EASTERNERS, among whom we count those folks from President Obama's cabinet visiting our Valley this week who are part of America's Great Outdoors initiative, can't help but be awed by our open space inventory.
Everything in the West is bigger in scope, including right here - from Mount Wilson's 5,710 feet plateau to Mount Baldy's 10,064 feet apex. Even our magnificent canyons, San Gabriel Canyon and Big Santa Anita Canyon, two close-by entrances to the 102-year-old, 655,387-acre Angeles National Forest, are large and much mightier than anything on the East Coast.
But bigger isn't always better. The natural spaces formed by our mountains and the San Gabriel River, too, are concealed by Los Angeles County's 11 million or so residents and Southern California's massive population. The green spaces are sometimes hidden by concrete channels and freeway walls.
If there is a message to send to the president and his environmental cabinet, it is this: We have the open space. We don't have the proper access and adequate funding to manage it.
So here's what we don't need: More money to buy more open space. Here's what we do need: One agency, such as the National Park Service, to coordinate, connect and run the river bikeways, walkways and mountain trails. We envision this work by the NPS not as a takeover, but as a partner with the community that would coordinate with the county and the local Rivers and Mountains Conservancy for a unified access plan.
We agree with many of the local officials who met with Lisa Jackson, head of the Environmental Protection Agency and other members of Obama's green team at the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area Wednesday and at Occidental College Thursday who want to see better coordination of our parks and trails.
"We are talking about a new paradigm ... having the National Park Service work in urban areas," said Claire Robinson, managing director of Amigos de los Rios.
Along the San Gabriel River, Los Angeles County officials, led by Supervisor Gloria Molina, have improved Whittier Narrows and established the lovely Bosque del Rio Hondo, a natural river area at the intersection of San Gabriel and Rosemead boulevards. It is also where the Tongva settled 1,000 years before the Spanish missionaries built a mission that was later moved to San Gabriel. Yet, how many people really know these recreational opportunities exist? We support the building of the Discovery Center at Whittier Narrows because it would be a central point for visitors to learn about the river, the Whittier/Puente Hills and the forest trails.
Up in the mountains, the U.S. Forest Service continues to struggle with providing public access. For example, the Crystal Lake Recreation Area has been closed for eight years, since the 2002 Curve Fire. Highway 39 no longer connects to Highway 2 at Islip Saddle and is the only state route left in disrepair for more than three decades. Just above La Ca ada Flintridge, Highway 2 sustained damage in January from mudslides and that closure has cut off access to Mount Wilson Observatory and hundreds of back-country trails. The road may reopen in November, but no one is sure.
Our local great outdoors are in distress because our residents can't reach them. It will take coordination efforts among government agencies and volunteer groups the size of Mt. Baldy to improve access. Indeed, it's a tall order.
