February 3, 2003

President Gives Tour Of Crawford Ranch, Emphasizes Trees
by James L. Cummins

President Bush has been criticized more times than not about his lack of knowledge about the environment. I was even concerned about his actions. But over lunch at The White House two weeks ago, I was made aware of a transcript of a recent tour of his ranch in Crawford, Texas. It was not a scripted speech with teleprompters and did not include a team of speech writers hiding behind every rock and tree. It was genuine. It was from the heart. President Bush spoke extensively, knowledgeably and passionately about natural resources and their management. Let's further explore his comments.

The President made almost 100 references to natural resources (trees, wildlife, plants and soil) and their management. He mentioned hardwood or a hardwood species 33 times. He indicated that there are at least 18 different hardwood species on his property and he specifically identified 10 species (hackberry, ash, pecan, burr oak, live oak, chinkapin oak, sycamore, willow, cedar elm and cedar). He referred to at least 10 specific wildlife species (golden cheek warbler, fox, deer, dove, quail, turkey, armadillo, buzzards, cottonmouth and bass) and at least 3 different plant species (poison ivy, Johnson grass and buffalo grass). He made at least 12 direct references to actively improving the natural resources of his land. He even talked about how certain species were important "because they become nesting materials for things like the golden cheek warbler..."

Bush also said, "I'm interested in these trees. This place you learn to fall in love with trees." When asked if he was in his element, he replied, "I am in my element here. We really like it. It is one of the few places where I can actually walk outside my front door and say, I think I'm going to go walk two hours. And although I'm not totally alone, I can walk wherever I want to walk. And I can't do that in Washington...I like that. I love nature. I love to get in the pickup truck with my dogs as the sun is setting, go look for game."

When a reporter asked him how did he learn all this stuff about these trees, President Bush replied, "Well, we've got a book. And I knew some of the trees, you know. But we had two professors at Texas A & M. They had heard we had some beautiful hardwoods on it. And they came and were really pleased with the health of our trees and the quality of our trees. Another reporter stated, "Quite the arborist" President Bush replied, "I am. Tree man. I like trees, but I have come to appreciate them a lot and I'm guarding them..."

In case there was any doubt that this President is serious about the health and future of our natural resources, you can now rest easy knowing that "Tree Man" is not only being a good steward of his own land by actively managing it for improved health, but he is also working to help make it easier for us to do the same on our own treasured lands and small farms.

As someone who is very concerned about the environment, I am proud to call George W. Bush my President. For a complete transcript of the President's tour of his Crawford ranch, go to www.wildlifemiss.org.



James L. Cummins is Executive Director of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Stoneville, Mississippi. Known as "Wildlife Mississippi," the Foundation is a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi