National Park Week, 1997

Proclamation 6994 of April 19, 1997

National Park Week, 1997

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

One hundred and twenty-five years ago, America made a
momentous decision: to set aside and protect in
perpetuity an extraordinary part of our young Nation.
With the signing of the Yellowstone National Park Act
on March 1, 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant created
the world's first national park, and the succeeding
years have proved beyond all doubt the wisdom and
foresight of that decision. Known throughout the world
for its beauty and the natural wonders that lie within
its boundaries, Yellowstone has inspired the creation
of a multitude of other national parks, both here and
in other countries, preserving for future generations
the rich natural and cultural legacy of our world.

Today, our 374 national parks protect America's
unparalleled wonders and the history of those who have
helped shape our land. Our national parks preserve both
where we live and who we are. In America's national
parks, we see Americans through their experiences--war
and peace, tragedy and triumph, struggle and liberty.
Our national park sites invite us not only to marvel at
the grand geography of Yellowstone or the Great
Smokies, but also to explore the innovative genius of
Thomas Edison at the Edison National Historic Site in
New Jersey, to visit the remains of an ancient
civilization at Mesa Verde in Colorado, or to walk the
hallways of the Kansas school where the struggle for
civil rights ultimately led to the landmark Brown vs.
Board of Education Supreme Court decision.

In addition to the parks themselves, the national park
spirit thrives in thousands of communities across the
country where the National Park Service provides
support and technical advice to create close-to-home
recreational opportunities and to honor local history
through programs such as Rivers, Trails, and
Conservation Assistance, the National Register of
Historic Places, and National Historic Landmarks. The
National Park Service, in partnership with
organizations and individuals dedicated to conservation
and historic preservation, is ensuring that our
national parks touch the lives of as many people as
possible, while sparking an interest among our Nation's
children in archaeology, ethnography, history, historic
landscapes, and historic structures.

Indeed, the national parks remain a magnet for the
American public. Every year millions of visitors flock
to them--270 million in 1996. Surveying our history and
heritage, our national parks let us reach out and touch
the past.

As we observe this week, let us remember with gratitude
all those who are and have been entrusted with the
stewardship of these treasured places. As the parks and
the mandate of the National Park Service have evolved,
the demands on those who manage these resources have
become more complex and the skills required of the
National Park Service work force have become more
sophisticated. These men and women are the guardians of
our cultural and natural treasures, and, on behalf of
all Americans, I express my deepest thanks.

This year, National Park Week celebrates the strength
of our unique and diverse system of national parks, and
I urge all Americans to share in the wonderful
experiences these places offer all of us.

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 April 21 through April 27,
1997, as National Park Week.

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