One of the things that has always typified Sierra Madre for me is the great sense of place many here enjoy. There aren't many cities in this country that generate as much pride and the feeling of belonging to something special as what we have. And one of the reasons for this is very easy to find, all you have to do is step outside of your house and look up. We are surrounded by some of the most beautiful foothills and mountains to be found anywhere.
Which is why, in my opinion, there is such a deep and heartfelt response in our town to what has happened to One Carter, and could soon happen to Stonehouse. It isn't just that these are merely properties to be thrown to the marketplace, or lots awaiting a suitable developer. No, these wilderness hillsides are part of what defines us. Much of Sierra Madre's heritage is in its mountain setting, and is the metaphor symbolizing who and what we are. And when the Gang of Four enabled Dorn Platz to fecklessly destroy One Carter, or when the two faux Green phonies on our City Council do everything they can to assure a similar fate for Stonehouse, it isn't just an annoyance or something to be shrugged off as unfortunate. It is a tearing at the very soul of this place. And to my mind it must take a certain learned heartlessness not to be able to see or understand that.
An organization called San Gabriel Mountains Forever has now posted some data that gives statistical muscle to my anecdotal observations above. As part of their campaign to gain Wild and Scenic River designation for "46 miles of the clear and free-flowing rivers and creeks of the Angeles National Forest," they are publicizing the results of the new Public Opinion Strategies Poll of our area to highlight the reverence most here hold for our mountains. The polling was done in early July of this year. Here is how they view the results of this promising poll:
A recent poll of residents in California's 26th Congressional District living near the San Gabriel Mountains shows that three-quarters of voters want to see more protection for the wild lands and rivers in this range. The poll also reveals that these voters clearly favor more protection for wild lands and rivers across Southern California in general. This data is an unmistakable sign of how local residents who live near these mountains care about them.
Public Opinion Strategies conducted this survey for San Gabriel Mountains Forever in California's U.S. Congressional District (Rep. David Dreier, R-San Dimas). The survey took place July 6-8 and had a sample size of 400 voters, with a margin of error of +/- 4.9%. Here are some of the results:
Generically speaking, voters in the 26th District are very much in favor of protecting more lands in Southern California as wilderness (67% favor and 26% oppose with 45% strongly in favor). Even more Republicans at fifty-two percent (52%) favor and forty-three percent (43%) oppose in favor of protecting more local lands.
Speaking generically again, protecting more streams and rivers in Southern California is even more popular than protecting wilderness lands (72% favor and 18% oppose). Forty-eight percent (48%) strongly favor is a very big number that is hard to argue with. Republicans are also more in favor or protecting the streams and rivers at fifty-seven percent (57%) favor and thirty-three percent (33%) oppose.
Voters in the 26th District are extremely supportive of the specific proposal to protect additional public lands in the San Gabriel Mountains as wilderness and rivers and streams as wild and scenic rivers (75% favor and 15% oppose). Anytime more than 50% of voters say they strongly favor anything (55% on this proposal), it means the argument against would be difficult.
So based on the strong majorities shown for maintaining our mountain wildernesses here in the San Gabriel Valley, where does this leave our local despoilers? I'd say in quite a precarious political position.
