Local elected officials and advocacy groups are buoyed by signals that President Joe Biden will sign a declaration expanding the 346,177-acre San Gabriel Mountains National Monument by one-third within the next few weeks.
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif. and Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena, who have bills stalled in Congress that expands the monument by adding 109,167 acres of federal forest land, while designating 30,000 acres of protected wilderness and adding 45.5 miles to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, reacted positively to a Washington Post report published on Thursday, April 11.
But neither legislator could confirm the story, which was sourced through two anonymous sources briefed on the topic. Representatives from Chu’s Office and Padilla’s office said on Thursday they had not received any word from the White House.
Padilla’s office has heard rumors from conservation groups, and some of those groups told the office that Biden himself may make it official during a future visit to California. The White House did not answer an inquiry by press time.
“The Biden Administration knows the value of protecting our public lands to combat climate change and ensure urban communities have access to the outdoors,” Padilla wrote in an emailed response. “I look forward to working with them to safeguard some of California’s most treasured natural landscapes, including in the San Gabriel Mountains, and ensure they are around for future generations of Angelenos to enjoy.”
In October 2014, President Barack Obama visited the Angeles National Forest near San Dimas to sign into existence the San Gabriel Mountains monument, using the power granted the executive branch by the Antiquities Act of 1906.
But in the nearly 10 years since then, Chu, Padilla and local environmental, tribal and veterans groups have lobbied to include the most-used trails in the southwestern part of the Angeles National Forest in the monument. Many today say Biden should complete…
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