and devastated by wildfires. My 
Administration's Healthy Forests Initiative will help prevent this kind 
of destruction. Aided by this Initiative, we treated nearly 2.6 million 
acres of forests during the last fiscal year to reduce dangerous 
overgrowth and restore forest health. This is more than double the 
number of acres that were treated 3 years ago. My Administration is also 
committed to fulfilling the promise of the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan to 
protect our most sensitive forest areas, while supporting a viable 
forest products industry and jobs in rural America. By encouraging 
active forest management and sustainable timber harvesting, we 
strengthen our economy and ensure the lasting beauty of our woodlands.
    Recognizing 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. 
123), as amended, 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, George W. Bush, President of the United States of 
America, do hereby proclaim October 19 through October 25, 2003, 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 seventeenth day 
of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand three, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
eighth.
                                                George W. Bush

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 9:20 a.m., October 21, 
2003]

Note: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on October 18, and it was published in the Federal Register on 
October 22.