President Visits DOI On 160th Anniversary

President Barack Obama was a special guest at DOI’s 160th anniversary celebration yesterday.  The President joined Secretary Salazar for a program that included patriotic songs, a Native American blessing, and a video montage.

One hundred randomly selected National Park Service employees were part of the capacity crowd of 600 that greeted the President in the DOI auditorium.  In his remarks, President Obama shared a story about a family vacation that took place just before his eleventh birthday.  His family flew from Hawaii to Seattle, then drove across a large section of the continental United States. They stopped at national parks, including the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone. 

“It’s an experience I will never forget,” said Obama. “It’s an experience I want for my daughters and for all of our daughters and sons, to see the incredible beauty of this nation.  It’s an experience that is only possible because of the work that you do each and every day.”

Before introducing President Obama, Secretary Salazar made a correlation between the economic crisis of the 1930’s and today. 

“President Barack Obama and the American people have entrusted this Department with the responsibility of helping lead our country back to prosperity and economic security,” he said.  “Since the President signed the Recovery Act two weeks ago, we have been working tirelessly to finalize a list of projects so that we can rapidly and wisely invest the $3 billion coming through the Department of the Interior...We will act with a vision that allows us, as President Franklin Roosevelt did in the 1930’s, to transform the crisis of today into the opportunity of tomorrow.”

Earlier in the program, National Park Service chief historian Bob Sutton delivered a historical perspective on DOI.  He spoke about the positive impacts of New Deal programs on agencies such as the NPS, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Fish and Wildlife Service.  He also mentioned that the DOI building was the first government building designed and constructed as part of the New Deal.