Proclamation 6496—National Forest Products Week, 1992

From our magnificent National Forests, which cover some 212 million acres of land in the United States, to our thriving State and local parks, industrial timberlands, and privately owned woodlots, America's forests constitute one of this country's greatest treasures. All Americans share a responsibility to protect our Nation's forests, and during National Forest Products Week, we renew our commitment to responsible management of these precious tracts of land.

As a vital part of our planet's ecosystem, our forests provide food and habitat for a wide range of plants and animals. These rich tracts of land also provide essential raw materials for building and other uses, and hundreds of thousands of Americans depend on them for their livelihood. Countless other citizens enjoy our forests as a beautiful setting for family camp-outs and other forms of recreation, which encourage children and adults alike to appreciate more fully the importance of conservation.

Today the United States boasts a strong and growing tradition of forest conservation. Annual forest growth now exceeds timber harvests by more than 35 percent, and the total national volume of wood is 25 percent larger than it was in 1952. Yet, recognizing continued challenges to forest preservation -- from disease and drought to wildfires, which destroyed almost 2 million acres of forest and rangeland this summer alone -- we are working hard to promote environmental stewardship in both the public and private sectors.

The major Federal forest management agencies have adopted an "ecosystem approach" to conservation, and by law our National Forests must now be managed on a sustained yield basis. As part of our Forests for the Future Initiative, the United States Government is also helping to lead the way toward a twofold increase in worldwide forest conservation assistance, as a first step toward halting the net loss of forests over the next decade. Here at home, millions of volunteers are working together with private organizations and with State and local agencies in support of our America the Beautiful Initiative, our ambitious program to plant 1 billion new trees in urban and rural areas each year.

The benefits that we derive from our forests are as varied as the species of trees and wildlife that they contain. As demand for traditional forest commodities continues, and as we continue to develop new products and uses each year, it is imperative that we join together in promoting sustainable use and conservation of our forests and timberlands.

The Congress, by Public Law 86-753 designated the week beginning on the third Sunday in October of each year as "National Forest Products Week" and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of that week.

Now, Therefore, I, George Bush, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week beginning October 18, 1992, as National Forest Products Week. I encourage all Americans to observe that week with appropriate programs and activities.

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

GEORGE BUSH