Presidential Document2023-08936
National Park Week, 2023
Primary source
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Published
April 26, 2023
Signed
April 21, 2023
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 80 (Wednesday, April 26, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 80 (Wednesday, April 26, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 25263-25264]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-08936]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 88 , No. 80 / Wednesday, April 26, 2023 /
Presidential Documents
[[Page 25263]]
Proclamation 10554 of April 21, 2023
National Park Week, 2023
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Edward Abbey, park ranger and author, wrote that
``Every man, every woman, carries in heart and mind the
image of the ideal place, the right place, the one true
home, known or unknown, actual or visionary.'' For so
many Americans, this place can be found in our
magnificent National Park System. From the pristine
lakes of Glacier National Park to the breathtaking
cliffs of Acadia and from Independence Hall in
Philadelphia to the C[eacute]sar E. Ch[aacute]vez
National Monument in California, these 424 cultural
treasures and natural wonders provide endless
opportunities for recreation, reflection, and
inspiration. This week, we celebrate our cherished
National Park System and recommit ourselves to
protecting it for years to come.
Preserving our remarkable lands, which have been home
to Tribal Nations since time immemorial, not only
bridges our past to our present but also invests in our
planet's future. By tending to our forests, we support
our trees' ability to cycle carbon dioxide out of the
atmosphere. By safeguarding our wetlands, we shore up
our defenses against hurricanes and superstorms and
improve our chances of beating back forest fires.
Ensuring the health of our ecosystems is vital to our
fight against the climate crisis and our resilience
when disasters strike.
That is why I launched the ``America the Beautiful''
initiative during my first year in office. This set a
national goal of voluntarily conserving 30 percent of
our country's lands and waters by 2030. Our National
Park System is a cornerstone of this conservation
effort, and expanding and protecting it is key to
meeting our goal.
My Administration is also investing over a billion
dollars through our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to
help Federal agencies, including the National Park
Service, restore our extensive system of national parks
and public lands. This funding supports critical
ecosystems by combating invasive species, replanting
vegetation, and improving soil health. It expands
recruitment, training, and pay for thousands of brave
wildland firefighters. And it supports new trails,
roads, bridges, and other transportation within
national parks, making it easier and safer to travel
and see the sights. These efforts go hand-in-hand with
our Inflation Reduction Act, the largest investment in
combating climate change in American history. With this
law, the National Park Service will hire new employees,
and we will build out clean energy charging stations
across our national parks and public lands, bringing us
closer to a net-zero emissions future.
I have been proud to use executive authorities--
including my authority under the Antiquities Act--to
protect and expand some of America's most cherished
natural wonders in and outside the National Park
System. I designated the Camp Hale-Continental Divide
Monument in Colorado and protected Alaska's Tongass
National Forest. I restored protections for Alaska's
Bristol Bay, Minnesota's Boundary Waters Area
Watershed, Utah's Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-
Escalante National Monuments, and the Northeast Canyons
and Seamounts National Monuments. And last month, I
established our two newest national monuments--Avi Kwa
Ame National Monument
[[Page 25264]]
in Nevada and Castner Range National Monument in
Texas--protecting nearly 514,000 total acres of public
land.
Throughout this work, my Administration is ensuring
that all Americans have equal access to our national
parks. My new Budget requests $3.8 billion from the
Congress for the National Park Service so we can
improve transportation options to and from these
sites--making it easier for all Americans to visit,
especially people in underserved communities and people
with disabilities. We are taking steps to recognize
traditional indigenous knowledge and to expand Tribal
co-stewardship of national parks because drawing upon
Tribal Nations' deep expertise of these lands is key to
sustaining them. And through the Outdoor Recreation
Legacy Partnership, the National Park Service is
helping renovate and build public parks and other
outdoor spaces in communities with little access to
outdoor recreation.
Our national parks are the envy of the world. Jill and
I have taken our children and grandchildren to these
extraordinary places around the country to remind them
of the magnificence and majesty of America. They unite
us all and are the birthright that we pass down from
generation to generation. This week and always, let us
appreciate these national treasures that our ancestors
conserved for us and rededicate ourselves to preserving
them for all Americans to enjoy.
On April 22, the National Park Service will be offering
free entry to all national parks. I encourage everyone
to take advantage of this opportunity and to visit
these treasured places.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of
the United States of America, by virtue of the
authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws
of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 22
through April 30, 2023, as National Park Week. I
encourage all Americans to find their park, recreate
responsibly, and enjoy the benefits that come from
spending time in the natural world.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-first day of April, in the year of our Lord two
thousand twenty-three, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and forty-
seventh.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2023-08936
Filed 4-25-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on April 26, 2023.
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