PROCLAMATION 6994—APR. 19, 1997 111 STAT. 2897 this national goal. I urge all Americans, private organizations, businesses, community leaders, elected officials and governmental agencies to do all they can to preserve and value the role of wildlife resources in our lives. This tradition of nature education will continue to teach our children how to be lifelong stewards of the environment and help to build the knowledge and understanding essential to the protection of natvue's abundant gifts. NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 20 through April 26, 1997, as National Wildlife Week. I ask all Americans to find ways to promote the conservation and protection of our wildlife and wild places. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this nineteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety- seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-first. WILLIAM J. CLINTON Proclamation 6994 of April 19, 1997 National Park Week, 1997 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation One hundred and twenty-five years ago, America made a momentous decision: to set aside and protect in perpetuity an extraordinary part of our young Nation. With the signing of the Yellowstone National Park Act on March 1, 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant created the world's first national park, and the succeeding years have proved beyond all doubt the wisdom and foresight of that decision. Known throughout the world for its beauty and the natural wonders that lie within its boundaries, Yellowstone has inspired the creation of a multitude of other national parks, both here and in other countries, preserving for futvue generations the rich natural and cultural legacy of our world. Today, our 374 national parks protect America's unparalleled wonders and the history of those who have helped shape our land. Our national parks preserve both where we live and who we are. In America's national parks, we see Americans through their experiences—war and peace, tragedy and triumph, struggle and liberty. Our national park sites invite us not only to marvel at the grand geography of Yellowstone or the Great Smokies, but also to explore the innovative genius of Thomas Edison at the Edison National Historic Site in New Jersey, to visit the remains of an ancient civilization at Mesa Verde in Colorado, or to walk the hallways of the Kansas school where the struggle for civil rights ultimately led to the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court decision. In addition to the parks themselves, the national park spirit thrives in thousands of communities across the country where the National Park Service provides support and technical advice to create close-to-home
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