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Leaders urge President Biden to expand the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument

June 27, 2023

With the picturesque San Gabriel Mountains in the backdrop, local and national leaders converged on Eaton Canyon Nature Center in Pasadena on Monday, June 26, to urge President Joe Biden to expand the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument an additional 109,000 acres to the west.

“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, D-Pasadena, who was joined by several elected leaders at all levels. “I’m so grateful to the diverse, vibrant group of leaders of this more than 20-year movement to protect the San Gabriel Mountains, and I hope that President Biden will recognize the importance of these lands by designating the western Angeles National Forest as part of the National Monument. “

The call for an expanded monument included U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla; Rep. Tony Cardenas, D-Panorama City; L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger; Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo; and Tongva Gabrieleno Chief Anthony Morales.

They called on the Biden administration to make use of the Antiquities Act, a 1906 law that allows the president to designate federal public lands, waters, and cultural and historical sites as national monuments via Presidential Proclamation.

With his 8-year-old son Diego and their dog Taco Senator Alex Padilla and Congresswoman Judy Chu call on the Biden administration to expand the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument by nearly 110,000 acres during a press conference at Eaton Canyon Nature Center in Pasadena on Monday, June 26, 2023. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

With his 8-year-old son Diego and their dog Taco Senator Alex Padilla and Congresswoman Judy Chu along with other officials and community members call on the Biden administration to expand the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument by nearly 110,000 acres during a press conference at Eaton Canyon Nature Center in Pasadena on Monday, June 26, 2023. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

President Barack Obama speaks at Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park in San Dimas on Friday, Oct. 10, 2014. Obama designated the nearly 350,000 acres within the San Gabriel Mountains northeast of Los Angeles a national monument. (File photo by Stan Lim, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

A man hikes Summitridge Park Trail in Diamond Bar on a pleasant Saturday, March 18, 2023, with the snow-capped San Gabriel Mountains in the distance. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

A couple hike along Gabrielino Trail at the Switzer Picnic area on Friday, June 2, 2023. More visitors are making the Angeles National Forest their destination. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

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The move would add-in regions of the western Angeles National Forest – from the Placerita Canyon Nature Center in the northwest, southwest to the Monrovia area — that were not included in the original 346,177 acres of federal land designated as a national monument by then-President Barack Obama in 2014.

The proposed expansion area is considered the “gateway” to the Angeles National Forest, making it one of the most visited parts of the forest.

“For Angelenos, the San Gabriel Mountains have been a lifelong connection to nature,” Padilla said. “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.”

Padilla said an order by the president would fulfill the “complete vision of permanently protecting the San Gabriel Mountains and all of their natural wonders.”

In May, both Padilla and Chu introduced legislation that would expand the San Gabriel Mountain National Monument, with Padilla’s PUBLIC Lands Act protecting more than 1 million acres of public land in California, and incorporating provisions of Chu’s San Gabriel Mountains Protection Act, which expands the monument by 109,00 acres, designates 31,000 acres as new or expanded wilderness areas, and adds 45.5 miles to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

On June 8, they sent sent a letter to the White House urging the administration to take executive action and outlining the roadblocks similar bills faced in previous attempts to expand the monument, clearing the House five times in the last three years without ultimately being passed.

“As hopeful we are, we also have to be realistic,” Padilla said. “There’s a Republican majority in the House of Representatives that’s not giving us too much hope that we can get it done legislatively this year.”

Democratic presidents have long argued designating large swaths of land is needed to protect certain areas. Obama himself, propelled by an effort led by Chu and also a Republican-led House of Representatives, used the Antiquities Act in 2014 to do what two members of Congress and thousands of supporters could not do during the 11 years prior to his signature.

And even then, the designation did not come without controversy.

At the time, more than 150 protesters held signs in front of the park where Obama signed his executive order, saying they did not want the federal government to impose its will on the land or on its people. The bone of contention stems from the president’s use of the Antiquities Act, first used by President Teddy Roosevelt.

Last year, the state of Utah and two Republican-leaning rural counties sued the Biden administration over the president’s decision last year to restore two sprawling national monuments on rugged lands sacred to Native Americans that former President Donald Trump had downsized. Trump’s decision opened parts of the monuments up for mining, drilling and other development.

In the Utah lawsuit, plaintiffs argued the Biden administration interpreted the Antiquities Act in an overly broad manner and disregarded its original intent: protecting particular historical or archaeological sites. It cites provisions of the act that say designations should encompass “the smallest area compatible” with preservation goals.

Supporters of an expanded San Gabriel Mountains National Monument say the expansion will help address the climate and biodiversity crises by protecting important habitat and wildlife corridors for black bears, mountain lions, coyotes, bighorn sheep, and mule deer, as well as contribute to state and federal goals to conserve 30% of public lands and waters by 2030.

“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 for nonprofit environmental coalition Nature for All. “We know that lack of access to nature has negative health implications and is linked to higher rates of obesity and diabetes. That’s why it is so important that we ensure the permanent protection of the San Gabriel Mountains. This is one of the few places Angelenos can go to enjoy the outdoors close to home.”

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The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Orange County Register

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Leaders urge President Biden to expand the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument

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