Page 2 - usfs_sangabriels2014_faq

the community, with particular importance on are also areas of high ecological significance,
clean water, clean air, wildlife habitat, and ensuring
there are accessible public lands protected from
development for children to play and experience
nature. (Source: http://tinyurl.com/kxz2v4f)
Over the past decade, elected officials have initiated
and Congress has approved two studies of the area
to assess the way the open space should be
protected and managed in the future and to
determine how to achieve additional recognition,
resources and special designation to enhance
recreational opportunities for the area.
Why does the San Gabriel Mountains
area warrant designation as a
national monument?
Designation as a national monument recognizes
the area’s important geological, ecological, historic,
scientific and recreational resources.
The monument’s history is rich. In addition to
important Native American and European sites
and features, this monument has an equally
impressive array of 20th and 21st century scientific
and cultural achievements. There are more than
600 archeological sites within the monument.
Notably, two Native American rock art sites are
listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Beginning in the late 1800s, recreation became
popular in the area, which has since served as a
natural “back lot” to many Hollywood
productions.
The monument area also has a strong scientific
history. Mount Wilson Observatory is
internationally known as the place where notable
scientists such as Edwin Hubble and Albert
Einstein conducted research or visited. Established
in 1933, the San Dimas Experimental Forest is the
only such forest in southern California and has a
long history as a research site in the fields of
hydrology and ecology.
The rivers of the San Gabriel Mountains National
Monument not only provide drinking water, but
supporting rare populations of native fish, animals
and plants. The monument is also home to iconic
species including the California condor, California
spotted owl, Nelson’s bighorn sheep and 1,000-
year-old limber pines.
Vegetation communities, including chaparral and
oak woodland, represent a portion of the rare
Mediterranean ecosystem found in only 3 percent
of the world. The monument also provides suitable
habitat for 52 Forest Service Sensitive Plants and as
many as 300 California-endemic species, including
Pierson’s lupine and San Gabriel bedstraw, that
grow only in the San Gabriel range.
In addition to the enormous wildland and
watershed conservation values, a major benefit of
creating a national monument will be to vastly
enhance recreational access and interpretative and
environmental education for millions of visitors.
The San Gabriel Mountains area, specifically the
Angeles National Forest, provides more than 70
percent of the open space and nearly one-third of
the drinking water for Los Angeles County.
Will the Forest Service manage the
monument?
Yes. The agency will capitalize on the opportunity to
further protect the resources and engage in
watershed conservation while creating new and
innovative ways to reconnect one of the largest U.S.
urban area to the great outdoors. As always, the