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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, The Smokey Bear Wildfire Prevention campaign is |
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| 6 | 7 | | celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2019, providing a fitting |
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| 7 | 8 | | occasion to pay tribute to its success in educating generations of |
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| 8 | 9 | | Americans in the prevention of wildfires; and |
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| 9 | 10 | | WHEREAS, During World War II, many firefighters were away at |
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| 10 | 11 | | war, and the prevention of forest fires and wildfires became a |
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| 11 | 12 | | matter of urgent importance across the nation; the USDA Forest |
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| 12 | 13 | | Service organized the Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention program in |
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| 13 | 14 | | 1944, with the help of the War Advertising Council and the National |
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| 14 | 15 | | Association of State Foresters; and |
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| 15 | 16 | | WHEREAS, The program's first poster featured characters from |
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| 16 | 17 | | the Disney animated film Bambi, but later that year, artist Albert |
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| 17 | 18 | | Staehle created a poster featuring a bear pouring a bucket of water |
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| 18 | 19 | | on a campfire, and Smokey Bear was born; in 1950, an orphaned bear |
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| 19 | 20 | | cub survived a forest fire in New Mexico and was placed in the |
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| 20 | 21 | | National Zoo in Washington, D.C., where until his death in 1976 he |
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| 21 | 22 | | served as a living symbol of Smokey Bear; and |
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| 22 | 23 | | WHEREAS, Over the years, the program's slogan evolved from |
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| 23 | 24 | | "Smokey Says - Care Will Prevent 9 out of 10 Forest Fires" to the |
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| 24 | 25 | | more memorable "Remember. . .Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires," |
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| 25 | 26 | | and in 2001, it was updated again to "Only You Can Prevent |
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| 26 | 27 | | Wildfires" to emphasize that not all natural fires occur in |
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| 27 | 28 | | forests; many Americans of a certain age remember the popular tune |
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| 28 | 29 | | "Smokey the Bear," in which the songwriters inserted "the" into |
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| 29 | 30 | | Smokey's official name to maintain the rhythm of the song; and |
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| 30 | 31 | | WHEREAS, The longest-running public service campaign in the |
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| 31 | 32 | | nation's history, the Smokey Bear program has been credited with |
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| 32 | 33 | | reducing the number of acres lost across the nation each year to |
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| 33 | 34 | | fire from 9.1 million to 8.5 million; the campaign remains vital |
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| 34 | 35 | | through the ongoing partnership of the USDA Forest Service, the |
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| 35 | 36 | | Texas A&M Forest Service, the National Association of State |
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| 36 | 37 | | Foresters, and the Ad Council; and |
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| 37 | 38 | | WHEREAS, Now three-quarters of a century old, Smokey Bear is |
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| 38 | 39 | | one of the world's most recognized characters, and today he |
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| 39 | 40 | | continues to instruct new generations of Texans on the prevention |
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| 40 | 41 | | of human-caused wildfires and the preservation of the scenic beauty |
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| 41 | 42 | | of the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it |
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| 42 | 43 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas |
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| 43 | 44 | | Legislature hereby commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Smokey |
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| 44 | 45 | | Bear Wildfire Prevention campaign and extend to all those |
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| 45 | 46 | | associated with the program sincere best wishes for continued |
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| 46 | 47 | | success. |
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