National Park Week, 2013

Proclamation 8961 of April 19, 2013

National Park Week, 2013

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

For generations, ordinary Americans have taken it upon
themselves to preserve our national landscape. They
have been public servants and private citizens, patrons
and Presidents--visionaries who saw our natural
inheritance not as something to be used up, but as a
treasure to be passed on. During National Park Week, we
celebrate the wonders entrusted to us by our forebears
and recommit to preserving them for our children and
grandchildren.

We also take time to remember that in places like the
Grand Canyon and the Teton Range, we see more than raw
beauty. We see expansive freedom and rugged
independence. We see the big ideas and bold ingenuity
that inspired the first conservationists. We see our
belief in collective responsibility--the notion that
all of us have an equal share in this land and an equal
obligation to keep it safe. These spaces embody the
best of the American spirit, and they summon us to
experience it firsthand.

This week, the National Park Service will make that
opportunity available to everyone by offering free
admission to every park in the Union from April 22
through April 26. And to keep building on our country's
long legacy of conservation, I have been proud to
establish eight new National Monuments in the past
year. These sites honor rich histories, spectacular
landscapes, and pioneering heroes of the American
story, from Colonel Charles Young to Harriet Tubman to
Cesar Chavez. They also reflect my commitment to
advancing a 21st-century conservation strategy that
responds to the priorities of the American people,
strengthens local economies, and protects our most
special places for generations to come.

As we mark this week, I encourage all Americans to
experience our natural heritage by stepping into the
outdoors. To find a National Park in your area, visit
www.NPS.gov.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim April 20 through
April 28, 2013, as National Park Week. I encourage all
Americans to visit their National Parks and be reminded
of these unique blessings we share as a Nation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
nineteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord two
thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
seventh.