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REP LIEU’S LEGISLATION TO STUDY EXPANDING SANTA MONICA MOUNTAIN NATIONAL RECREATION AREA BOUNDARIES PASSES HOUSE

February 26, 2021
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Ted Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) released the following statement after his legislation, the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Boundary Adjustment Study Act passed the House as a part of the Protecting America's Wilderness and Public Lands Act. The legislation will commission the National Park Service to conduct a three-year Special Resource Study to determine whether to add much of the Santa Monica Bay watershed to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) or to create a new national recreation area.
"In the 1970s, Congress created the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to preserve natural and historic sites and to provide recreational, educational, scientific and public lands benefits to our greater Los Angeles community. Today, it spans over 150,000 acres in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, including parts of the Santa Monica Bay watershed in my congressional district. Much of the Santa Monica Bay watershed, however, remains outside of the National Recreation Area. My bill will commission the National Park Service to conduct a study to determine whether to expand the boundary of the existing recreation area, or create a new area altogether. Expanding the national recreation area would allow the watershed to greatly benefit from available federal scientific resources, enabling better conservation and recreational use. I'm pleased my legislation passed today with the support of many of my colleagues in the LA delegation."
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