For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 30, 2001
Remarks by the President at Sequoia National Park
Giant Forest Museum
Sequoia National Park, California
Listen to the President's Remarks
9:40 A.M. PDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very
much. Gale, thank you very much. You're going to like
working for Gale. She's a common-sense person who cares
deeply about our national park system, and about our nation's
environment. I picked a fine, fine person to lead this very
important agency. And, Madam Secretary, thank you for
traveling with me today.
Dick, thank you very much for your fine
hospitality. It's a fantastic trip up to Moro
Rock. I'm a survivor of the march up to Moro -- (laughter)
-- led by Debbie Byrd, chief ranger. What a fantastic hike
it was. It's a spectacular place. And it must be
a joyous place to work. And for all of you who work on
behalf of the people of the United States in the Park Service, I thank
you very much for your service. (Applause.)
I'm so very pleased that three members of the
United States Congress are here, three really fine public servants --
Cal Dooley, Gary Condit, and George Radanovich. Thank you
all so much for coming. (Applause.)
I, too, want to thank the board members of the
Sequoia Fund, and the board members of the Sequoia Natural History
Association. Thank you for working with these fine public
stewards to make sure this park offers this beauty for every citizen
who wants to come here.
Any day that you can take in sights like these
is a great day. It has been a great day for
me. This place leaves each of us with a feeling of
incredible humility. That's one reason why it's so
important. In our daily lives we're surrounded by things of
our own making -- buildings and machines and goods we create
ourselves. There's much to admire and appreciate in the
works of man. But come here and you're reminded of a design
that is not our own. Here we find a grandeur beyond our
power to equal.
We're standing amongst the largest trees on
Earth, and some of the very oldest. When the Mayflower
arrived on the eastern shore of this continent, the great sequoias were
already here. When the seal was fixed on the Magna Carta,
the great sequoias were already here. They were here when
the Roman Empire fell, and they were here when the Roman Empire rose.
And had Christ, Himself, stood on this spot, He would have been in the
shade of this very tree.
When men and women walk into a setting like
this, we must walk with care. Of all the forces on Earth,
only man is capable of cutting down a sequoia, and only man is capable
of fully appreciating its beauty.
And, fortunately, more than a century ago, the
government of the United States stayed the hand of all who would
destroy this place and these trees. That decision, by
President Benjamin Harrison, reflects an ethic of respect for the
natural world that was once shared only by a few, but is now a basic
commitment of American life.
Our duty is to use the land well, and
sometimes, not to use it at all. This is our responsibility as
citizens; but, more than that, it is our calling as stewards of the
Earth. Good stewardship of the environment is not just a
personal responsibility, it is a public value. Americans are
united in the belief that we must preserve our natural heritage and
safeguard the land around us.
This belief is affirmed in our
laws. With more than 80 million acres under protection, our
national park system has set the standard for the world in preserving
natural lands. We've given a reprieve to our national
symbol, the bald eagle. Through cooperative efforts with
wildlife biologists and private landowners, the condors are back in the
wilds of California. Americans have come to understand that
other creatures need the room to roam and places to live.
Other laws express this same
commitment. Our lakes and rivers are much cleaner than they
were 30 years ago. Firm limits on toxic emissions have
greatly improved the quality of the air we breathe. And I'm
proud that it was my dad's signature on the Clean Air Act amendments of
1990 that helped reduce acid rain and urban air pollutions.
Over the last three decades, nearly 3,000
hazardous waste facilities have been closed. We've made much
progress in ridding our towns and cities of brownfields, and even more
progress will be made over the next several years. And the
Environmental Protection Agency has begun or completed cleanups in more
than 90 percent of the sites targeted under Superfund.
This marks tremendous progress in protecting
our nation's environment. It's not the doing of a single party or the
branch of government, or a state or a community or a group, it's been
the work of Presidents and Congresses and governors, as well as
landowners, environmentalists and local leaders. All have
responded to the appeal of conscience and the clear wishes of the
American people.
