[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 78 (Wednesday, April 23, 1997)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 19893-19894]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-10712]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 78 / Wednesday, April 23, 1997 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 19893]]
Proclamation 6993 of April 19, 1997
National Wildlife Week, 1997
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Our Nation is blessed with a wealth of wildlife, wild
places, and natural resources that enrich the lives of
all Americans. Conserving our wildlife--whether
antelope or grizzly bear, salmon or serpent, or plumed
bird--is of urgent importance. Our vast system of
wildlife refuges has played a vital role in this
endeavor. Helping to ensure greater harmony between
people and nature, more than 92 million acres of land
and waters are dedicated to wildlife conservation,
encompassing 500 refuges, with at least one in every
State and within a short drive of most major cities.
These wonderful resources provide opportunities for
people of all ages and from all walks of life, and from
cities, suburbs, and the rural heartland, to learn
about and participate in the effort to preserve the
places and wildlife that contribute so much to our
Nation's heritage and natural wealth.
The appreciation and protection of wildlife,
particularly of endangered or threatened species, is
both the right and responsibility of all Americans.
Indeed, countless individuals and private volunteer
organizations across the United States have already
made a significant contribution to wildlife protection.
Only by engaging communities in conservation, by taking
note of and rewarding community service efforts, and by
maintaining diverse approaches to wildlife protection,
can we preserve our wildlife today and for future
generations.
We set aside this week to celebrate the role that
citizens and private volunteer organizations play in
engaging in service activities, and in advancing the
knowledge, appreciation, and protection of wildlife and
the environment. Let us also work to spread this
message to broader audiences and encourage all
individuals and groups to contribute to this national
goal. I urge all Americans, private organizations,
businesses, community leaders, elected officials and
governmental agencies to do all they can to preserve
and value the role of wildlife resources in our lives.
This tradition of nature education will continue to
teach our children how to be lifelong stewards of the
environment and help to build the knowledge and
understanding essential to the protection of nature's
abundant gifts.
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 20 through April 26,
1997, as National Wildlife Week. I ask all Americans to
find ways to promote the conservation and protection of
our wildlife and wild places.
[[Page 19894]]
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.
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 97-10712
Filed 4-22-97; 10:59 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P
