[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 41, Number 16 (Monday, April 25, 2005)]
[Page 619]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 7887--National Park Week, 2005

April 15, 2005

By the President of the United States

of America

A Proclamation

    America's system of national parks is dedicated to protecting our 
resources and preserving our cultural and natural treasures. During 
National Park Week, we celebrate these places and those who work to 
support and maintain them. This year's National Park Week theme, 
``National Parks: America's Gift to the World,'' reminds us that our 
country's parks serve as tributes to our Nation's history that are 
enjoyed by visitors from around the globe.
    My Administration is dedicated to ensuring that our national parks 
remain a source of pride for our citizens, and we are expanding our 
ability to protect America's historical and natural wonders. By 
insisting upon management excellence, the National Park Service is 
ensuring that the most vital maintenance and conservation needs of our 
parks are met and that resources are spent where they are needed the 
most.
    As we observe National Park Week, we recognize the vital 
contributions of National Park Service employees and volunteers. These 
dedicated men and women manage nearly 400 areas, covering more than 84 
million acres in 49 states. Together with the 140,000 volunteers who 
donated over 5 million hours to these sites last year, National Park 
Service employees ensure that our National Parks are safe and enjoyable 
places where visitors can experience America.
    America's national parks reflect our commitment to protect the land 
that God has entrusted to our care and to mark the milestones that have 
made us a better Nation. In being good stewards of these treasures, we 
maintain the legacy of our country for future generations.
    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 18 through April 24, 
2005, as National Park Week. I call upon the people of the United States 
to join me in recognizing the importance of our national parks and to 
learn more about these places of beauty, their cultural and historical 
significance, and the many ways citizens can volunteer to protect and 
conserve these precious national resources.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day 
of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand five, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
ninth.
                                                George W. Bush

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., April 19, 
2005]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on April 
20. This item was not received in time for inclusion in the appropriate 
issue.