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San Gabriel Mountains

Rep. Chu stood with President Obama as he declared the San Gabriel Mountains a National Monument.


The Los Angeles area is one of the most park poor regions of the country. Too many of our communities – especially low-income communities - lack the resources for residents to walk, jog, bike or picnic in their own neighborhoods. This is why I have fought to bring federal resources to our region to maintain outdoor spaces that can be experienced by residents and visitors.

Establishing & Expanding the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument
In October 2014, President Obama acted on my call for permanent protection for the San Gabriel Mountains and declared 346,000 acres as a national monument. As a result of the monument designation, we saw new staff, more signage, and more resources, including graffiti and trash removal, go into the protected areas. In fact, as a direct result of the designation, the Monument received $6.5 million in federal funding along with $4 million in philanthropic donations. This was a critical step towards making our treasured mountains, rivers, and forests a national priority. But we still have work to do to ensure the entirety of the San Gabriel Mountains are protected.

I have called on President Biden to use his authorities under the Antiquities Act to expand the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument to include over 100,000 acres in the western Angeles National Forest.

Expanding Wilderness Protection
In order to further protect these treasured lands, I introduced the San Gabriel Mountains Protection Act, which would expand the National Monument to the western Angeles National Forest, and designate over 30,000 acres of protected wilderness and 45.5 miles of protected rivers. The 30,000 acres of new and expanded wilderness areas in the mountains will benefit from the highest form of protection of any federal wildland. These areas of untouched nature will remain open to hiking, camping, and other recreation activities encouraged in the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, but commercial activities and motorized vehicles will be prohibited in order to preserve these pristine lands for generations to come.