Tuesday, July 11, 2023

L.A. County Board Backs Barger’s Motion Supporting Congressional Bill To Expand and Preserve the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument

Tuesday, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors unanimously backed a Supervisor Kathryn Barger motion in support of a congressional bill by Congresswoman Judy Chu to expand and preserve the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument.

The bill, called the San Gabriel Mountains Protection Act, aims to expand the borders of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument to include the western Angeles National Forest and designate over 30,000 acres of protected wilderness and 45.5 miles of protected rivers in Southern California.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger issued a statement saying, “The San Gabriel Mountains are an asset in the Fifth District that merit permanent protection so that the public can continue to connect with nature and access the respite it offers us all. In my district alone, the Public Lands Act would expand the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument by over 100,000 acres – a big feat.”

Senator Alex Padilla, Congresswoman Judy Chu, Congressman Tony Cardenas, Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo, and L.A. County Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger joined Native American leaders at an event held at foot of the San Gabriel Mountains in Eaton Canyon on Monday June 26 to call on President Joe Biden to add 109,000 acres of public lands to the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument.

Padilla and Chu are urging President Biden to issue a proclamation expanding the monument’s boundaries under the Antiquities Act of 1906. If approved, the new acreage would join approximately 346,177 acres of the San Gabriel Mountains that President Obama designated as a national monument in 2014. 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.

The bill was introduced into Congress on May 25, 2023.