Proclamation 4729—William O. Douglas Arctic Wildlife Range

"The Arctic has a call that is compelling. The distant mountains make one want to go on and on over the next ridge and over the one beyond. The call is that of a wilderness known only to a few . . . This last American wilderness must remain sacrosanct."

These are the words of the late Justice William O. Douglas describing the Brooks Range in Alaska, where the Arctic National Wildlife Range is located. They were written in 1960, the year the Range was established.

William O. Douglas staunchly asserted the right of all living things to be born, grow and die in a state of natural freedom. He cared for the moose and caribou of the arctic range as he cared for all those whose life and liberty were threatened by forces larger than themselves.

Justice Douglas insisted that the present generation must protect environmental and human rights not only for themselves but for the sake of future generations as well. He took strength from the refuge that nature and wilderness give the human soul.

It is fitting to memorialize this great American with one of America's most remarkable places. The area that will henceforth bear his name is an environment that offers the solitude and grandeur of vast arctic spaces as well as the vitality of a breeding ground for thousands of birds and for one of the largest remaining caribou herds on earth.

Now, Therefore, I, Jimmy Carter, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the United States, and in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior who is charged with the management of the National Wildlife Refuge System, do hereby proclaim that the Arctic National Wildlife Range shall henceforth be known as the William O. Douglas Arctic Wildlife Range, in memory of a great American statesman and environmental leader. I hereby direct the Secretary of the Interior to take all steps necessary to implement this proclamation.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of February, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and eighty, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fourth.

JIMMY CARTER