Today, I continue to speak about my
conservation policies and the principles that will guide
them. These policies reflect the vital role we each play as
stewards of our lands, and the federal government's part as steward of
nearly one-third of the American landmass. And they reflect
that while we've made great progress, much more must be done to protect
the environment.
In spite of the successes of the past 30
years, at times we've seen needless conflict and policies that have
done more harm than good. Today we must seek the best ways
to achieve the common goal of leading to posterity a nation of fresh
air, clean water, and natural beauty. These policies arise
from the conviction that a healthy environment is national concern and
requires an active national government.
At the same time, states and localities have
their own responsibilities for the environment. They have
their own authority, too. And usually they have a better grasp of the
problem and what is needed to solve it. Washington has
sometimes relied too much on threat and mandate from afar, when it
should be encouraging innovation and high standards from the people
closest to the land.
My administration will adopt a new spirit of
respect and cooperation, because, in the end, that is the better way to
protect the environment we all share -- a new environmentalism for the
21st century. Citizens and private groups play a crucial
role. Just as we share an ethic of stewardship, we must
share in the work of stewardship. Our challenge is to work
in partnership. We must protect the claims of nature while
also protecting the legal rights of property owners. We will
succeed not by antagonizing one another, but by inviting all to play a
part in the solutions we seek.
For the federal government, good stewardship
begins right here, in this and in the hundreds of other park areas
across America. Washington has a very clear and direct
responsibility for these lands. Yet many parks have gone
years without receiving the kind of care and upkeep the American people
expect. More than 287 million people now visit our national
parks each year.
At the same time, however, many of our parks
have gone neglected. So, today I'm announcing the National
Parks Legacy Project. My administration will make a major
investment in our national parks to preserve the legacy of protection
for future generations. We will spend $5 billion over 5
years to clean up the backlog in maintenance, and make our parks more
inviting and acceptable to all citizens.
We're the first administration to request full
funding for our country's Land and Water Conservation Fund, to provide
needed dollars to help local folks meet conservation concerns.
This park is a model to follow. The
Park Service is nearing completion of a project to remove structures
once thought necessary, but which now threaten to damage the roots of
the sequoias. In my budget, I propose spending $1.5 billion
to help complete this project. Working with the local
community and the Sequoia Natural History Association, we will offer
the young and old alike an opportunity to learn more about the wonders
of nature.
In all our parks, we want visitors to feel
welcome and to enjoy the experiences that nature and history have to
offer. Future renovations will make this more possible by
adding, for example, many more miles of carefully-drawn hiking
paths. Here again, Sequoia is a model, allowing for more
visitors without destroying the very things that draw people here --
the scenery, the quiet, the animals left unharmed in their natural
habitat. And we will leave them that way.
Our parklands are home to thousands of species
of flora and fauna. And as stewards of these lands, the federal
government has the responsibility to protect and nurture them in their
habitats and enhance the science that helps to protect
biodiversity. For the next five years, we'll protect nearly
4,000 miles of river, and restore nearly 9,000 acres of parklands to
their natural conditions. We have more than doubled the
budget to help us better study our parks' natural resources, learn
better ways to protect and restore them, and teach visitors about how
they can help.
My administration will also pass new rules to
help remove haze in many of America's national parks. Our
national parks are for all to visit, and all Americans to
enjoy. And we will continue our work to make these national
treasures accessible to those with disabilities and to welcome people
of all backgrounds. And to make sure that we're achieving
our goals in these areas, I'm asking our park rangers to prepare
stewardship plans for each park in America.
I'll also direct Secretary Norton to prepare
an annual report, describing the condition of our parks, with
recommendations of ways to improve them.
Some fear that places like this are scenes
from a passing world; they're not. They will be here as long
as we're willing to show careful regard for the
environment. This is a great responsibility. I
strongly believe our country is equal to it.
America, itself, is just 225 years old -- a
momentous era, and yet so short a time in the life of the
world. We cannot see into the centuries ahead, but we can be
sure, in a place like this, that we're in the presence of
enduring things. And it will be to our lasting credit if
these works of God are still standing a thousand years from
now. Thank you for having me. (Applause.)
END
9:54
A.M. PDT
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