California Democrats have asked President Joe Biden to issue a presidential proclamation under the Antiquities Act of 1906, avoiding Congress, in hopes of adding 109,167 acres to the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument that’d help preserve an area with much historical and ecological significance. 

Under law, presidents are allowed to create national monuments on federal land to protect “objects of historic and scientific interest.”

California lawmakers Rep. Judy Chu and Sen. Alex Padilla asked Biden in a June 8 letter to expand wilderness protections to the mountains and foothills that north of the Los Angeles Basin, an hour drive from the city. 

“For Angelenos, the San Gabriel Mountains have been a lifelong connection to nature,” said Padilla.“For many low-income families in the Los Angeles area, this is the only access they have to green space and educational and health benefits that come with it. And it is critical that we protect these public lands to promote environmental justice in our communities.”

The move would expand the monument by almost a third, and extend the monument’s boundaries to nearby San Fernando Valley neighborhoods, as well as give the U.S. Forest Service larger authority to protect natural resources and manage crowds in areas not in the 2014 monument designation by then-President Obama.

If granted, this would be the fourth time that Biden has used his authority to establish or expand a national monument without congressional approval. 

Padilla and Chu decided to act swiftly after the Republican-controlled House of Representatives seemed unwilling to approve a package of conservation bills that’d expand the monument as well as create 31,000 acres of new wilderness areas and add 45.5 miles to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers system.

“Sadly, the problem comes down to the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, which is trying to shrink environmental protections,” Padilla said. 

“Our request would establish better protection for more areas of the San Gabriel Mountains for conservation and improve public access to a range that has served as a glorious backdrop to the downtown L.A. skyline in countless advertising campaigns and postcards,” he said. 

The expansion however would not come with any new or additional government funds for managing and maintaining the monument, with advocates hoping funds can come from public and private donations and from adjusting the Forest Service budget.

“The monument is not a national park, but by most estimates it meets the requirements for that level of attention,” said Belén Bernal, executive director of Nature for All, a coalition of environmental and community groups that has fought for more parks. 

The San Gabriel Mountains make up for 70% of L.A. County’s open space, according to the Nature For All coalition. 

The area of canyons, slopes and waterfalls are home to 22 species of rare and endangered species of plants and animals including the San Gabriel River dudleya, Nelson’s bighorn sheep, mountain yellow-legged frogs, western pond turtles, Santa Ana suckers, tricolored blackbirds and California condors. 

Despite the rich historical and ecological benefits of the monument, the area has in recent times become more susceptible to fires, crowds, vandalism, drug deals, car burglaries, trash, illegal campfires as well as emergency rescues.

The proposal from the California lawmakers would be another legislative win for the Biden administration that has pledged to safeguard Indigenous, cultural and environmental sites under its “America the Beautiful” initiative, which seeks to conserve and connect 30% of the nation’s lands and water by 2030.

Native Americans and officials led by Chu and Padilla came together at Eaton Canyon Nature Center on Monday morning in Pasadena to publicly call on the president to act. 

“From increased access to nature for underserved communities, to protecting the source of one-third of L.A. County’s drinking water, our region’s economy, health and environment will extensively improve from such a designation by the president,” Chu said.

“I hope that President Biden will recognize the importance of these lands.”