The Sierra Madre City Council had a discussion at a recent meeting concerning the pending Land Grab Bill that Representative Judy Chu is promoting.
This Bill would turn over the San Gabriel Mountains to the ownership and control of the National Park Service (NPS). In addition to the land, this would also give the NPS control of all the trails, lakes and, most importantly, the water supply that comes from our Local mountains.
The alleged benefit is the NPS would take better care and keep up their areas better than they are cared for now. How can anybody believe that? The NI’S doesn’t have enough money to take care of the parks that it has now. Can you remember the sequestration that President Obama promoted and how he closed down some of the National Parks in order to make the people hurt because they could not use the parks.
Does anyone believe that the NPS will let us use any of the resources without their regulations and associated fees? Will Sierra Madre lose more of its water rights and the Mt. Wilson Trail?
Please remember that all of the money that the Federal Government receives comes from us the taxpayers! You know best what to do with your money. The NPS will not let dead or diseased trees to be removed from the Federal Forests by the logging industry and the money that is received from logging in our national forests is not credited to the National Parks, but rather goes into the General Fund.
Will the money collected by the Mt. Wilson Trail Race stay in Sierra Madre. We think not.
We cannot think of a single reason for the people of Sierra Madre to be in favor of this tremendous land grab. We believe very strongly that Sierra Madre should join with Monrovia and send a letter to the representative with the strongest objection language that they can come up with.
The whole idea is bad for Sierra Madre. We know best as to how to care for OUR land.