NATIONAL MONUMENTS: Obama to designate 350K acres of Calif. mountains -- report
Phil Taylor, E&E reporter
E&E PM: Wednesday, October 8, 2014
President Obama plans to announce Friday the designation of a national monument protecting about 350,000 acres of the San Gabriel Mountains outside of Los Angeles, according to a Los Angeles Times report.
The designation, which would be among Obama's largest and the second to preserve Forest Service lands, will help protect the area from overcrowding and pollution, the paper reported.
An email to two White House officials was not returned this afternoon.
The monument designation would mark Obama's 13th use of the Antiquities Act, the 1906 law that allows presidents to unilaterally set aside federal lands from oil and gas, mineral development and other threats to natural and cultural treasures.
Like all of the roughly dozen monuments Obama has declared, the San Gabriels are in a state that voted for him in 2012 (E&E Daily, May 23).
The move is supported locally, but the monument proposal has had detractors in San Bernardino County and is likely to be met by loud Republican criticism in Congress. The monument borders were pared back to assuage concerns in San Bernardino, the Times reported.
News of the monument drew immediate praise from the Wilderness Society, Pew Charitable Trusts, Conservation Lands Foundation and Sierra Club as well as the mayors of Los Angeles and El Monte, which is in the San Gabriel Valley.
Sam Goldman, California director for CLF, said the monument will improve recreation, access and visitor services in an area heavily used by urban residents. "This national monument will be an important step forward in reconnecting Americans of all backgrounds with the outdoors," he said in a statement.
The designation would preserve roughly half the 600,000 acres that five House Democrats from California in August urged Obama to protect. Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), who was among the five, in June introduced H.R. 4858 to establish the 615,245-acre San Gabriel National Recreation Area.
"I am proud to have received broad support from local leaders and governments on this proposal," Chu said in a Monday statement, citing support from water districts, state elected officials, colleagues in Congress, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune and outdoor enthusiasts.
The Times reported that about 150 people Monday protested against a national monument in front of Chu's Pasadena office, raising concerns over a lack of local input and substantive concerns over harm to private property rights, flood control and emergency services like wildfire suppression.
The Times' editorial board yesterday endorsed the monument, saying the range accounts for 70 percent of Los Angeles County's open space and draws more than 3 million recreational visitors a year, despite a lack of funding.
Monument proponents say a designation would add protection against mineral leasing and commercial development in the mountains, protect rare species, including the California condor and Nelson's bighorn sheep, and focus federal resources to add more rangers, improve recreational parking and prevent litter.
But a monument would not in itself allocate new federal funding or human resources to improve recreation. That would require an act of Congress or a decision by federal officials to allocate more of their budgets to the mountains.
Chu told the Times that the Obama administration "assured me that the mountains will get the additional resources they desperately need. Those resources could come in the form of an additional ranger, or a budget increase for the Forest Service."
Obama has pledged to use the Antiquities Act more often in the face of congressional inaction on dozens of conservation bills.
House Republicans passed a bill this year to require the White House to perform an environmental review before declaring monuments. Critics argue that Obama is abusing the law for political gain.
