Critics protest Obama's San Gabriel Mountains National Monument

[alp227]

Source: LA Times

Holding up signs that said “Monumental mistake” and twirling gold-and-silver hula hoops, a handful of protesters gathered in San Dimas on Friday to express their opposition to President Obama’s designation of the San Gabriel Mountains as a national monument.

“We are hula-hooping to attract attention," Tracy Sulkin, of the community of Mt. Baldy, said as a fleet of U.S. Forest Service trucks and Secret Service sedans filed past on their way into Frank G. Bonelli Regional Park, where Obama was scheduled to speak at about 12:30 p.m.

Stretching from Santa Clarita to San Bernardino, the San Gabriel watershed is within a 90-minute drive of 17 million people. The rugged slopes and canyons are home to rare and endangered species, including Nelson's bighorn sheep, mountain yellow-legged frogs and Santa Ana suckers.

“The environmentalists won’t stop until the mountains are off limits to humans,” Sulkin said, struggling to keep a hula hoop in motion around her right wrist while holding up a sign with her left hand that read “Don’t hurt Mt. Baldy.”

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-protest-obama-san-gabriel-mountains-national-monument-20141010-story.html

[Hulk]

1. so, somebody explain to me wtf this all means?

Sounded like "a good idea" when I heard about it on the radio. Does it mean the people, environmentalists, frogs, etc are going to take it in the rear for this move? I'm lost on this one.

[Blue_Tires]

5. Obama must be putting a Ebola mosque/gun confiscation center there or something

[Kablooie]

8. They are afraid of fees and limits on access.

Right now it's open and free.
There are no gates or toll booths.
(Except for gates that close it during unsafe snowy periods)

Monuments do charge an entrance fee but it seems pretty cheap from my experience.
And the monument designation will allow more money to preserve it and build better facilities in campgrounds and public areas.

[CreekDog]

11. no they aren't, this is California

the move is going to be popular with most people here, especially in the LA Region.

[JaneyVee]

2. Jesus Christ. These nutjobs protest mountains if...

Obsma does it. Maybe he should designate October as National Breathing month.

[Lochloosa]

4. October 31st would do it.

[freshwest]

6. I've been hoping for an executive order for that one for a long time!

I can hear the reichwings roar:

Resist tyranny! Hold your breath until the Kenyan is forced into exile!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. My gawd, how stupid these people are.

The designation is not going to keep the mountains off limits to humans. It will help preserve the area as wilderness.

[littlemissmartypants]

9. Indeed. eom

[ucrdem]

7. pretty cool.

Didn't know he was out this way . . . as for the protester it sounds like standard-issue ODS with a healthy chance she's worried that her poltroon kin won't be allowed to amuse themselves by riding dirt bikes and dirt buggies up and down local hiking trails whenever and wherever they please . . . which would be a very good thing.

[littlemissmartypants]

10. Exactly! eom

[C Moon]

12. This is an informative link:

"Magnificent" San Gabriel Mountains Declared National Monument
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Obama-to-Declare-the-San-Gabriel-Mountains-a-National-Monument-278717271.html

"More than 15 million people live within a 90-minute drive of the mountains, home to several archeological and culturally significant sites."


Reading between the lines, I feel there are some developers who want to do something that environmentalist are trying to stop, so they went to the POTUS.

From what I heard on the radio about this, there won't be any limitations on those who do recreational activities in the designated area.

[onethatcares]

13. sounds like the perfect place

for some mountain top removal and a mansion with a car elevator.



Is a sarcasm tag really needed?

[PeoViejo]

14. "a handful of protesters gathered in San Dimas"

There you have it:

Not a Majority by any means.

[SunSeeker]

15. Idiots.

They're protesting because they hate Obama, so they make shit up, like this move will close off the mountains to the public. Nothing could be further from the truth. This will PRESERVE the mountains for the public and make them more accessible to the public. As the article notes:

Advocates say that the designation of the 346,000-acre monument will enable the Forest Service to give priority to managing the safety of visitors, protecting natural resources and installing improvements, including new parking areas, restrooms, signs, educational kiosks and trails.

But God forbid the LA Times should actually say that as fact and call out these idiots. The LA Times just makes it sound like it is an opinion ("advocates say...&quot and perpetuates the false equivalence bullshit that gives these baggers credibility. Seriously, LA Times, do some actual journalism, go out on a limb and STATE what the designation means. And of course, because they are anti-Obama, the media gives this handful of morans more attention than the hundreds of thousands who took to the streets recently to call for action on climate change.

