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Skriven 2007-04-29 23:30:52 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0704291) for Sun, 2007 Apr 29
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Mrs. Bush's Remarks at the Rededication of the Zion National Park Nature
Center
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For Immediate Release Office of the First Lady April 29, 2007

Mrs. Bush's Remarks at the Rededication of the Zion National Park Nature
Center Zion National Park Springdale, Utah



2:08 P.M. MDT

MRS. BUSH: Thank you all very much. Thank you, Jock, very much for your
great work that you do as Superintendent of Zion National Park. I want to
recognize Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, who is with us today, from the U.S.
Department of Interior. Lieutenant Governor Gary Herbert -- Governor, thank
you so much for joining us, and your wife and son, thank you all for being
here. Mayor Pat Cluff, Mayor of Springdale, thank you for joining us,
Mayor. Barbara Pahl, who is the Regional Director of the National Trust for
Historic Preservation. Barbara's the Regional Director in Denver, and thank
you so much, Barbara, for joining us today here in Utah.

A special recognition to Lora Tom, who is the Chairwoman of the Southern
Band of the Paiute. Thank you very much for being with us today. And the
person who introduced himself as a "fossil" from Zion, the historian around
here, J.L. Crawford. Thank you so much, Mr. Crawford. (Applause.)

And the Red Rock Rondo, you were terrific. That was a really wonderful way
to be welcomed here to Zion.

One person who wishes she could be with us today is Mary Bomar, who is the
Director of the National Park Service. Mary today is in Eads, Colorado,
dedicating the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site. This site will
become our country's 391st national park. We congratulate the people of
Eads, Colorado on this distinction, and I know Mary Bomar sends her very
best wishes to everyone here at Zion.

Local officials, preservationists, conservationists, park enthusiasts,
history buffs, distinguished guests, I'm so happy to be with you this
afternoon in one of our country's most spectacular national parks.

All of us can remember the first time we were amazed by a national park,
and if you grew up here, then I know this is the site that first amazed
you. My love of our national parks began when I visited Carlsbad Caverns,
New Mexico, which was the closest national park to Midland, Texas, where I
grew up.

Now I hike in a national park every year with childhood friends of mine. We
began this tradition on our 40th birthday by taking the river -- the float
trip down the Colorado River, and then hiking out the 10 miles on the South
Rim of the Grand Canyon. Since then, we've visited some of our country's
most magnificent parks. We've been to Yosemite and Glacier, Yellowstone,
Denali and Olympic.

Recently, we took our daughters and did that Grand Canyon trip one more
time. And we found that 20 years after that first visit, it was a lot
harder to hike out those 10 miles. (Laughter.) Our girls were very great
about it, though. They finished in four hours, and the old mothers made it
out in about seven.

This week, we're going to explore this national park. We're going to see
Zion's sweeping plateaus and some of the world's most scenic canyons. My
friends are here on the front row with me that I hike with every year. And
so we're really looking forward to this opportunity to be together, and be
together in this beautiful park. (Applause.)

I'm also looking forward to learning about Zion's fascinating past.
Twelve-thousand years ago, men hunted mammoth, giant sloth and camels here
long before man started to record his history. You can still read the rich
natural history of this region in the 240 million years of geology
preserved in the walls of Zion's gorgeous and towering walls.

At Zion, as in the parks throughout the United States, dedicated park
rangers and volunteers work every single day to preserve these treasures
for all of Americans to enjoy, for all of us, and for each generation that
comes after us.

Preservation is an issue that President Bush and I care about. In 2003, he
announced the Preserve America Initiative to encourage communities to
safeguard our cultural and natural heritage. Preserve America helps boost
local economies, because recognized landmarks attract visitors and
businesses.

In the four years since President Bush announced the initiative, we've
honored historical organizations, history teachers, and 486 communities for
their preservation work. Eleven of those communities are here in Utah.

An important goal of Preserve America is to educate Americans to be good
stewards of our national treasures, and that's what you're doing here at
Zion.

In Zion's peak season, the park welcomes 11,000 visitors a day. They come
for the sport of canyoneering. They come to learn about this park's
abundant plant life -- from the Utah Beavertail Cactus to the Bigtooth
Maple to the Pigsweed Shrub. They come to learn more about the 290 species
of birds that fly through Zion every year. They learn about the traditions
of the Virgin Anasazi and the Paiute peoples who have called the lands of
Zion home.

By preserving this history, Zion National Park also provides a connection
between early Native Americans and their descendents, who still live here
in the Southwest.

Zion has an especially proud tradition of educating young park visitors
through the Junior Rangers program. Through Junior Rangers, young people
can explore our parks with activities especially designed for children --
from specially guided park tours to wildlife coloring books.

At nearly 300 parks and monuments across the United States, children learn
about our country's history, our spectacular landscapes, and our wildlife.
Some, we hope, will be inspired to grow up to be real park rangers.

Yesterday was the first-ever Junior Rangers Day. This nationwide
celebration capped off National Park Week by bringing children from across
the United States into our parks and monuments, and millions more children
participated online as Web Rangers.

Zion National Park has one of the oldest Junior Rangers programs in the
national park system. Since 1974, the Nature Center has hosted activities
to educate young visitors about the history, geology and ecology of Zion.

The Junior Rangers program is one of Zion's most popular projects. Last
year, more than 7,000 young people participated. And this gives me the
chance to urge everyone across our country, all parents, to bring your
children to your local national park, just like my mother took me to
Carlsbad Caverns, and then to take your children to our other parks around
the United States. You'll make really wonderful, happy memories for them if
you do that.

Today, I'm delighted to be part of the rededication of the Zion Nature
Center, which will now be open to Junior Rangers year-round. This former
cafeteria building also happens to be one of the best examples of Gilbert
Stanley Underwood's rustic architecture. Through your improvements to the
center, you've shown your commitment to preserving our country's history,
and you'll help encourage America's next generation to be good stewards of
the treasures they inherit.

Giving all Americans a sense of responsibility for our shared national
heritage is vital to the health of our national parks. In 2009, Zion will
celebrate a "Century of Sanctuary," to commemorate when these lands were
first set aside by President Taft in 1909. Today, President Bush is asking
individual citizens to make sure Zion -- and all our national parks -- will
be preserved and enhanced throughout the next 100 years. Secretary
Kempthorne will tell you more about the President's Centennial Initiative
in a minute.

The Zion community's work to protect the natural, cultural and historical
treasures of many centuries, while eagerly sharing them with the world,
represents the best of our national parks. And it represents the generous
spirit of our country.

Thank you for your efforts. Congratulations on the reopening of your Nature
Center. I wish you the very best for this new facility and for the great
work you'll continue to do here at Zion. (Applause.)

Now I'd like to introduce someone who's an extraordinary steward of our
country's resources. I've been privileged to travel with him to some of the
most spectacular sights in the United States, and on the planet. Most
recently, we explored the fascinating marine and bird life of the Northwest
Hawaiian Islands, by making a trip to Midway Island. President Bush
declared the Northwest Hawaiian Islands -- its 140,000 square miles of
marine and island life -- a National Marine Monument last year. (Applause.)

Secretary Kempthorne -- in addition to being an enlightening travel
companion -- is also a huge enthusiast of our national parks. Ladies and
gentlemen, our Secretary of the Interior, Dirk Kempthorne. (Applause.)

END 2:19 P.M. MDT
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