Words of the Wild

The Sierra Club is part of the Nature For All Coalition which works  to ensure that all Angelenos no matter where they live have equal access to the San Gabriel Mountains which are two thirds of LA’s open space and serve as the backyard more than 17 million people. For over 10 years we have been working on ensuring protection for the San Gabriel Mountains and we had a big win in 2014 with the declaration of the San Gabriel Mountains a National Monument by President Obama. In April of this year we celebrated a huge win with the reintroduction of the San Gabriel Mountains, Foothills and River Protection Act by Congresswoman Judy Chu and at the same time the introduction of a Senate companion billby Senator Kamala Harris.

 

Both of these bills will protect wild lands, open space and rivers and improve recreation opportunities in Los Angeles County.

 

The San Gabriel Mountains and our National Monument also play a vital role in mitigating climate change impacts already being seen on lands, as well as provide us with an opportunity to improve land management, land protection and restoration to address the climate crisis. Our public lands play an essential role in drawing down and storing carbon dioxide pollution from the atmosphere. 

 

Building and mobilizing the next generation of environmental stewards is extremely important to achieve our goal of a National Recreation Area in the San Gabriels but it is also in our collective resilience and adaptation to climate change. It will be the next generation that will experience the long term impacts of climate change and will be tasked with achieving a sustainable and a world free of carbon emissions and with 100% green renewable energy.  

 

For over the last four years we have been educating, agitating and organizing communities in Los Angeles to connect to our nearby public lands and advocate for greater and equal access to the outdoors. Our work has also brought in more diverse and young individuals to the Sierra Club by working with the Forest Committee, the Local Chapter Central group and the Local Chapter Outdoors Team including the Wilderness Travel Course.  

 

Our nation’s public lands — whether they are iconic national treasures or local parks — should mirror the greatness of America, embody the spirit of our people, and play an important role in mitigating climate change impacts. It’s for those reasons that we absolutely need to engage diverse communities in order to ensure that all Americans can feel a sense of ownership and pride in their contribution to our nation’s public lands for generations to come.