Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill Establishing the National Park Foundation.

AMERICANS are increasingly concerned with preserving our natural landscapes.

Recent Congresses--particularly the 89th-have moved boldly forward to create new national seashores and lakeshores close to crowded urban centers. They have provided recreation opportunities for millions of families.

Federal and State governments are working to assure the continual enjoyment of open areas in cities, and along riverways through the cooperative programs of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act and the Historic Preservation Assistance Act.

The bill I have approved, S. 814, will build on these efforts. It provides a simple and direct way for individual Americans and corporations to forward the work of conservation.

The National Park Foundation created by this bill can play a major role in the preservation of our parks and open spaces.

Upon private capital, it will augment the work of the National, State, and local governments. Most importantly, it will offer individual Americans the chance to participate meaningfully in preserving and enhancing the quality of our environment.

The Foundation, whose board will be predominantly composed of private citizens, will be authorized to accept gifts and bequests of property--both personal and real--for the programs of the National Park Service. Gifts to the Foundation will not be taxable.

I hope that the National Park Foundation will convey to all our people a sense of the need for, and the opportunity to create, park lands in the cities, on rivers and shores, and in the wilderness. Here is another adventure in partnership between government and concerned private citizens--designed to serve the common good.