Imagine the unwitting tourists, hunkered over
the Fodor's guide at the Taco Bell, absolutely flummoxed over where to
set up their pup tent on Peck Road.
Could this graffiti-tagged stretch of South El Monte really be the
national park? The natural destination between Yosemite and Joshua
Tree?
According to Rep. Hilda Solis (D-El Monte), it could. Or at least she
hopes it could be a national recreation area. Last week, she
introduced a bill to allocate $200,000 for the Department of the
Interior to study the idea of bringing the San Gabriel River watershed
under the control of the National Park Service. Solis hopes the
federal agency's money and expertise in land management could infuse
some momentum into a slow-going effort to revive the river.
"Most people laugh when I mention the San Gabriel River"
said Solis, who discussed her legislation at a news conference
Saturday. "We need to change that. . . . The federal government
must work with state and local governments to preserve and create more
open space in urban areas."
She said the agency is keen on the idea of bringing the river into the
national park system and that the bill has 30 co-sponsors. Yet the
vision of a natural place tourists would care to visit is a long way
away.
Natural Beauty. Freeway-Close
As Solis spoke next to a willow-lined pond on the river in South El
Monte, trucks rumbled by on the Pomona and 605 freeways in full view.
There were no picnic tables or campsites or soccer fields. Although a
bike and horse trail flanked the water, many of the cyclists, wearing
paint-splattered jeans and heavy boots, seemed more likely to be on
their way to work than out to enjoy the scenery.
The scene illustrated the ambiguity of the river and its centerpiece,
Whittier Narrows. There is subtle beauty to be found in places, but
it's often obscured by trash or doesn't offer the amenities that
attract visitors. At the same time, the open space is in high demand,
surrounded by densely populated neighborhoods in La Puente, Rosemead,
San Gabriel and El Monte.
"We need a clean environment for the people here," said
Solis. "Money is the big factor. This is a good boost."
As a state senator in 1999, Solis created a state conservancy for the
San Gabriel watershed and a lower bit of the Los Angeles River.
Physical changes along the watercourses are yet to result from that,
and the congresswoman hopes federal involvement can give the river
movement more credibility.
She's also looking west, where a broad coalition of politicians and
environmentalists have managed to get more than $80 million allocated
to the Los Angeles River, including two proposed state parks near
downtown. Solis has been somewhat of a lone voice for the San
Gabriel--which still contains natural, meandering stretches on its way
from the San Gabriel Mountains to the ocean at Long Beach.
"In the environmental community, we usually try to lead political
leaders in our direction," said Jeff Yann, chairman of the Sierra
Club's San Gabriel Valley Task Force. "In the case of Hilda
Solis, we usually have to jump in behind because she's ahead of
us."
The San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy
plans to spend $2 million in state funds to buy a parcel next to
Whittier Narrows and is negotiating to buy 57 acres along the San
Gabriel River and the 605, which until recently housed a duck farm
known for its foul smell.
Still, the effort is plodding along. The agency has not bought a major
parcel and is still working on its master plan for the rivers. Mary
Angle, the executive officer, said she has yet to move into her
office.
"We're still getting our feet on the ground," she said.
Yann said that once the conservancy approves its master plan, progress
will speed up. He hopes the park service can help bring together the
many jurisdictions in the area--more than 60 cities--and connect the
fragmented bits of open space into a park.
"The National Park Service is a quality act," he said.
"They know how to run parks and they can bring that
cohesiveness."