Vice President Al Gore visited the Upper Valley region Thursday to announce new federal funding for the Connecticut River Valley.
The Vice President landed in Air Force Two at the Lebanon Municipal Airport at 10:45 a.m., where he was greeted by Governor Jeanne Shaheen, presidential campaign volunteers from Dartmouth, and a swarm of local and national media representatives.
Gore then traveled South to Cornish, where he and others boarded "quite an armada of canoes," in Gore's words, and began to row down a stretch of the river.
Gore began his address by saying that he joined the nation in mourning the deaths of John F. Kennedy, Jr., Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and Lauren Bessette.
Gore said he was struck by "the lost contributions that were surely to come" from Kennedy.
He said he had looked over some words by Mark Twain before coming to the river that Twain had gazed upon when he wrote his tales of the Mississippi River. Gore said he heard the same "timeless voice" while canoeing upon it that Twain had described.
"The timeless voice of the river challenges us to make a commitment," Gore said. "A commitment to protect historic rivers and streams, to make our air cleaner, to make our food safer."
Gore did not actively campaign for the presidential nomination during the ceremony, but he did play up his accomplishments as Vice President of the United States.
He said the environment lessons he learned growing up on his family's farm in Carthage, Tenn., made him urge Clinton to initiate the American Heritage Rivers project.
Additionally, other speakers at the event praised Gore's record on the environment.
Shaheen introduced Gore as someone who has taken "a tremendous leadership role in the establishment of the American Heritage Rivers program."
Gore received a standing ovation at a ceremony honoring the improvement efforts of local groups on the Connecticut River. At this ceremony, held on a field overlooking the river, Gore announced $819,000 in federal funding for the Connecticut River, one of the 14 American Heritage Rivers that have been selected by the federal government.
In his 1997 State of the Union address, Bill Clinton announced the American Heritage Rivers initiative, designed to support local efforts to protect America's rivers. Rivers were chosen as American Heritage Rivers based on their cultural, historic, economic and environmental significance.
Another speaker said Gore has "inspired us in the environmental movement."
Gore likened the Connecticut River to "a grand main street" that runs for 410 miles through the center of New England's history, commerce and culture.
He announced the specific projects to be funded by the federal money being given to the Connecticut River project, such as a Scenic River Byway Visitor Center that will be built in Sullivan County.
Other projects that will result from the federal grant include flood damage control and prevention support for local efforts to restore the river, the restoration of fish habitats, help for local farmers to find markets for their products, the promotion of wildlife habitat preservation on farm lands and a national heritage corridor study.
