Help Protect And Enjoy The San Gabriel Mountains

Photo Credit: Sierra Club The special resources study will make recommendations on how to better meet the public's recreational needs and protect the forest's natural and cultural resources. Above members of Church of the Epiphany in Los Angeles visiting the San Gabriel Mountains

Quietly, beneath the radar a congressional study is going forward that offers a once in a generation opportunity to bring in more resources to the Angeles National Forest to improve healthy, non-motorized recreation and better protect the forest's natural and cultural resources.

Based on legislation authored by former congresswoman and environmental champion Hilda Solis in 2003, the National Park Service is conducting a San Gabriel Watershed and Mountains Special Resource Study whose results will be presented to Congress in 2010. The study area includes most of the San Gabriel Mountains and watershed cities south from Glendora to Whittier.

The scope of the study is so sweeping that it could provide the impetus for creating a new vision for how the Angeles National Forest is managed by the Forest Service. The special resource study will make recommendations on how to better meet the public's recreational needs, restore natural resources and wildlife habitat, and improve water quality in the San Gabriel River. Moreover, the National Park Service may be able to add new resources to the equation to implement study recommendations in collaboration with the Forest Service.

The special resources study team released its draft proposals in early August and is seeking public comment in a series of five meetings that include the Glendora Public Library on the evening of Monday, September 14th. See the Take Action box below for information on how you can help out and make sure advocates for forest protection and the expansion of non-motorized recreational opportunities are well represented.

The Angeles National Forest is one of the top three most heavily used recreational forests in the United States and it is located next to the nation's second largest urban population, yet the Forest Service spends most of its annual budget on firefighting, not enhancing the visitor experience or protecting the resource. The Angeles Forest spends only about one dollar per visitor on law enforcement, educational materials, interpretive services, and visitor center management. According to figures supplied by the San Gabriel Mountains Forever Campaign, the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area spends 15 times more per visitor supporting education and recreation than does the Angeles Nation Forest.

The Forest Service acknowledged its own lack of resources to support recreation in the San Gabriel Mountains in a study it issued a few years back. This lack of resources in high use areas along the San Gabriel River north of Azusa leads to visitor experiences and water quality far from what they could be due to a lack of trash cans, restrooms, visitor education, and rangers. There are no education materials or signsâ€'let alone multilingual onesâ€'to let visitors know about the hiking and wilderness opportunities just a few miles away.

The San Gabriel Mountains special resource study promises to provide Congress with the rationale to improve the relationship between Angelenos and the historic mountains and rivers in their backyard. Not only could the study find ings form the basis for obtaining more recreational resources for the Angeles National Forest, it could also advocate for the expansion of wilderness protection to the remaining 100,000 plus acres of undeveloped back country eligible for designation as wilderness.

Volunteers from the Angeles Chapter's Forest Committee and the San Gabriel Mountains Forever Campaign will be at each of the public meetings hosted by the resource study team. Meetings will include a briefing on the study group's findings and draft recommendations starting at 7 p.m. sharp followed by an optional discussion period. Before you leave, be sure to fill out the very important public comment form to get your comments on the record. Sierra Club volunteers will provide you with model comments.

For more information, an analysis of its recommendations, and information on how you can help out visit the San Gabriel Mountains Forever website at http://www.sierraclub.org/CA/socalforests/index.asp or call Juana Torres at 213-387-6528 x226.

TAKE ACTION:
Please join us at one of the four upcoming meetings at 6:30 p.m. to sign-in and receive your briefing materials. Your comments on the special resource study will help the National Park Service and the Forest Service better manage the San Gabriel Mountains. This is once in a generation opportunity to better meet the public's recreational needs, restore natural resources and wildlife habitat, and improve water quality in the San Gabriel River.

For more information please visit this web address:
www.sierraclub.org/ca/socalforests

Glendora
Monday, September 14th
7pm - 9pm
Glendora Public Library
140 South Glendora Avenue

Palmdale
Tuesday, September 15th
7pm - 9pm
Larry Chimbole Cultural Center,
Lilac Room
38350 Sierra Highway