Please copy the message below and send it in an email to Juana Torres at juana.torres@sierraclub.org. Juana will print out your email and hand deliver them to the National Park Service Project Manager. Feel free to edit and add your own comments and experiences. Thank you!

PUBLIC COMMENTS

Dear Watershed Study Team:

The San Gabriel Mountains soar above our homes, from Santa Clarita to San Bernardino, providing much of our public open space. These mountains benefit our quality of life and the health of our economy by providing us with clean air and water and incredible natural beauty.

The importance of our local mountains grows each day. As more of the land around the San Gabriels is developed, the more important protecting our forest heritage becomes. As recreational needs grow, services to forest visitors are declining. Our region's youth obesity and diabetes crisis has brought new urgency to connecting our people and communities back to our mountains and rivers. That is why I urge you to recommend the creation of a San Gabriel Mountains National Recreation Area which would help to bring in new recreational resources for our mountains, including more rangers and law enforcement personnel.

Here are some additional points to include in your recommendations:

• A National Recreation Area (NRA) should include all of the area historically considered to be part of the San Gabriel Mountains and all of the watershed study area outside of the national forests.
• Please adopt a National Recreation Area with the management structure in Alternative C which would create a partnership between the National Park Service and the Forest Service (which would continue to manage the San Gabriel Mountains).
• The NRA should make a major effort to connect surrounding communities to the forest. This effort would include a robust system of trails, parks and public transportation. This system would expand recreational opportunities in park-poor communities outside the forest and improve recreational access to the forest and the San Gabriel River.
• The analysis should clearly recognize the importance of wilderness and Wild & Scenic Rivers in a San Gabriel Mountains NRA. It should address opportunities to expand these resources and support their recreational use with rangers.
• The San Gabriels NRA proposal should address how it could bring additional resources to help with Station Fire recovery. It would be helpful to have a public education component associated with the NRA to track recovery and educate the public about wildfire.

Thank you for all the great work you are doing. I look forward to seeing the next draft of the study.

Sincerely,