National Wildlife Refuge Week, 1996

Proclamation 6932 of October 7, 1996

National Wildlife Refuge Week, 1996

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

As we prepare to meet the challenges of the 21st
century, protecting the environment remains our sacred
responsibility. Our National Wildlife Refuge System is
a network of special places set aside to conserve the
natural habitat of our fish and wildlife. My
Administration is dedicated to strengthening this
invaluable network of refuges that truly enhance the
lives of all Americans.

President Theodore Roosevelt established the first
National Wildlife Refuge in 1903, and his vision
remains the guiding force for the Refuge System today:
``... keeping for our children's children, as a
priceless heritage, all the delicate beauty of the
lesser and all the burly majesty of the mightier forms
of wild life .... Wild beasts and birds are by right
not the property merely of the people alive today, but
the property of the unborn generations whose belongings
we have no right to squander.''

What began 93 years ago with a small island in Florida
has grown into a system of more than 500 refuges
spanning all 50 States and several trust territories.
It is home to resident and migratory wildlife and
includes lands of breathtaking beauty and diversity,
from the tropical mangroves of Florida's Key Deer
National Wildlife Refuge to the majestic peaks of the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. This mosaic
of magnificent places provides Americans a wide range
of opportunities--both educational and recreational--to
learn about our environment and our country's heritage,
to observe and photograph, and to hunt and fish. Our
national wildlife refuges are among our most treasured
areas, and we must reaffirm our commitment to
preserving these precious resources for our children,
for our communities, and for future generations.
Working together, we can ensure the health and vitality
of our wildlife and our Nation.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, 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 October 6 through October
12, 1996, as National Wildlife Refuge Week. I invite
all Americans to learn about, appreciate, and celebrate
this magnificent collection of lands that we as a
people have set aside for wildlife and for the
enjoyment of future generations. I also ask all to join
me in a renewed commitment to responsible stewardship
of our country's irreplaceable natural resources.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
seventh day of October, in the year of our Lord
nineteen hundred and ninety-six, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two
hundred and twenty-first.