Protecting and Preserving Open Space Throughout Our Communities

In 2014, President Obama came to the Frank Bonelli Regional Park in the San Gabriel Mountains and signed an executive order making the mountains a national monument, adding it to the more than 150 national monuments created since the Antiquities Act was passed in 1906.

The mountains have more than 600 archaeologically and culturally significant sites, rare animal and fish species, and scientific sites, like the Mt. Wilson Observatory. The Antiquities Act, a law intended to provide permanent protection, has long been a crucial tool for preserving our lands and historic sites for future generations.

Unfortunately, however, the fate of the Antiquities Act is now in question. President Trump just significantly reduced the size of two national monuments in Utah – Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante – by two million acres. These monuments have over 100,000 objects of archeological, historical and scientific importance, and eliminating the monument designation protections for much of the land will open it up for use by private industry with short-term, profit-driven goals. What is now beautiful, open and pristine land may be soon destroyed by mining, oil and gas extraction and logging. Such destruction cannot be undone.

The negative consequences of this decision extend far beyond Utah – it could set a dangerous precedent for the future. The Antiquities Act very explicitly gives the president the authority to designate national monuments, but it does not give the explicit authority to shrink or eliminate existing national monuments. That authority, many legal experts argue, lies only with Congress.

Several lawsuits have been filed against the President’s unprecedented reversal. Plaintiffs, including Native American tribes, recreation interests, paleontological, archaeological, and historical organizations, and environmental conservation groups, are seeking an injunction to prevent the land reduction from taking effect. I hope the plaintiffs’ lawsuits are successful. If they fail, this decision will set an immensely damaging precedent for national monuments across the country, including, potentially, the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument.

If the decision stands, how many more monuments could be downsized? Eliminated entirely? I fear national monument designations will become yet another bargaining chip in political negotiations, rather than an earnest effort to preserve the beauty and sanctity of our national heritage.

I am working with my colleagues in California and across the country to save our open space. Many of us in the Los Angeles delegation have banded together to cosponsor a resolution highlighting the importance of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument to our local community and the nation, and we will fight any attempt to reverse protection of the San Gabriels.

I am also working to protect our beautiful natural spaces without employing the national monument designation. For nearly two decades, I have worked to expand the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to include the Rim of the Valley Corridor, which includes the Simi Hills, Santa Susana Mountains, Verdugo Mountains, San Gabriel Mountain foothills, and Griffith Park. This fall, Senator Feinstein and I introduced the Rim of the Valley Corridor Preservation Act, which would do just that. I am pleased that the bill has received such broad support. The bill would be a “soft touch” in favor of conservation – it would not restrict usage of any privately owned land. Instead, it would provide lands within the boundary extra resources in order to facilitate conservation and outdoor recreation.

We have a duty to preserve our natural heritage, and we must continue to protect our wilderness areas for generations to come.