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Skriven 2006-05-23 23:36:56 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (060523a) for Tue, 2006 May 23
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Mrs. Bush's Remarks at the 100th Anniversary of Mesa Verde
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For Immediate Release
Office of the First Lady
May 23, 2006

Mrs. Bush's Remarks at the 100th Anniversary of Mesa Verde
Mesa Verde National Park
Mesa Verde, Colorado



11:48 A.M. MDT

MRS. BUSH: Thank you, Lynn. Thanks, everyone. I'm so happy to be here today
at Mesa Verde. I look forward to these opportunities that I have to visit
our national parks, and then to actually get to hang around a little bit
and hike. And so I'm really looking forward to a couple of days here.

I want to recognize Fran Mainella, the Director of the National Park
Service. Fran, thank you for your good work. And Larry Weise, the
Superintendent, Betty Janes, the Assistant Superintendent of Mesa Verde.
Peter Pino, thank you for the blessing that you gave earlier. Peter, as you
know, is the former Governor of the Pueblo of Zia.

Two of the members of the National Park Foundation Board are here -- Nancy
Bechtle, who is the Vice Chairman of the National Park Foundation Board,
and Regan Gammon -- (applause) -- who is a board member. And then I
understand that Scott Tipton, the founding member of the National Park
Foundation Board is here. Is he here? Over there. Hey, Scott. Great.

I'm delighted to be here on this very, very special celebration for Mesa
Verde, the 100th Anniversary of Mesa Verde as a national park. Amid these
centuries-old dwellings, we're reminded of Mesa Verde's special place in
our national park system. Many of our parks offer awe-inspiring landscapes
or iconic structures, but visitors to Mesa Verde have a unique opportunity
to enjoy both. Mesa Verde is actually the first national park that was
established to protect America's man-made treasures, and thanks to a
century of custodianship by Mesa Verde rangers, God's creation and man's
will be enjoyed here for centuries to come. Congratulations to all of you.

I'm happy today to have the opportunity to explore a few of Mesa Verde's
more than 4,000 archeological sites, including some of the famous cliff
dwellings. These sites reflect the culture of this region's ancient
inhabitants, tracing their progression from basket weavers, to pottery
makers, to farmers, to urban planners, who developed some of America's
earliest communities.

These dwellings also show us the connection between the ancestral pueblo
people and their descendents who live in the Southwest today. In fact, 24
Native American tribes in this region have an ancestral affiliation with
Mesa Verde.

So thanks to generations of rangers and volunteers, their history is
preserved, along with the history of human civilization in the Americas.

Today, as we celebrate the 100th birthday of Mesa Verde, we also celebrate
a century of our national park system. As Teddy just told us, in 1906,
President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act, legislation that
established federal protection of our country's historic sites, and began
the national park network that culminates today in 390 national parks
nationwide.

Our national parks are a fantastic resource, and I encourage all Americans
to learn more about how you can enjoy them. I've enjoyed our parks for a
long time, and I hike in one every year with my friend Regan, who is with
us here today, and other friends of ours that grew up with me in Midland,
Texas. We began this tradition on our 40th birthday by floating down the
Colorado River in the Grand Canyon, and then hiking the 10 miles up the
south rim. Since then, we've visited some of our country's most magnificent
parks -- Yosemite, Glacier, Yellowstone, Olympic National Park. And then
last year, we did that Colorado River trip again with our daughters. And a
few years after that first time, when we were 40, it was a lot harder to
walk out those 10 miles. (Laughter.)

These hikes reminded me that our parks reflect not only Theodore
Roosevelt's commitment to conservation, but also his reputation as a very
intense fitness buff.

Visiting our parks can be a life-changing experience, and we need to make
sure our landscapes are preserved and kept accessible to all Americans. We
especially want to make sure that our parks are enjoyed by our young
people, so that they can develop a lifelong appreciation of America's
resources and the desire to protect them for their own children.

Here at Mesa Verde, children are introduced to our parks through the
International Junior Rangers program. Like our national Junior Rangers,
children who participate in the international program -- including the
students who are here with us today from Manaugh Elementary School -- are
encouraged to learn about American history, about the diverse features of
our landscape, and about the abundance of wildlife in America.

In partnership with Mesa Verde's sister parks -- Monte Alb n and Paquime in
Mexico, and Caracol in Belize -- park rangers are teaching children in all
three countries about their connection with each other, their historical
and cultural ties that they share.

A hundred years ago, President Roosevelt believed, as we believe now, that
America's treasures are, and I quote President Roosevelt, "not for
ourselves alone." All of you in the Mesa Verde community uphold this
principle, and your efforts have been widely recognized. In 1978, Mesa
Verde was the first location in the United States honored as a UNESCO World
Heritage site. Mesa Verde has also received almost $1.8 million in grants
from Save America's Treasures, part of our federal preservation effort.

Preservation is an issue President Bush and I care about very deeply. In
2003, he announced the Preserve America Initiative to encourage communities
to safeguard our cultural and natural heritage. Preserve America can also
help boost local economies, because recognized historical landmarks attract
visitors and businesses to communities. In this way, Save America's
Treasures and Preserve America complement each other. One program provides
grants to help rescue individual landmarks; the other encourages Americans
to improve access and protection of their historical and natural treasures
for the benefit of their communities and for the benefit of our whole
country.

In the three years since President Bush announced the initiative, we've
honored historical organizations, history teachers, and entire communities
-- 372 of them, in fact -- for their preservation work. Eleven of those
Preserve America Communities are here in Colorado.

Mesa Verde is a shining example of historic preservation in this state and
throughout the country. Even though Mesa Verde spans more than 52,000
acres, the park's archeological sites are some of the best cared for in the
United States. At the same time, all of you in the Mesa Verde community
have protected these resources in a way that keeps them open for Americans
to be able to visit them. In fact, you've chosen to mark your 100th
birthday by expanding access to Mesa Verde this year, opening the park to
lecture series, photography workshops, horseback rides and ranger walks.

The Mesa Verde community's ability to protect these centuries-old
treasures, while eagerly sharing them with the world, represents the very
best of our national parks, and the generous spirit of Americans.
Congratulations on your first century of terrific accomplishment, and I
wish you many, many more. Thank you all very, very much. (Applause.)

END 11:57 A.M. MDT
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