SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 474

WHEREAS, The Smokey Bear Wildfire Prevention campaign is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2019, providing a fitting occasion to pay tribute to its success in educating generations of Americans in the prevention of wildfires; and

WHEREAS, During World War II, many firefighters were away at war, and the prevention of forest fires and wildfires became a matter of urgent importance across the nation; the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service organized the Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention program in 1944, with the help of the War Advertising Council and the National Association of State Foresters; and

WHEREAS, The program's first poster featured characters from the Disney animated film Bambi, but later that year, artist Albert Staehle created a poster featuring a bear pouring a bucket of water on a campfire, and Smokey Bear was born; in 1950, an orphaned bear cub survived a forest fire in New Mexico and was placed in the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., where until his death in 1976 he served as a living symbol of Smokey Bear; and

WHEREAS, Over the years, the program's slogan evolved from "Smokey Says - Care Will Prevent 9 Out of 10 Forest Fires" to the more memorable "Remember . . . Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires," and in 2001, it was updated again to "Only You Can Prevent Wildfires" to emphasize that not all natural fires occur in forests; many Americans of a certain age remember the popular tune "Smokey the Bear," in which the songwriters inserted "the" into Smokey's official name to maintain the rhythm of the song; and

WHEREAS, The longest-running public service campaign in the nation's history, the Smokey Bear program has been credited with reducing the number of acres lost across the nation each year to fire from 9.1 million to 8.5 million; the campaign remains vital through the ongoing partnership of the federal Forest Service, the Texas A&M Forest Service, the National Association of State Foresters, and the Ad Council; and

WHEREAS, Now three-quarters of a century old, Smokey Bear is one of the world's most recognized characters, and today he continues to instruct new generations of Texans on the prevention of human-caused wildfires and the preservation of the scenic beauty of the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 86th Legislature, hereby commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Smokey Bear Wildfire Prevention campaign and extend to all those associated with the program sincere best wishes for continued success. Nichols

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President of the Senate

I hereby certify that the above Resolution was adopted by the Senate on March 25, 2019.

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Secretary of the Senate

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Member, Texas Senate