[Ned Flanders]

16. Concerns about loss of access

I grew up in the area, and have walked pretty much every ridgeline, every major canyon, been on most summits. Like most areas in California, as time has progressed more roads have been gated closed and more fees added, to the point where someone my age has seen a significant reduction in easy access to the local mountains. No doubt this is due to the increasing population and idiots who do things like dump their barbeque ashes in the bushes.

First they closed the road past Crystal Lake, one of the few roads which actually crossed the San Gabriels. Then then closed Glendora Ridge Road, another major artery which gave access to countless trailheads and hiking opportunities. Sure, you can still reach those places, it just required an extra dozen miles of hiking, one way, for example. That does have an impact on access. My knees aren't like they used to be. Then they added a Forest Pass requirement, mandating one pays just to park on the side of the road. That one is still in the courts, I believe, tho I could be wrong. I ignore those signs.

I've been out of the area, but was down in LA just last week for Dad's funeral, so hiked Mt. Baldy to get my head straight. I ran into some very angry locals who spouted the usual "Obama is taking our land!" drivel, but perhaps they do have some concerns. I know there has been a national effort to remove inholdings; private land surrounded by national forest. I suspect that is one of the motivators in designating this a monument. San Dimas Canyon used to have a large number of cabins, who's residents were able to live there on 100 year leases at $1/year. Once the fire swept through a few years back, they were not allowed to rebuild (although it is worth noting that someone was allowed to rebuild a trophy home way back in the canyon; puzzling to me, maybe they had a great lawyer.)

So there's a balance between preserving the land and allowing access. If we were serious about saving the land, we'd fence it all off and allow no access. So where is the balance? The locals were told their lands would be seized via imminent domain, although I don't know if that's true. Right wing hyperbole? I have personally seen cases in the White Mountains where locals were allowed to keep their property, but access roads were shut down, preventing them from reaching it. Could such a thing happen here?

Just a few things to consider....

[denbot]

21. The road connecting Chystal Lake washed out decades ago.

Nobody wants to refund the old WPA project.

[Ned Flanders]

23. I guess it has been a while, LOL

...since I walked up near there. San Dimas to Mt. Baldy and Lytle Creek was my stomping grounds.

Love those WPA markers. Nice stone work in places.

[Xolodno]

26. There was talk about rebuilding the road...

...a some years back. Then a landslide and an investigation on the feasibility of protecting the road from future landslides brought everyone back to their senses.

[jimmydwight]

17. It's because Obama did it so it

must be a bad thing. Typical nutjobs.

[Vinca]

18. No doubt it's an assault on their "freedoms."

Freedom to trample everything with their ATVs. Freedom to shoot everything with their AK-47s. Freedom to stop the rest of humanity from enjoying a quiet afternoon hiking in a national park.

[penndragon69]

19. Obama wants to PROTECT

" MT BALDY" from the people who will loot pillage and plunder such a pristine
environment. It's all about keeping it open for oil and gas extraction
for their corporate overlords.

[The Wizard]

20. A handful of jerkoffs

protest the President and the media covers it. Damn that librul media.

[leftyladyfrommo]

22. how is this tied to benghazi?

I'm glad he is starting to do this sort of thing. I hope he does more.

[mimi85]

24. Too bad PBO couldn't have

met with the Coastal Commission to tell the Edge to take his plans for five mega-mansions on the Malibu cliffs back to Ireland. Let him screw up the Irish shores. Of course, Evans paid the CC almost $900,000. Or bribed might be a better term. What a fucking hypocrite.

Sorry, but just thinking about protesting against the San Gabriel decision reminded me of Mr. Evans. I'm so fortunate to live just below a large piece of the Nature Conservancy land - the gorgeous Santa Rosa Plateau. A wonderful place to clear your mind - and to know you won't hear any damn U2 music. /eor

[Xolodno]

25. Badly needed...

...and those who complain that a fee may be instituted....GOOD!!!

Blue Ridge Truck Trail desperately needs to be graded and improved just so you can access the camp grounds with out a 4x4.

Many of the picnic grounds need to be upgraded (such as Lyons Picnic area).

Jackson Lake gets overwhelmingly overcrowded at times.

And though I'm hoping for an end to this drought soon....I'm also cringing because I know a good snow pack = Big Rock Creek flowing well....and an army of non-fee paying litterbugs invading.

The area desperately needs funding and better protection. Having a fee requirement is no skin of my bones....I purchase the annual parks pass every year.