National Park Week, 2017

Vol. 82

Wednesday,

No. 74

April 19, 2017

Part II

The President

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Proclamation 9592--National Park Week, 2017

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 9592 of April 14, 2017

National Park Week, 2017

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

This year we celebrate National Park Week as the
National Park Service begins its second century as a
critical guardian of America's Federal public lands.
During National Park Week, national parks across our
country waive their entrance fees and welcome all
explorers to experience, as past generations have, the
history and splendor of our Nation's treasures.

The national park system started with a painting. In
1872, Thomas Moran painted The Grand Canyon of the
Yellowstone, presented it to the Congress, and
captivated countless Americans. Inspired by Moran's
beautiful illustration and western explorers' stories,
photographs, and sketches, the Congress and President
Ulysses S. Grant enacted the Yellowstone National Park
Protection Act. This law established Yellowstone as the
world's first national park and transformed how we
protect many of our Nation's landmarks.

Forty years later, President Theodore Roosevelt, known
as the ``Conservation President,'' established Crater
Lake, Oregon, as our fifth national park. During his
presidency, Roosevelt doubled the number of national
parks, designating, in addition to Crater Lake: Wind
Cave, South Dakota; Sullys Hill, North Dakota; Mesa
Verde, Colorado; and Platt, Oklahoma. Given his
instrumental role in expanding our national park
system, it is fitting that his likeness endures at
Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

Today, visitors from around the world travel to our
Nation's 59 national parks to climb snow-capped peaks,
splash under majestic falls, rappel into the deepest
canyons, and find peace in shaded forests. Our parks
routinely provide visitors with unforgettable,
sometimes life-changing experiences. From their
unsurpassed beauty to their unmatched physical
challenges, our parks capture the spirit of America's
pioneering history. They symbolize our ongoing
commitment to the preservation of our land and
wildlife, and they set the conservation standard for
the rest of the world.

It is a priority of my Administration to protect these
magnificent lands, and to ensure all Americans have
access to our national parks, as well as to other
National Park Service sites, throughout the next
century. For this reason, I chose to donate the first
portion of my salary as President to the American
Battlefield Protection Program, which the National Park
Service uses to preserve significant American
battlefields. It is my hope that we will pass down
these natural and historic sites to our children and
grandchildren.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, 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 15 through
April 23, 2017, as National Park Week. I encourage all
Americans to celebrate by visiting our national parks
and learning more about the natural, cultural, and
historical heritage that belongs to each and every
citizen of the United States of America.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
fourteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord two
thousand seventeen, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
first.