Ill STAT. 2898 PROCLAMATION 6995—APR. 22, 1997 recreational opportunities and to honor local history through programs such as Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance, the National Register of Historic Places, and National Historic Landmarks. The National Park Service, in partnership writh organizations and individuals dedicated to conservation and historic preservation, is ensuring that our national parks touch the lives of as many people as possible, while sparking an interest among our Nation's children in archaeology, ethnography, history, historic landscapes, and historic structures. Indeed, the national parks remain a magnet for the American public. Every year millions of visitors flock to them—270 million in 1996. Surveying our history and heritage, our national parks let us reach out and touch the past. As we observe this week, let us remember with gratitude all those who are and have been entrusted with the stewardship of these treasured places. As the parks and the mandate of the National Park Service have evolved, the demands on those who manage these resources have become more complex and the skills required of the National Park Service work force have become more sophisticated. These men and women are the guardians of our cultural and natural treasures, and, on behalf of all Americans, I express my deepest thanks. This year. National Park Week celebrates the strength of our unique and diverse system of national parks, and I urge all Americans to share in the wonderful experiences these places offer all of us. 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 21 through April 27, 1997, as National Park Week. 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 6995 of April 22, 1997 Law Day, U.S.A., 1997 By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation This is the 40th year that Americans have celebrated the first day of May as Law Day, a special time to reflect on our legal heritage. It is an opportunity for all Americans to pause and consider how the rule of law has contributed to the freedoms we enjoy, and to our greatness as a Nation. The theme of this year's Law Day commemoration, "Celebrate Your Freedom," focuses on the one concept that most defines us as a Nation. It was freedom that we fought for when we created this country. It is freedom that still sets us apart from many of the world's nations. And it is freedom's lamp that still beckons the oppressed to America from all parts of the globe.
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