Tuesday, January 25, 2005 Contact: Sean Oblack (202) 225-4176 Schiff Reintroduces Rim of the Valley Act Bill directs Interior Department to study expansion of Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) reintroduced the Rim of the Valley Corridor Study Act today.  This legislation directs the Secretary of the Interior to study the feasibility of expanding the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to include the mountains and canyons in Southern California that are part of the Rim of the Valley Corridor, as designated by the State of California. The Interior Department would examine the suitability of more than doubling the size of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area by encompassing this corridor, 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 famed Arroyo Seco, home of Pasadena's Rose Bowl. “It is my hope that the Rim of the Valley Corridor Study Act will embody a dream and vision of a Southern California enhanced not only by what we have built, but also by what we have preserved,” said Rep. Schiff. Senator Dianne Feinstein today introduced similar legislation in the Senate. Rep. Schiff is working closely with Senator Feinstein to move this legislation through Congress.  Senator Feinstein praised Rep. Schiff’s efforts, “I applaud his commitment to this issue.” In the 108th Congress, a similar version of this bill was approved by the House Resources Committee and passed by the full Senate. Under the legislation, the Interior Department will report their recommendations to Congress within three years.  A subsequent Act of Congress would then be required to designate any new addition to the U.S. Park System. Representative Schiff is the co-founder of the Democratic Study Group on National Security and a member of both the House Judiciary and International Relations committees.  He represents California’s 29th Congressional District, which includes the communities of Alhambra, Altadena, Burbank, East Pasadena, East San Gabriel, Glendale, Monterey Park, Pasadena, San Gabriel, South Pasadena and Temple City. -30-