National Forest Products Week, 2014

Proclamation 9197 of October 17, 2014

National Forest Products Week, 2014

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Our Nation's forests are an essential element of our
urban spaces and rural landscape. Covering more than
750 million acres across America, they create
opportunities for recreation and habitats for wildlife,
and their products play an integral role in our
Nation's economy and our daily lives. Paper and wood
products allow us to communicate, teach, and learn.
They provide us shelter and energy, and they package
and deliver our food, medicine, and manufactured goods.
And whether it is a paper containing the Gettysburg
Address or a child's crayon masterpiece, these products
capture life's memorable moments across generations.
During National Forest Products Week, we celebrate the
many uses of our natural bounty, and we renew our
commitment to protect our forests and ensure these
resources endure.

Forest products are recyclable and renewable, and in a
changing climate, responsible management of our
Nation's forests is even more important. Our forests
purify the air we breathe and provide clean water to
our communities. By absorbing and storing carbon
dioxide, forests and forest products help reduce the
greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, removing roughly 16
percent of our carbon emissions. In the face of
increased threats to our forests--including diseases
and insect infestations that spread more quickly,
droughts that last longer, and wildfires that burn more
frequently and more intensely--we are taking action to
preserve these vital pieces of our environment and
economy. As part of my Administration's Climate Action
Plan, we are increasing the resilience of our country's
forests and preserving their key role in mitigating
climate change.

My Administration is committed to safeguarding these
green spaces across our country for the use and
enjoyment of our children and grandchildren. Through
our America's Great Outdoors Initiative, we are
empowering communities to do their part to protect
their forested land, from urban parks to working
forests. When cities and towns have the support they
need to conserve their own resources, neighborhoods
thrive and local economies grow.

For centuries, our forests have shaped the character of
our Nation and contributed to its expansion, and we
have an obligation to ensure the next generation has
access to the same drivers of progress. This week, we
resolve to do our part to protect our forests and
secure a cleaner, healthier future for posterity.

To recognize the importance of products from our
forests, 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, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, do hereby proclaim October 19
through October 25, 2014, as National Forest Products
Week. I call on the people of the United States to join
me in recognizing the dedicated individuals who are
responsible for the stewardship of our forests and for
the preservation, management,

and use of these precious natural resources for the
benefit of the American people.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
seventeenth day of October, in the year of our Lord two
thousand fourteen, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
ninth.