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Remarks
Delivered
By The Honorable Gale Norton Secretary of the Interior February 25, 2004 Travel Industry Association |
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[Slide # 1 cover slide with Norton name] I would like to take a moment to introduce to you a number of members of the Interior Department team who are with me tonight. Brian Waidmann, Chief of Staff These are the people who help to manage and care for all of our public lands. Tourism is extremely important to our nation's economy. If there was ever any doubt, we can think back to September of 2001. Thousands upon thousands of minimum wage workers were laid off- the indirect victims of terrorism. Hotels stood nearly empty. I remember a day that September when the President dispatched each of the cabinet members to a different location around the country- to show air travel was once again in business. Since then, tremendous efforts have been made to restore consumer confidence. Today, we see recovery. We look forward to even better days ahead. Tonight I will describe how we can all work together to enhance the connection between the American people and our national parks. [Slide # 2 Acadia National Park, Maine] We are a nation that has set aside one in every five acres of its land for the use of the public, like wildlife refuges, forests, wilderness areas and multiple use of lands. Our National Parks dot this country with unparalleled beauty, from the stunning ocean scenes of Acadia National Park in Maine… [Slide # 3 Big Bend National Park Texas] …to the rocky eroded sculpting of Big Bend National Park in Texas... [Slide #4 Yosemite in California] …to the drama of cascading water in Yosemite in California. I have the best job in government as a steward of these lands and parks. [Slide # 5 Banner] That is why I am so pleased to be here tonight and to talk about a new partnership-one that encourages people to "See America's National Parks." [Slide # 6 Mt. Rushmore] This campaign will feature the high-profile parks like Mount Rushmore… [Slide #7 City of Rocks] But it will also open visitors' eyes to parks and monuments close to their homes, like the less well known City of Rocks National Reserve in Idaho. All of our 388 park units are worth the visit. Today we announced a formal partnership among the National Park Service, the National Park Foundation and the Travel Industry Association to help get that word out. This partnership is a natural meeting of the minds to affect the hearts of travelers. [Slide #8 Chart about 37% drop in visitors] According to the World Tourism Organization, the U.S. share of the world travel market is down 37 percent since 1992. We hope our agreement will help turn this around.
Already you have used your marketing and advertising skills to create a banner and a poster. That includes the visual e-mail produced by the Travel Channel that you saw before I spoke. I know you are working on cooperative advertising inserts that will focus on National Parks, and a newsletter that will be sent to travel writers.
I am thrilled to know you have a passion for our National Parks and great outdoors. Let me tell you how I got mine. It was the Rocky Mountain National Park in my home State of Colorado that inspired me as a child. Its incredible beauty and awe-inspiring vistas started a lifetime interest in the outdoors and a lifelong commitment to stewardship and conservation. My family hiked around mountain lakes, watched herds of majestic elk, took pictures of cute little chipmunks, and roasted marshmallows around a campfire. We had real fun in the outdoors. Increasingly our children have
become housebound and slaves to the computer and the television. The President
has recognized this and we are cooperating in a program called HealthierUS.
It encourages the use of our public lands in active recreation like camping,
hiking, biking, and canoeing-all sports that can cure couch potato syndrome.
Beyond outdoor recreation, we encourage people to lend a hand in caring for our land. Our volunteer program, called Take Pride in America, encourages volunteers to clean up, fix-up and repair parks and other public lands. We want to encourage the next generation of volunteers to get involved. Your work to help everyone "See America's National Parks" may inspire new conservationists, new friends of the parks, new volunteers and healthier people. It also can inspire a new generation of historians and writers. Because, if you See America's National Parks, you also see the gateway communities and experience the flavor of a state you might not have visited before. Perhaps you will come away with a new bit of history that will inspire you. [Slide #12 Home of Martin Luther King Jr.] More than 2/3rds of the 388 units of the National Park System were designated to preserve some important aspect of the American story, like the birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. For many state and local economies, heritage tourism is the top economic generator. But the importance of heritage tourism goes much deeper. [Slide #13 Independence Hall] Visiting historic places like Independence Hall in Philadelphia, and the Liberty Bell… [Slide #14 San Juan National Historic Site ] …and the San Juan National Historic Site in Puerto Rico, represents more than dollars and cents. The trips taken by millions of American families are an act of faith-a contract renewed between this generation and the past. To understand who Americans are as a people, it is important to understand from where we came. (Wright Patterson Air Force museum in Dayton, Ohio's World War II story) That message is conveyed as we visit our nation's history where it happened. [Slide # 15 Revolutionary war painting or battlefield or park] To visit the battlefields of the Revolutionary War and to look out across the same ground seen by the Continental Army brings home in powerful ways what our ancestors did to win our liberty. It is from stories and places like this that foreign visitors also learn who we are. Let me give you a great example of Heritage Tourism. We are celebrating the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. [Slide # 16 Lewis and Clark] Under orders from President Thomas Jefferson, the pair sought a water passageway to the Pacific Ocean and in the process discovered the interior of a nation. Some 35 to 40 million people will take part in the celebration of this three-year feat that began in January of 1803 and ended in September 1806.
Let me take you back to this month in 1804. Lewis and Clark are encamped for the winter in Illinois on the U.S. side of the Mississippi at the mouth of the Missouri River. They have learned of Jefferson's purchase of the Louisiana Territory and have received access to some French and English charts and maps they were previously denied. They are training and preparing for the trek. They are drilling in military discipline-which at least partly involves keeping the men out of the bars in St. Louis. [Slide #18 Map] Altogether this intrepid group will travel 7,500 miles on their round trip. During this bicentennial we mark their progress and celebrate their Undaunted Courage. There are 15 nationally significant Lewis and Clark commemorative events over the three years and literally hundreds of local events and celebrations.
