The Origin
President Obama used his authority under the Antiquities Act to sign an executive order on October 10, 2014 that designated the San Gabriel Mountains national monument . San Gabriel Mountains Forever was proud to be there the day Obama signed the order. The celebration came after working for more than 10 years on collaborating with a diverse network of organizations, agencies, businesses, elected officials, and residents to secure protections and improvements to the region. (More the Antiquities Act: The Wilderness Society; Modern Hiker)
The Threat
President Trump signed an executive order on April 26, 2017 to review the national monument designations made since 1996. (More on the news: San Gabriel Valley Tribune). The Department of Interior announced they would open up a public comment period to review the status of those monuments designated under the Antiquities Act. SGMF and its member organizations collected thousands of signatures to our letter and addition comments of support for the national monument.
The Moves to Protect It
We are defending it. LA County Supervisors approved a motion, introduced by Supervisor Hilda Solis, on May 2, 2017, requesting support and legislation from the Los Angeles County’s congressional delegation to protect the monument status.
“Many community organizations and advocates were instrumental to the appointment of the Mountains as a National Monument. We cannot have decades of hard work signed away with a stroke of a pen.” — Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis
California Attorney General wrote a letter to the Interior Department in which he vowed “to take any and all legal action necessary” to preserve six California monuments,” including our San Gabriel Mountains.
On the anniversary of the Antiquities Act on June 8, 2017, the California State Assembly passed a joint resolution urging the President, the Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior, and the Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture to protect our federal public lands.
The Move to Expand It
We are also working to expand the monument area and provide Angelenos with a National Recreation Area (NRA). On May 4, 2017, Congresswoman Judy Chu re-introduced the San Gabriel Mountains Foothills and Rivers Protection Act; cosponsors of the bill: Congresswoman Grace Napolitano, Congressman Adam Schiff, Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, and Congressman Tony Cardenas.
“The designation of the San Gabriel Mountains as a national monument has already brought incredible dividends to our area, increasing access, safety, and trash clean up and creating more trails and services. By expanding the National Monument to include the western portions of the Angeles National Forest and establishing a National Recreation Area (NRA) along the foothills and San Gabriel River corridor, we can take this progress further by completing the vision of a city seamlessly and sustainably connected to its mountains, and mountains that are accessible for all.” – Congresswoman Judy Chu
The Next Steps
You can help us fighting for the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument!
- Thank you to all our supporters who signed our letter online and added your own comments and those who signed our postcards at events across Los Angeles. (See a sample of great comments we collected.)
- We will continue to collect video selfies for a short film we’re making about why we need the national monument.
Nature for All 