In an effort to extend wilderness protection to the mountains and foothills just north of the Los Angeles Basin, California Rep. Judy Chu and Sen.

ator

Alex Padilla has asked President Biden to add 109,167 acres to the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument in order to act, they say, to preserve an area rich in historical and environmental significance and within just

an hour’s drive from 18 million people.

The move would enlarge the monument by about a third and extend its boundaries to the back door of

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San Fernando Valley Neighborhoods

including if

Sylmar, Santa Clarita

,

and Pacoima. It would also give the U.S. Forest Service greater ability to protect natural resources and manage crowds in areas left out of 2014 monument status by then-President Obama.

From improved access to nature for underserved communities to protecting the source of one-third of LA County’s drinking water, our region’s economy, health and environment will be greatly improved by such a designation by the president,” said Chu (D Monterey Park).

“I hope that President Biden will recognize the importance of these countries,” she said.

In a June 8 letter to Biden, California Democrats asked the president to bypass Congress and

presidential

Proclamation under the Antiquities Act of 1906.

The law authorizes presidents to create national monuments on federal land to protect objects of historical and scientific importance.

The pair said the president had to act unilaterally because the Republican-controlled House of Representatives seemed unwilling to pass a package of conservation bills that would not only expand the monument, but also create 31,000 acres of new wilderness areas and 70.5 miles. add to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers system.

Unfortunately, the problem boils down to the Republican majority in the House of Representatives trying to shrink environmental protections, Padilla said.

Our request would help better protect more parts of the San Gabriel Mountains for conservation purposes and improve public access to an area that has served as a glorious backdrop to the skyline of downtown LA in countless ad campaigns and postcards.

he said to print in “Padilla”.

The proposed expansion would come with no new state funding for the management and maintenance of the monument, though proponents hope the money will come from public and private donations as well as adjusting the Forest Service budget.

The monument is not a national park, but by most estimates it meets the requirements for that level of attention, said Beln Bernal, executive director of Nature for All, a coalition of environmental and community groups that has long campaigned for more parks and safe outdoor spaces. . possibilities

in one of the largest metropolitan areas of the United States

.

After hiking above Eaton Canyon in Pasadena in 1877, John Muir described the San Gabriel Mountains as the place where Mother Nature is most rugged, thorny, and fierce.

The San Gabriel Mountains watershed extends from Santa Clarita to San Bernardino and provides Los Angeles County with 70% of its open space

,

and about 30% of the water.

The rugged canyons, rippled slopes, and waterfalls are home to 22 species of rare and endangered plant and animal species, including the San Gabriel River dudleya, Nelson’s bighorn sheep, yellow mountain frogs, western pond turtles, Santa Ana foothills, three-colored blackbirds, and California condors. Bigcone Douglas firs only grow in the mountains of Southern California.

The proposed 182-square-mile expansion would extend the boundaries of the monument southwest and include parts of Big Tujunga Creek, the Arroyo Seco, the upper Los Angeles River

,

and the upper Santa Clarita River.

The area includes Bear Divide, a slot in a ridge that overlooks the city of Santa Clarita and is used by thousands of migratory birds as they make their way from Central America to

S

the Arctic region.

But the region is also prone to fires and

Unpleasant

Crowds bringing vandalism, drug deals, car break-ins, trash, illegal campfires and emergency rescues.

If approved, the expansion would mark the fourth time Biden has used his executive powers to create or expand a national monument without congressional approval. He joins a long list of chief executives who see creating a monument as a way to cement their legacy and win over potential voters in an upcoming election year.

Presidents dating back to Theodore Roosevelt have invoked the Antiquities Act to bypass Congress to protect areas of historical or scientific interest. Critics say the tactic unreasonably restricts logging, grazing, mining or other activities, including rock gathering across large swathes of the west.

Of a total of 17 national monuments in California, only two were established by Congress: the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, in 2000, and the Saint Francis Dam Disaster National Monument, in 2019.

The proposal to expand the San Gabriel Mountains Memorial comes as the Biden administration has pledged to protect Indigenous, cultural and environmental sites as part of its America the Beautiful initiative, which aims to protect 30% of the world’s population by 2030. wants to preserve and connect the country’s land and water. But for John Monsen, a Sierra Club activist, it’s a step toward the dream of creating what he describes as an “arch of protection” stretching from Cajon Pass east to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Area in the west. Monday morning, the earthy scent of burning sage filled the air as Native Americans and officials led by Chu and Padilla gathered at Eaton Canyon Nature Center in Pasadena to publicly call for Biden to expand the monument. To that end, Ellie Morales Recalde, 10, of the San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians Gabrieleno/Tongva, helped lead a ceremony. Later, as officials prepared to leave, she stared up at the rocky slopes and said, It is important to protect these mountains because they are a place of natural beauty and healing. They are also our ancestral land, she said. The mountains and Gabrieleno Tongva are still there. survivors