The San Gabriel Mountains National Monument is a
United States National Monument
In the United States, a national monument is a protected area that can be created from any land owned or controlled by the federal government by proclamation of the President of the United States or an act of Congress. National monuments pr ...
managed by the
U.S. Forest Service, which encompasses parts of the
Angeles National Forest
The Angeles National Forest (ANF) of the United States Forest Service, U.S. Forest Service is located in the San Gabriel Mountains and Sierra Pelona Mountains, primarily within Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County in southern Calif ...
and the
San Bernardino National Forest
The San Bernardino National Forest is a United States National Forest in Southern California encompassing of which are federal. The forest is made up of two main divisions, the eastern portion of the San Gabriel Mountains and the San Bernard ...
in California. On October 10, 2014, President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
used his authority under the
Antiquities Act
The Antiquities Act of 1906 (, , ), is an act that was passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906. This law gives the President of the United States the authority to, by presidential procla ...
to create the new monument, protecting 346,177 acres of public lands in the
San Gabriel Mountains
The San Gabriel Mountains ( es, Sierra de San Gabriel) are a mountain range located in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Tr ...
of the
Transverse Ranges
The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie within Santa B ...
.
The effort to protect the San Gabriel Mountains began more than a century earlier, in 1891 with another U.S. President,
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...
, the 23rd president, using a congressional act, to designate and delineate the first federal protection in the United States of forested lands, using the same mountain range name, as the
San Gabriel Timberland Reserve. Two earlier California conservationists,
Abbot Kinney and
John Muir
John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks", was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist, a ...
, influenced President
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...
.
Geography
![Telegraph Peak](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Telegraph_Peak.jpg)
The monument covers the central and northern regions of the San Gabriel Mountains, extending west to east from Upper Sand Canyon at Little Tujunga Canyon Road to
Telegraph Peak Telegraph Peak may refer to:
* Telegraph Peak (California)
* Telegraph Peak (Lander County, Nevada)
{{place name disambiguation ...
. It contains the
Sheep Mountain Wilderness
Sheep Mountain Wilderness is a wilderness area of within the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and managed by the Angeles National Forest. It is within Los Angeles County and San Bernardino County, southern California.
The U.S. Congress ...
, the
San Gabriel Wilderness
The San Gabriel Wilderness is a wilderness area created in 1968 of more than 36,118 acres (150 km2) within the Angeles National Forest and San Gabriel Mountains National Monument.
The area lies on the southern slopes of the San Gabriel Mou ...
, and Pleasant View Ridge Wilderness. Most of the major peaks of the San Gabriels are within the limits of the monument, including
Mount San Antonio
Mount San Antonio, commonly referred to as Mount Baldy or Old Baldy, is a summit in the San Gabriel Mountains on the border of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties of California. Lying within the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and ...
,
Mount Baden-Powell
Mount Baden-Powell () is a peak in the San Gabriel Mountains of California named for the founder of the World Scouting Movement, Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell. It was officially recognized by the USGS at a dedication ceremony in 1 ...
, and
Throop Peak
Throop Peak ( ) is a peak of the San Gabriel Mountains, in the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and Angeles National Forest, in Los Angeles County, California.
The high peak provides views of both the Mojave Desert and the Los Angele ...
. The
Silver Moccasin Trail
The Silver Moccasin Trail is a trail located in the San Gabriel Mountains, northeast of Los Angeles. It begins at Chantry Flat Recreation Area above the city of Arcadia, California, traversing upward and down through several canyons and along the ...
lies within the monument. The monument only covers a limited portion of the range's western extent, and much of the southern portion of the range has been excluded from the monument. It does not contain the
Cucamonga Peak
Cucamonga Peak is one of the highest peaks of the San Gabriel Mountains in San Bernardino County, California, with a summit elevation of . It is within the Cucamonga Wilderness of the San Bernardino National Forest.
It is named after the 19th-ce ...
region.
[USFS Map](_blank)
broken link)
Monument history
The movement to further preserve the
San Gabriel Mountains
The San Gabriel Mountains ( es, Sierra de San Gabriel) are a mountain range located in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Tr ...
began in 2003 when then Congresswoman
Hilda Solis
Hilda Lucia Solis (; born October 20, 1957) is an American politician and a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for the 1st district. Solis previously served as the 25th United States Secretary of Labor from 2009 to 2013, as par ...
initiated an environmental feasibility report to see if it was possible to increase protection by National Monument designation.
[ (broken link)]
Establishment of the National Monument
![Obama declares San Gabriel Mountains a National Monument](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Obama_declares_San_Gabriel_Mountains_a_National_Monument.jpg)
The National Monument was established on October 10, 2014, by
proclamation
A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...
of President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
under the
Antiquities Act
The Antiquities Act of 1906 (, , ), is an act that was passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906. This law gives the President of the United States the authority to, by presidential procla ...
. More than 15 million people live within 90 minutes of the San Gabriel Mountains, which provides 70 percent of the
open space for Angeleños and 30 percent of their
drinking water
Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...
. Polling indicated that 80 percent of Los Angeles County voters supported the proposed protection of the San Gabriel Mountains and rivers.
The creation of the monument was in response to decades of input and support from the local community demanding greater
environmental protection
Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair dam ...
s for the heavily touristed region. There have been longstanding concerns about pollution and vandalism in the region's subalpine forests and watersheds.
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
and
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
groups also advocated for protecting the public lands in the San Gabriel Mountains as an opportunity to protect access to open space and outdoor recreation as a way to counter the shortage of parks and open space in
Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...
which they claim has contributed to high childhood obesity rates.
The Obama administration cited the presence of endangered species, important cultural resources, and the threat of unreliable funding for management and encroaching development as the proximal reasons for the establishment of the monument. In addition, all existing rights-of-way continue to be honored and existing recreational activities — such as hiking, camping, fishing and cycling — will be unaffected.
Local officials, including Los Angeles Mayor
Eric Garcetti
Eric Michael Garcetti (born February 4, 1971) is an American politician who served as the 42nd mayor of Los Angeles from 2013 until 2022. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was first elected in the 2013 Los An ...
, cheered the news along with Hispanic, recreation, and conservation groups.
Its establishment faced limited opposition from local residents. To alleviate concerns, the extent of the monument does not cover most of the southern slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains, and excludes towns in the region.
See also
*
*
References
External links
San Gabriel Mountains National Monument at fs.fed.usU.S. Forest Service: detailed map of San Gabriel Mountains National MonumentRemarks by the President at Designation of the San Gabriel Mountains as a National Monument
{{Authority control
National Monuments in California
*
Protected areas of Los Angeles County, California
*
.
United States Forest Service National Monuments
National Monuments designated by Barack Obama
Protected areas established in 2014
2014 establishments in California