May 3, 2024
President Obama established the 346,000-acre San Gabriel Mountains National Monument almost a decade ago. On March 3rd, President Biden expanded the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument by another 106,000 acres, protecting two-thirds of the 700,000-acre Angeles National Forest. The President acted under the authority of the Antiquities Act, which allows him to protect important scientific, cultural, ecological, and historical resources on federal public lands.
The expansion section is now part of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument.
Map credit: Nature for all.
Local Sierra Club members were jubilant. “It took ten years of organizing, but today we can celebrate another victory for our magnificent backyard national forest,” said Juana Torres, Chair of the Angeles Chapter’s Forest Committee. “We still need additional protections for the 200,000 acres of Angeles National Forest north of Santa Clarita. But today, we can celebrate and appreciate how far we have come.”
Rep. Judy Chu (D-Pasadena) and California Senator Alex Padilla have been major elected champions of the expansion. “For Angelenos, the San Gabriel Mountains have been a lifelong connection to nature,” said California Senator Padilla. “For many low-income families in the Los Angeles area, this is the only access to green space and the health benefits that come with it.”
The Los Angeles National Forest, including the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, is an oasis of the wild adjacent to 18 million people. The Angeles National Forest covers 23% of Los Angeles County’s land area. It provides 70% of the county’s open space and much of its drinking water. Last year, attendance topped 4.6 million visitors, more than Yosemite National Park or Yellowstone.
The 106,000-acre expansion of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument will cover forest areas east and south of Santa Clarita and areas north of foothill communities from Sylmar east to Azusa. The expansion added well-known areas like Chantry Flats, Echo Mountain, Switzer Falls, and the Gabrielino Trail. The newly expanded monument includes the historic Mount Lowe Railway, which opened in 1893 and brought residents from Pasadena and other nearby areas to the top of Echo Mountain.
Newly expanded San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and the Proposed Northern Angeles National Monument.
Credit: John Monsen from Google Maps.
The remaining section of the Angeles National Forest that still needs protection through a national monument designation is located north of Santa Clarita (see map), between I-5 and CA-14. The Northern Angeles National Forest is a biodiversity hotspot and a hub of wildlife corridors.
This section of our backyard forest holds cultural significance with artifacts of Indigenous Peoples who lived here for thousands of years. Their stories must also be told, and their sacred sites must be preserved. This section of forest features impressive views of the area’s magnificent canyons and complex geology influenced by the San Andreas Fault.
This area is also a microcosm of Southern California history, featuring the culture and artifacts from the Fernando Band of Tataviam Mission Indians, the historic Ridge Route, the Pacific Crest Trail, a section of the California Aqueduct, and the cautionary tale of water that destroyed St. Francis Dam. This potential future monument will be modeled after the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument.
“As we celebrate the monument expansion, we are getting ready for the final step in upgrading protection for the Angeles National Forest, “ said Sandra Cattell, Chair of the Santa Clarita Group and Forest Committee Member, “ We need to build the same level of support for the Northern Angeles as the Sierra Club, Nature for All, and others built for the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument.”
The effort to expand the monument and to add its northern neighbor benefits greatly from the long-time support of Sierra Club field staffer Rob Morales and Angeles Chapter staff Kim Orbe and Morgan Goodwin.
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John Monsen, an Angeles Chapter Executive Committee member, co-founded the Angeles Chapter Forest Committee 23 years ago. In 2022, he received the Sierra Club California Award for Public Lands Activism. Over the past two decades, he has spearheaded 25 environmental and equity campaigns, ranging from challenging the desert-damaging Cadiz water mining project to contributing to establishing the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. He has led chapter efforts with Charming Evelyn to diversify LA County water boards and add environmentally progressive voices.