Jimmy Carter

“ When we Americans stop to reflect about our wealth of natural resources and the benefits they bestow, we quickly realize the worth of our Nation's forests. One-third of our land, some 740 million acres, is forested, and we get a wide range of essential products from many of these forests. Trees become houses to shelter us, books to convey our thoughts, packaging to protect our food, energy to power our factories or heat our homes. ”

“ A forest can be many things at the same time. With sound management, we need never fear running out of trees. A forest is a renewable resource. But for all its powers of regeneration, a forest is not in- vulnerable. ”

“ If we ignore the diverse needs of our people, the forests will cease to preserve the natural watersheds, to provide a home for wildlife or a wilderness where our people can renew their spirits. Many of the earth's problems today are the result of generations of destructive deforestation that has left lands barren and wasted. We must make sure that man's works lie gently on our land, so that we may leave for future generations a richer, more abundant, more beautiful land than we inherited. ”