Bill directs Interior Department to study expansion of Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) testified before the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands regarding the Rim of the Valley Corridor Study Act (H.R.1835). This legislation, authored by Rep. Schiff, 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. Joseph T. Edmiston, the Executive Director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, also testified in support of H.R. 1835.
“Today’s hearing marks an important step forward in getting this bill passed,” said Rep. Schiff. “I hope that the Congress will seize the opportunity to have the Department of the Interior study ways in which we can protect some of the most beautiful land in southern California for future generations of Americans to enjoy. The Rim of the Valley legislation will help our region develop a long-range plan that will balance preservation, recreation and the needs of those living in and around the area.”
“The importance of the Rim of the Valley is twofold: the striking natural scenery and open space that still encircles the greater Los Angeles area, and the proximity of those natural resources to the ten million residents of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties,” said Joseph T. Edmiston. “I thank the committee for inviting me to testify today, and I hope they move this bill forward expeditiously.”
The bill would authorize the Interior Department to 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.
Senator Dianne Feinstein has introduced similar legislation in the Senate. Rep. Schiff is working closely with Senator Feinstein to move this legislation through Congress.
In the past, a similar version of this bill was approved by the House Resources Committee and passed by the full Senate.
Rep. Schiff was recently appointed to serve on the House Appropriations Committee in the 110th Congress and is a member of its Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee, the State Department and Foreign Operations Subcommittee, and the Select Intelligence Oversight Panel. He also serves on the House Judiciary Committee and its Subcommittee on the Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property. 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.
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