Whereas, Wisconsin boasts thousands of miles of streams and rivers and thousands of acres of lakes that are available to canoe enthusiasts; and

Whereas, canoes were employed by the Native American inhabitants of Wisconsin and by the explorers and trappers that came after, including by Father Jacques Marquette and fur trader Louis Joliet, who crossed Wisconsin in the summer of 1673 in two canoes paddled by five coureurs de bois; and

Whereas, Presidents Coolidge, Cleveland, Hoover, and Eisenhower fished Wisconsin's Brule River from canoes; and

Whereas, Wisconsin has a distinguished history in the industrial manufacture of canoes and a proud tradition of canoe restoration and canoe building by private craftsmen that has contributed to the evolution of traditional canoe design; and

Whereas, canoes continue to be employed by recreational boaters, hunters, and fishers to the present day, and canoeing provides a healthy recreational outlet for many Wisconsin residents and visitors; and

Whereas, the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum will open in Spooner, Wisconsin, on May 29, 2010, to preserve the heritage of fine canoe craft; now, therefore, be it