Proclamation 6744

By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation

America's National Forests grace more than 191 million acres of our land. Thirty-four million of those acres are part of our wilderness preservation system, which works to safeguard this invaluable resource for future use and enjoyment. The American National Forests are among our country's greatest gifts-gifts we share with all of Earth's creatures today and with generations of new life to come.

One of our Nation's foremost priorities must be to ensure that forest ecosystems are maintained and protected. With proper care, these precious lands can remain healthy, diverse, and resilient. We are moving toward a new era in the stewardship of public lands. Today, we recognize the importance of taking a comprehensive approach-one that balances the needs of our people and of the environment. Grounded in sound science and compliance with existing law, sustainable forest management presents our best hope for saving the more than 250 threatened or endangered species of fish, animals, and plants that have made this land their home. At the same time, such management efforts offer our best chance for building a lasting and productive economic base for the people who have made this land their life and livelihood.

America's National Forests provide for our Nation in countless ways-from the houses we live in to the newspapers we read to our spiritual and physical well-being-the splendor and glory of nature's gift to America enriches our daily lives immeasurably. National Forest visitors enjoy more than 4,300 miles of wild and scenic rivers for fishing, swimming, or just taking in the view. Wood and paper products from forests are our country's leading renewable natural resource, accounting for about 4.2 percent of our Gross Domestic Product and 8.5 percent of all manufacturing in the United States, and supporting more than 1.7 million American workers. Taxol, taken from the bark of certain trees, has been found effective in treating some forms of cancer. Althea, balsam gum, dill oil, and Indian breadroot are just a few examples of products used for medicinal purposes. Beargrass and white birch bark are used for basketmaking and chair caning. Dandelion, fern, and salmonberry shoots are used for cooking spices, aromatis, animal bidding and for dyes and tanning that are a source of income for citizens across the country.

In recognition of the central role our forests play in the long-term welfare of our Nation, the Congress, by Public Law 86-753 (36 U.S.C. 163), has designated the week beginning on the third Sunday in October of each year as "National Forest Products Week" and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this week.

Now, Therefore, I, William J. Clinton, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week beginning October 16, 1994, as National Forest Products Week and call upon all Americans to observe this week with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this fourteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and nineteenth.

William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 1:41 p.m., October 19, 1994]