President Biden To Approve San Gabriel Mountain National Monument Expansion

President Joe Biden is set to approve the expansion of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, adding nearly 106,000 acres to the existing 346,179-acre area. According to the Los Angeles Daily News , the expansion, which increases the monument's size by almost a third, has been widely praised by Indigenous leaders, politicians, conservationists, and community organizers.

The San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, located about 15 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, serves as a natural backyard for the Los Angeles Basin. The newly protected area extends the monument's boundaries to the edge of San Fernando Valley neighborhoods, including Sylmar and Lakeview Terrace, as well as the city of Santa Clarita.

The expansion is expected to provide more access to green spaces for communities of color that have historically lacked such access. The monument is within an hour's drive of 18 million people and attracts nearly 4.6 million visitors annually, more than Yosemite and Yellowstone national parks.

The expansion will also help preserve sacred and historic Indigenous cultural sites. Leaders of Indigenous groups, including the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians and the San Gabriel Band of Mission Indians Gabrieleno/Tongva, were part of the coalition that pushed for the expansion.

The federal government has committed to increasing funding and staffing for the monument, including hiring additional field rangers and visitor engagement positions. An investment of $2.3 million from the Great American Outdoors Act will be used to renovate barracks and provide other housing for National Forest staffers.

The expansion is set to take effect on Thursday (May 2).