National park service - national recreation area study

Concerned about the lack of open space and parkland in her district and region, in 2003 then Congresswoman Hilda Solis (current Secretary of Labor) incorporated language into federal legislation to instruct the National Park Service (NPS) to conduct a study to determine if the San Gabriel Mountains, Watershed, and River area was worthy of protection and inclusion as a new National Recreation Area. The Draft Report, now circulating deems the area worthy of inclusion in the National Park System.

Quick Facts

• In 2003, then Congresswoman Hilda Solis spearheaded an effort to bring more recreational opportunities and protected open space to the eastern Los Angeles Basin through a formal National Park Service Special Resource Study to see if the area is suitable for possible inclusion in the National Park System.
• The NPS undertook an analysis of the region’s resources and developed an extensive outreach program to solicit public input.
• Comments on their draft study are due on January 9th, 2012.
• Once a Final Study is released in the spring of 2012 and the report is sent to Congress, Congress must enact enabling legislation.
  

Status

• The NPS is nearing the end of the seven step study process and is finishing up its public outreach meetings to receive input on the Draft Report. Comments on the Draft Document are due January 9th.
• Conservation groups are supporting Alternative D which includes the western portion of the Puente-Chino Hills. The boundary for the new National Recreation Area would end at Harbor Boulevard and Fullerton Road despite the fact that most of the walnut woodlands which warrant attention lie east of this road. Neither of the two major landowners, Aera Energy and the City of Industry, want to be included and their lands have therefore been omitted.
• Congressman Gary Miller who represents the area has been an opponent of protecting the Wildlife Corridor and also does not support the National Recreation Area.
• HFE is suggesting that if either of these lands east of the current proposed boundary eventually becomes protected, that if the new land owners wish to be included, the NPS be allowed to incorporate them into the NRA as an administrative act rather than requiring an Act of Congress.

Resource Values at risk

• Connectivity
  The backbone of hills in Puente-Chino Hills Wildlife Corridor is a still functioning ecosystem. Connection to other larger open spaces such as the San Gabriel Mountains can help ensure its continued functionality.
  
  
• Includes Rare Habitats
  The property contains the threatened coastal sage scrub and walnut woodlands not represented or protected elsewhere in the National Park System.
  
  
• Contains Critical Habitat
  A number of rare and endangered species live in coastal scrub habitats including the endangered California gnatcatcher.

Project History

• As a California State Senator Hilda Solis in the late 1990s, Senator Solis worked in a bipartisan way to help save the Coal Canyon Biological Corridor and help ensure the health of the Puente Chino Hills Wildlife Corridor.
• Convinced of the value and need for open space for the quality of life of her constituents she continued to advocate for more recreational space when she was elected to Congress.
• In a cooperative fashion, a Republican House of Representatives passed legislation (117 STAT. 840 PUBLIC LAW 108–42—JULY 1, 2003, Public Law 108–42 108th Congress) to instruct the National Park Service to undertake the study.
• This study has been underway since 2005 with numerous alternatives proposed and numerous opportunities for public input.
• In studies like this, a proposed addition to the National Park System receives a favorable recommendation from the National Park Service only if it meets all of the following criteria:
  • it possesses nationally significant natural or cultural resources;
  • it is a suitable addition to the system;
  • it is a feasible addition to the system; and
  • it requires direct NPS management, instead of alternative protection by other public agencies or the private sector.
• Our area has met these established standards and so the NPS has recommended this area as worthy of inclusion in the National Park system similar to that afforded to residents on the west side of Los Angeles as the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

NPS Study Area - Alternative D (109 KB- PDF)

NPS Study Area - Alternative D Map (Detailed) (1 MB - PDF)