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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The Smokey Bear Wildfire Prevention campaign is |
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celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2019, providing a fitting |
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occasion to pay tribute to its success in educating generations of |
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Americans in the prevention of wildfires; and |
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WHEREAS, During World War II, many firefighters were away at |
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war, and the prevention of forest fires and wildfires became a |
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matter of urgent importance across the nation; the USDA Forest |
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Service organized the Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention program in |
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1944, with the help of the War Advertising Council and the National |
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Association of State Foresters; and |
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WHEREAS, The program's first poster featured characters from |
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the Disney animated film Bambi, but later that year, artist Albert |
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Staehle created a poster featuring a bear pouring a bucket of water |
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on a campfire, and Smokey Bear was born; in 1950, an orphaned bear |
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cub survived a forest fire in New Mexico and was placed in the |
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National Zoo in Washington, D.C., where until his death in 1976 he |
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served as a living symbol of Smokey Bear; and |
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WHEREAS, Over the years, the program's slogan evolved from |
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"Smokey Says - Care Will Prevent 9 out of 10 Forest Fires" to the |
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more memorable "Remember. . .Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires," |
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and in 2001, it was updated again to "Only You Can Prevent |
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Wildfires" to emphasize that not all natural fires occur in |
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forests; many Americans of a certain age remember the popular tune |
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"Smokey the Bear," in which the songwriters inserted "the" into |
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Smokey's official name to maintain the rhythm of the song; and |
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WHEREAS, The longest-running public service campaign in the |
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nation's history, the Smokey Bear program has been credited with |
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reducing the number of acres lost across the nation each year to |
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fire from 9.1 million to 8.5 million; the campaign remains vital |
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through the ongoing partnership of the USDA Forest Service, the |
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Texas A&M Forest Service, the National Association of State |
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Foresters, and the Ad Council; and |
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WHEREAS, Now three-quarters of a century old, Smokey Bear is |
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one of the world's most recognized characters, and today he |
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continues to instruct new generations of Texans on the prevention |
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of human-caused wildfires and the preservation of the scenic beauty |
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of the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas |
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Legislature hereby commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Smokey |
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Bear Wildfire Prevention campaign and extend to all those |
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associated with the program sincere best wishes for continued |
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success. |