Alaska Public Lands Remarks at a White House Briefing.

SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR ANDRUS. Thank you very much for joining us, Mr. President.

There are some people here today that would like to make a presentation to you, two separate groups. But I would ask them to come up at this time, if they would, please. If you'd, please, just come right on up to make the presentation. And, Mr. President, I'll introduce to you a person that is no stranger to you, but Cathy Douglas, who will introduce the balance of the group.

Cathy.

Ms. DOUGLAS. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

Mr. President, for our first presentation, three native chiefs from the Admiralty Island would like to present you with a beaded vest and make you an honorary member of their tribe. The chiefs are Chief Matthew Fred, Chief of all the tribes on the Admiralty; Chief Daniel Johnson, Chief of the Bear Tribe; Chief William Nelson, Chief of the Dog Salmon Tribe.

CHIEF FRED. President Carter, my people join me in thanking you for making Admiralty Island a National Monument. Such a noble decision in our Tlinget culture does not go unrecognized. My people have preserved this island, its natural resources, its wildlife, from time immemorial. My brother-in-law, Daniel Johnson, Sr., will place the vest upon you. Would our Eagle Ladies please take his jacket off.

The people of Angoon have sent you this vest, and my clan of the Raven Beaver have sent you a noble name, Nahoo-woo, meaning "a great nation in migration."

This name was given birth when my nation was coming back to their beloved coastal home after the ice had receded from the land, and that is a long time ago. We are now going to warm the name upon your forehead as a stamp of our legal adoption.

Nahoo-woo ah', Nahoo-woo ah,' Naboo-woo ah'.

You are now my brother of the Raven Beaver Clan and an honorary chief of Angoon and of all Admiralty Island.

We have one more presentation.

CHIEF JOHNSON. There is a saying that behind every great man stands a woman. And we can't leave Mrs. Carter out. So, we are presenting the President-hopefully, he will present it to Mrs. Carter—a little token that was made by my brother-in-law, the Chief of the Raven Tribe. It's an eagle. You can't be married to your own side, so we'll make Mrs. Carter the Eagle Clan.

THE PRESIDENT. Very fine.

With my new name, Nahoo-woo, I think it's appropriate for me to say Goonalth-cheesh, which means, for those of you who are not Native Americans- [laughter] —"Thank you very much."

This is indeed an honor for me. I feel more at ease in the woods or in a field or in a swamp or on a mountain or underneath a kayak on a beautiful mountain stream than I do encapsulated in an urban society. And for me to meet these distinguished Tlinget leaders and to have them express to me their deep feelings, historic feelings, paramount feelings about the importance of the preservation of the quality of life and the quality of the land in the Alaska region is indeed an honor for me.

As symbols of the Raven and the Eagle, they've honored me and my wife by letting us be part of their heritage. This symbol of freedom of the spirit is indeed also important to recognize.

We have many difficult decisions to make in a modern, fast-changing, technological society, where quite often the small and the isolated, the quiet person or group is never heard, or heard too late, after their own lives are destroyed—sometimes by well-meaning leaders who don't have a comprehension of the significance of preserving God's earth and God's oceans the way they were created.

I'm deeply grateful for this honor, and I want to express to the Tlinget tribe and to others who are deeply committed to the outdoors, to the heritage of our Nation, my permanent commitment never to betray their trust.

Thank you.

MS. DOUGLAS. Thank you, Mr. President.

Mr. President, there are two more groups represented on the platform. First is the Alaska Coalition, under the leadership of Mr. Clusen, who has worked so hard in the vineyard out on the Hill to get the legislation the way it is; and, secondly, Americans for Alaska, which is represented, in addition by me, to Ambassador Lodge, Larry Rockefeller, and our person who will present you with an award.

So, on behalf of these organizations, and on behalf of the millions of people that love our land, we would like to honor you for your leadership in preserving the great natural heritage of Alaska. Conservationists feel that you have done more than any President since President Teddy Roosevelt to preserve our natural heritage, so we thought it very appropriate today that Teddy Roosevelt give the Americans for Alaska Award to you, Mr. President.

Teddy Roosevelt IV.

MR. ROOSEVELT. Mr. President, no cause was closer to the heart of my great-grandfather than the conservation of our natural resources. When he tripled the size of our Nation's forests, he was acting on behalf of all Americans, for he believed firmly that we must act as stewards for our children's children. Were he here today, I think he'd be amongst the first to applaud your efforts to preserve our priceless jewels in Alaska for future Americans, and he'd probably use his favorite adjective, "bully," to describe your efforts.

THE PRESIDENT. It would be hard to choose between the Tlinget tribe and Theodore Roosevelt as to which was the best exemplification of what America has to preserve. Of all the people who've ever lived here, there's no question that Theodore Roosevelt was the preeminent conservationist. And no matter how many Presidents might come after me, there's no doubt in my mind that Theodore Roosevelt will always be the preeminent conservationist.

He was attacked by many special interest groups, and the American people realized, a vast majority of them realized that he was right. And as each decade has gone by since the National Forest Service was established under his administration, the appreciation of what he did has grown.

It was probably a close call when he first made it. And I have no doubt that there were well-meaning and dedicated and honest and competent Members of the Congress and members of the public who sharply disagreed that a very large acreage should be set aside for future .generations. But he was the kind of man who could balance properly immediate benefits, from which our Nation has never suffered, and the long-range benefits, which we are now beginning to realize in their fullest sense.

He believed in systematic protection, carefully considered, broad in scope, welldefined, and ultimately endorsed overwhelmingly by the American people. That's what we have tried to do, to have our decisions be both wise and balanced. And I'm thankful for this photograph with the inscription on it, which will always remind me of my obligations to you and to the people of our Nation.

Thank you very much.

I would just like to say a word in closing.

The top environmental priority of my administration, perhaps my entire life, has been a carefully considered, proper protection of the wild and precious lands of Alaska. This is not a decision that relates only to Washington, D.C., and Capitol Hill and the 'White House on the one hand, and Alaska itself on the other; it's a decision that affects the life of every single American now living and who might live in the future.

This legislation was as carefully drafted and as thoroughly discussed and debated as any which has ever passed the Congress, over a number of years, out of an abundance of caution, with an almost unique sharing of responsibility between the legislative and executive branches of Congress [Government],¹ both of us recognizing that undoubtedly the judicial branch would also ultimately become involved. We've prepared our case accordingly.

¹ Printed in the transcript

And the House last year with a substantial margin passed legislation which I consider to be well-advised and adequate. Because of reasons which I need not discuss now, it was not possible to get the legislation passed through the Senate and approved before the Congress adjourned. Now we've started the process again.

I'm afraid that those who were so intensely involved in previous years have not adequately marshaled our strength for this present contest in the legislative branch. We must be almost sacrificial in our commitment to the passage of this legislation. It is not a partisan issue. Mo Udall, John Anderson, and the other Members of Congress here, almost equally divided—I just looked at the list—between Republicans and Democrats, have prepared a proposal to go to the House floor when the vote comes up within the next few days.

I will do my utmost to support this legislation in the House and Senate, and I hope that you will greatly magnify your own influence throughout the Nation and let individual Members of the House and Senate know how American people truly feel.

This legislation encourages the economic development of Alaska. There is no constraint at all that would interfere with the proper growth of Alaska in population and material wealth.

Last year, as you know, I took executive action, which is not the easiest course to follow, to establish 17 permanent National Monuments, including, I think, 56 million acres. I will not hesitate to use administrative action in the future, if necessary, to protect the Alaskan lands from abuse. But a far better approach is to pass permanent legislation, approved by a majority of the Congress and signed by me into law.

And to summarize, you have my commitment, and I need your help—not just quiescent personal endorsements, which might salve a troubled conscience, but an absolute, coherent, sharply focused, sacrificial commitment the next few days to do everything you can to overcome any obstacle and to have this legislation passed into law.

There's nothing you could do for future generations in the environmental field that would pay richer dividends. And when this task is accomplished—and I believe it will be—we can all be legitimately proud.

Thank you very much.