"Given the tremendous growth in Southern California, it is crucial that we create a lasting legacy of nearby natural open space for our children - and their children - to enjoy."
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) testified today at a House Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands hearing in support of his legislation, the Rim of the Valley Corridor Study Act (H.R. 704). Anthony Portantino, a representative of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and member of the La Canada-Flintridge City Council, testified at the hearing to urge passage of the bill. The U.S. Park Service also submitted written testimony in support of Schiff’s legislation.
"Given the tremendous growth in Southern California, it is crucial that we create a lasting legacy of nearby natural open space for our children - and their children - to enjoy," Rep. Schiff said today. "Protecting the Rim of the Valley is key to this goal and I urge quick advancement of the Rim of the Valley Corridor Study Act so Californians for generations to come will enjoy the benefits our precious resources."
The Rim of the Valley Corridor Study Act - legislation also sponsored by Senator Dianne Feinstein in the U.S. Senate - would explore the possibility of expanding the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to include the Rim of the Valley. The U.S. Senate voted unanimously in favor of the Rim of the Valley Study Act in April 2003.
Specifically, the Rim of the Valley Corridor Study Act would direct the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture to evaluate the feasibility of expanding the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to include the Rim of the Valley Corridor. The National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service would jointly study the suitability of more than doubling the size of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area by encompassing the Rim of the Valley, which contains areas of rare Mediterranean ecosystems and encircles the mountains above the San Fernando, La Crescenta, Santa Clarita, Simi, and Conejo valleys, as well as the Arroyo Seco.
The Act requires the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture to consult with state, county, and local governments, and to report their recommendations to Congress within three years. An Act of Congress would then be required to designate any new addition to the Park System.
The National Park Service oversees the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, the world's largest urban park as designated by Congress in 1978, spanning from the Ventura Freeway westward to the Pacific Ocean. Inclusion of the Rim of the Valley corridor would link wildlife habitat in the Santa Monica Mountains to the Angeles National Forest.
Several environmental organizations also support the Rim of the Valley Corridor Study Act, including the Altadena Foothills Conservancy, the California Wilderness Coalition, Scenic America, and the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club, as well as the cities of La Canada Flintridge, Glendale, Pasadena, and South Pasadena. In the House of Representatives, the Rim of the Valley Corridor Study Act enjoys bipartisan support from cosponsors, California Reps. Howard Berman, David Dreier, George Miller, Brad Sherman, Buck McKeon and Hilda Solis.
Rep. Schiff represents California’s 29th Congressional District, including the communities of Alhambra, Altadena, Burbank, East Pasadena, East San Gabriel, Glendale, Monterey Park, Pasadena, San Gabriel, South Pasadena and Temple City.