Gerald R. Ford

“ In the Nation's first century, Americans viewed their forests primarily as a source of survival and economic growth. In our second century, we continue to depend upon our forest resources for fuel, timber and sustenance, but we recognized the limits of our natural resource heritage and initiated action to conserve and manage our forests for future generations. ”

“ Fortunately, as we begin our third century, we have developed important tools to balance the needs of a growing population, our desire for an ever-improving standard of living, and concern for environmental quality. ”

“ Forestry research continues to make progress in achieving maximum efficient utilization of forest resources. In addition, strong Federal, State, and local forestry programs have been established to foster sound management of publicly owned forest lands and to encourage private forest landowners, through education, technical assistance, and grants, to practice sound forestry management on their lands. ”