Angeles & San Bernardino
National Forests invite the Public to Discussion of Recreation,
Access and Resource Opportunities
Wildland and Watershed
values Conversation
Tuesday August 19, John
Miller San Bernardino National Forest Public Affairs Officer announced in a
media advisory -
Arcadia, Calif. -- The U.S.
Forest Service will host a panel of local user groups, youth corps, cultural
preservation experts, land management specialists and elected officials to
explore opportunities for enhancing access, recreational use and protection of
scenic, cultural and historic areas of interest on the Angeles National Forest
and portions of the San Bernardino National Forest.
The public discussion will be held Aug. 26, 2014, from 4:00-7:30
P.M. at the Baldwin Park Performing Arts Center- 4640 North Maine Avenue,
Baldwin Park, CA 91706.
The historic and cultural significance of the San Gabriel
Mountains and the surrounding forests are recognized by forest users, the
public at large and elected representatives. Over the past decade,
studies have been conducted to assess the way some of the last remaining open
space should be protected and managed in the future. The Angeles National
Forest is surrounded by a patchwork of intense urban development. It is
the scenic mountain backdrop for the Los Angeles basin; includes over 70 percent
of the open space for Los Angeles County and one third of the county’s drinking
water; and is one of the largest and most diverse population centers in the
world. The portion of the San Bernardino National Forest west of Lytle Creek is
part of the contiguous San Gabriel Mountains range and shares the same unique
natural character and significant recreational use by forest visitors.
The managers of the
most urban forest in the country must reassess how to remain committed to
forest and watershed conservation while meeting the challenge of increasing
recreational demands. The Forest Service will engage the public to explore
opportunities to achieve our shared goals to enhance protection of wildland and
watershed values.
About the U.S. Forest Service: The mission of the Forest
Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is to sustain the
health, diversity and productivity of the nation's forests and grasslands to
meet the needs of present and future generations. The agency manages 193
million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private
landowners, and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the
world. Public lands the Forest Service manages contribute more than $13 billion
to the economy each year through visitor spending alone. Those same lands
provide 20 percent of the nation's clean water supply, a value estimated at
$7.2 billion per year. The agency has either a direct or indirect role in
stewardship of about 80 percent of the 850 million forested acres within the U.S.,
of which 100 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.