Equal Justice and the San Gabriel Mountains L.A. Times

The Los Angeles Times reports:

“San Gabriel Mountains Forever, a coalition of environmental and community groups . . . wants to add 30,000 acres to three existing wilderness areas — Sheep Mountain, Cucamonga and San Gabriel — and have 46 miles of the San Gabriel River, San Antonio Creek and Lytle Creek preserved under Wild and Scenic River System protections. . . .  San Gabriel Mountains Forever is also backing a plan to designate the range as a national recreational area eligible for additional federal resources, including law enforcement personnel, interpretive signs and hiking trails. . . . The designation would be made by the National Park Service, which is conducting a ‘special resource study’ of the San Gabriel Mountains and watershed. The study includes draft alternatives for new collaborative approaches to managing the range now run by the U.S. Forest Service. A final recommendation could come in 2011.”

The Times posted the following comment by The City Project with that article:

The City Project and a diverse and growing alliance [including Robert Bracamontes, Acjachemen Nation, Juaneño Tribe; California Pan Ethnic Health Network; Coastwalk California; Latino Coalition for a Healthy California; and Mujeres de la Tierra] are working [with San Gabriel Mountains Forever] to diversify access to and support for the San Gabriel Watershed and Mountains Special Resource Study.

The National Park Service should implement the following recommendations:

1. Provide local green jobs through Civilian Conservation Corps-type programs, including jobs for youth of color and low income youth, that will also improve parks, recreation, and the environment. This is one solution, drawing on New Deal lessons, to help get the country back to work while the nation has the highest unemployment levels in 25 years and probably since the Great Depression.

2. Provide Transit to Trails programs to take inner city children on fun, educational and healthy trips to mountains, beaches, rivers and other natural green space throughout the nation, for no or low cost. Transit to Trails should enrich their education about land, water, wildlife, and cultural history, and emphasize the importance of physical activity and healthy eating for life-long health.

3. Provide more park and historical sites that preserve the stories and resources of diverse people for this and future generations. This includes Native Americans, for whom the land bears a special sacred significance. More sites should facilitate an experience that weaves the stories of diverse people faithfully, completely and accurately. NPS should stimulate and provoke a greater understanding of, and dialogue on, civil rights, democracy and freedom. These are lessons learned from the best practice example at Manzanar National Historic Site.

4. Provide programs to improve human health, including programs for physical activity and healthy eating to reduce obesity. Human health includes more than reducing obesity and diabetes, and programs should also contribute to the full development of the person and community through youth development, gang and crime prevention, and green jobs.

5. The National Park Service should proactivley address compliance with civil rights laws and principles in the strategic plan, to promote equal justice, democracy and livability for all.

6. The National Park Service should implement standards to measure progress and equity and hold public officials accountable in each of these areas.

Learn more about the campaign to diversify access to and support for the San Gabriels here: http://www.cityprojectca.org/blog/archives/2835

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Read the article by Louis Sahagun and the blog post on the Los Angeles Times web site.