Nature for All coalition members hike in the proposed expansion area of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument (Photo – Bryan Matsumoto)
On Monday, June 26, elected officials, community leaders, and local residents in the Los Angeles region joined Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Representative Judy Chu (CA-28) in calling on President Biden to add 109,000 acres of public lands to the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument.
By News Desk
Sen. Padilla and Rep. Chu are calling on President Biden to use the Antiquities Act to expand the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. The Antiquities Act is a 1906 law that grants U.S. Presidents the ability to designate federal public lands, waters, and cultural and historical sites as national monuments with a Presidential Proclamation.
Expanding the monument is the next step in a 20-year, locally-driven effort to protect the San Gabriel Mountains. Over 18 million people live within a 90-mile radius of these public lands and the expansion will help increase equitable access to nature and improve public health. It will also conserve a critical drinking water source for Los Angeles County, address the climate and biodiversity crises, and honor the cultural and historical significance of the landscape.
In 2014, President Obama designated approximately 346,177 acres of the San Gabriel Mountains as a national monument. Since then, community support has continued to grow for safeguarding important public lands that were not included in the original monument designation. The proposed expansion area is considered the “gateway” to the Angeles National Forest and as a result is one of the most visited parts of the forest. Moreover, according to the U.S. Forest Service, the national forest received 4.6 million visitors in 2021—more than the Grand Canyon or Yosemite National Park received in the same year.
Expanding the national monument will also conserve a critical source of drinking water for Los Angeles County. The Angeles National Forest provides one-third of the county’s drinking water. Permanently protecting more of this life-giving resource will benefit residents throughout the region.
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Sen. Padilla and Rep. Chu both sent a letter urging the President to use the Antiquities Act to achieve this goal and in May introduced legislation in support of this effort.
“For many low-income families in the Los Angeles area, this is the only access they have to green space and the educational and health benefits that come with it. And it is critical that we protect these public lands to promote environmental justice in our communities,” said Senator Padilla
“The San Gabriel Mountains are among the most pristine and beautiful public lands in the country, and they are right here next to one of the nation’s densest and most park-deprived population centers,” said Rep. Judy Chu in uring President Biden to recognize the importance of these lands by designating the western Angeles National Forest as part of the National Monument.
“The San Gabriel Mountains are a critical open space for many communities in Los Angeles County that lack green space and suffer from health issues,” said Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, Los Angeles County, District 1.
“Los Angeles County is one of the most densely populated areas in the nation and millions of our region’s residents have limited access to the outdoors,” said Belén Bernal, Executive Director, Nature for All. “This is one of the few places Angelenos can go to enjoy the outdoors close to home.”
In addition to the proposed monument expansion, the legislation from Rep. Chu, the San Gabriel Mountains Protection Act designates over 31,000 acres as protected Wilderness and over 45 miles of Wild and Scenic rivers throughout the San Gabriel range. Sen. Padilla’s bill, the PUBLIC Lands Act , includes the same protections for the San Gabriel Mountains, as well as proposed protections for public lands and rivers in the Central Coast and Northwest California. Vice President Kamala Harris previously championed legislation to protect these special areas when she served as California’s Senator.
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