President Bush Presents Environmental Youth Awards
Remarks by the President at the President's Environmental Youth Awards Ceremony
The East Garden
3:48 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming. Welcome, please be
seated. Welcome to the East Garden. We're glad you're here. This is
a perfect place to honor some of America's finest young stewards of the
environment.
By working hard to preserve our natural surroundings, you've made
important contributions to your communities and to our nation. We're
really glad you're here, and I appreciate the great example you're
setting for others.
Steve, thanks for being here. I'm honored that you've accepted the
assignment of becoming the Deputy Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency. That's a big job, and I'm glad you're going to do
it.
MR. JOHNSON: Thank you, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. I know that your wife, Debbie, and
Matthew are with us here today too, and I'm glad they're here -- good
to see you.
I want to congratulate the award winners from 10 EPA regions from
around the country. Thanks for what you're doing. I want to thank
your family members who are here with you, your teachers who are here
with you, your buddies who are here with you -- thanks for coming.
I also want to thank the EPA regional administrators -- I see a
couple of recognizable faces here. I'm glad you all are here, I
appreciate your hard work for the country.
The award winners today span the entire country, from Barrackville,
West Virginia to Shakopee, Minnesota, to Albuquerque, New Mexico.
You've cleaned parks, you've restored wetlands and you've organized
conservation projects. As volunteers, you've given your time and
talents in many different ways, and together you're helping to achieve
a great national goal: to protect and pass along the great natural
beauty of our country.
Showing concern for the environment is one way of showing your love
for America. Americans are fortunate to be able to breathe clean air
and enjoy the beautiful diverse landscapes of our vast continent. By
getting your hands dirty and helping to clean up your communities
you're putting your ideals into action and you're making America a
better place. I hope you know that.
As each of you have learned, good stewardship can be a lot of fun.
Working outdoors is a chance to clear your mind, or to get exercise, or
to be with your family and your friends. That's one of the reasons I
like to go down to Crawford. I like to get outdoors. I like to clear
my mind. I like to be with my family and my friends. And I like to
work on our ranch to restore native grasses and to make our hardwood
trees flourish.
I'm looking forward to going down to be with a family member
tomorrow, as a matter of fact. See, my brother is the Governor of
Florida -- Jeb. And we're going down to clear out some non-native
plants from the Everglade area so that the wetlands can be more healthy
and flourish more. I'm going to make sure he pulls his weight, too.
(Laughter.)
The other thing you're doing is you're setting an important example
of service. I don't know if you know this or not, but this week is
called National Volunteer Week. It's a time to recognize millions of
citizens who are working hard to improve the communities in which they
live. After September the 11th, 2001, I called on our fellow citizens
to dedicate 4,000 hours, or two years over the course of their lives,
to volunteer work. That's what you're doing, and I appreciate that a
lot.
I started what's called the USA Freedom Corps to provide
information about volunteer opportunities in communities. And if
people are interested, they ought to go on the Internet at
www.usafreedomcorps.gov. And you can find out how to help if you're
interested in environmental projects, they'll be listed there. If
you're interested in ways to feed the hungry, you can find that, too.
You've proven with your projects that many small acts taken
together can add up to something big, improving the environment; while
people who volunteer to love a neighbor just like they'd like to be
loved themselves are part of doing small gestures, which makes America
a better place. Your efforts are helping to ensure a cleaner world for
future generations. I want to thank you for your hard work. I look
forward to congratulating you as you come up to receive your awards.
Those of us in government must uphold our responsibilities, as
well. Today, I went to Maine -- I saw my mother, I might add -- I
announced a new goal for our country, and that is to expand the
wetlands of America so that we have better habitat for wildlife;
wetlands that are important to trap pollution, and clean water, and
stabilize whole areas. For decades this country was losing wetlands,
and yet, with sound policy here, and fostering cooperation between
landowners and conservationists, we've not only slowed the loss of
wetlands -- I know that over the next five years, we can increase the
number of wetlands to 3 million, over a five-year period.
To meet this goal, we're going to have to make sure that Congress
passes reasonable budgets. In my budget, I've proposed $349 million on
two key wetland programs, which would be an increase of more than 50
percent since 2001. As well, the farm bill I passed had a major
conservation title to it, which will encourage farmers to replenish the
wetlands on their lands so that we can meet an important national
goal.
I'm really looking forward to saying hello to you and thanking
you. I'm told this is an impressive group of young leaders. You
should be proud of your achievements. You're setting a good example
for your fellow citizens. It leads me to be confident about the future
of the environment because you're contributing so mightily.
So thanks for coming, and now it's my honor to welcome Steve
Johnson to the podium to announce the awards.
(The awards were presented.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, sir. Welcome. Glad you all are here.
Thanks for coming. May God bless you and may God bless your families,
and may God continue to bless our great country. Thanks for being
here. (Applause.)