In 1805, when the group finally reached the Pacific Ocean in Oregon after many hardships, Captain Clark wrote: "Ocean in view! O! the joy." The group built this stockade that became known as Ft. Clatsop-named for a local tribe with whom they traded. It is now the Ft. Clatsop National Memorial. Just this week, the Bush Administration proposed new legislation with bipartisan support to expand the Fort Clatsop National Memorial. We will add three sites along the lower Columbia River in Washington State-and rename the Memorial as the Lewis & Clark National Historical Park. Two state parks in Washington and two in Oregon will also fall under the umbrella of the new National Park. This partnership will help us more easily convey the story of the explorers. This new park means an additional learning experience to be treasured and it means a boon to the economy of all communities associated with their route. That is Heritage Tourism.
[Slide # 20 National Register] Another aspect of the National Park Service is the National Register of Historic Places. They have produced a website called "Discover Our Shared Heritage," which will give you online itineraries to follow historic routes like that of Lewis and Clark. The President and Laura Bush believe that preserving, protecting and managing these places in our care is of paramount importance. [Slide #21 Preserve America with Laura Bush] Under Preserve America, a new program chaired by Laura Bush, we are carrying heritage tourism into almost every community in America.
Taking care of our National Parks is a major commitment of this President. He inherited a $4.9 billion backlog in park maintenance projects. With his proposed fiscal year 2005 budget of more than $1 billion for maintenance, rehabilitation and road repair we are on track to address this backlog to help keep our Parks in top shape for visitors. [Slide # 23 Zion Park ] Let me give you a few examples where repair or replacement of facilities make a big difference. This is Zion National Park in Utah. Zion is an ancient Hebrew word meaning a place of refuge or sanctuary. Protected within the park's 229 square miles is a dramatic landscape of sculptured canyons and soaring cliffs. [Slide # 24 Cars parked on road] But this is the way it looked as tourists tried to find places to park after the visitor center's 450 spaces were filled.
Today, you can park in the nearby community of Springdale and catch this shuttle to the park. This brings increasing numbers of tourists into the gateway community and alleviates the overcrowding situation in the park-a win-win situation. [Slide #26 visitor center before] Lava Beds National Monument in California had a visitor center, but it looked less than inviting. It was, in fact, two travel trailers bolted together and then enclosed in wood. We have since replaced it with this facility. [Slide # 27 new visitor center] Certainly, this invites you in to learn more about the volcanic eruptions that created the rugged landscape of this Monument-with its cinder cones, and lava flows- and about the area's unusual history.
During the Modoc War of 1872-1873,
the Modoc Indians used these unusual structures to their advantage. Under
the leadership of Captain Jack, the Modocs took refuge in Captain Jack's
Stronghold, a natural lava fortress. It is a part of our history-a story to tell to generations after we are gone. These are just two examples of the 1300 projects we have either underway or completed in the Parks during this Administration. We have 400 on track for next year. These include everything from new roofs and landscaping to replacing antiquated sewer facilities at Yellowstone.
Now replacing sewer systems or other such repairs doesn't rate headlines. But their importance to the environment is extreme. A leaking sewer system was endangering Old Faithful and even got the attention of the World Heritage Site Committee.. Because of the repair and other improvements, the World Heritage Committee removed Yellowstone from their list of sites in danger. For the first time ever, we have put in place an inventory of all of our park facilities and a record of maintenance needs. It is computerized and helps us assess the most important needs to deal with first. I like to say that it doesn't make sense to replace the carpet if the roof is leaking. For those of you who manage hotels and other properties, this may not seem like rocket science, but in the federal government- it's revolutionary.
This presentation has been filled with photos of Park sites you might want to visit like this one at Mesa Verde in Colorado. But how can you find out all the details you will need to make your visit work? The federal agencies have a website called Recreation.gov that will tell you all the basic data about Federal recreation areas and facilities. We are working to expand this site to include tribal, state and local recreational opportunities. The new version should be online in the Fall. As part of today's announcement of the See America's National Parks campaign, we highlighted the SeeAmerica.org Web site. It should make it easy for travelers to plan a trip to any and all of our Parks. Links will take you to Recreation.gov, and to the National Park Foundation site, where you can purchase a park pass. The National Park Foundation
is the official, Congressionally chartered non-profit partner of the National
Parks. It raises tens of millions of dollars annually from private sources.
It uses those funds through grants and other means to strengthen the enduring
relationship between Americans and their National Parks. We could not
do our job without them. Jim Maddy is here from the Foundation tonight
and I want to recognize his good work. Now we have the Travel Industry Association bringing their expertise to that partnership and adding immeasurably to our mission. We have agreements with the Southeast Tourism Society and the Western States Tourism Policy Council, which we believe also will enhance travel to public lands. I appreciate Todd Davidson and Bill Hardmann for their exceptional leadership of these two councils. The agreement we have reached with Bill Norman and all of you-to "See America's National Parks"-is a partnership that will bear fruit. We firmly believe in partnerships to find new avenues for sharing and maintaining all of America's public lands. Our National Park System is the envy of the world. Our breathtaking sites pay tribute to America's past and the principles upon which our great nation was founded. This unique partnership with the Travel Industry will help inform the public about the many magnificent opportunities we have to offer. I hope that countless children will have the experience so valuable to me a few decades ago- to watch and learn about wildlife, to gaze on spectacular landscapes, to hike through the great outdoors.
Thank you. |