Whereas in the early 2000s conservation organizations pushed for greater protections of the San Gabriel Mountains; Whereas out of this grew the San Gabriel Mountains Forever Group (now known as Nature for All), which organized extensive public outreach campaigns and coordination efforts among State agencies, local officials, and other relevant stakeholders; Whereas, in 2003, Congresswoman Hilda Solis introduced legislation that required the National Park Service to determine if the area of the San Gabriel Mountains was nationally significant and to determine if a special designation would benefit the San Gabriel Mountains; Whereas Solis’ legislation generated over 10,000 favorable comments and received the backing of water agencies and the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments; Whereas Republican Congressman David Dreier, in 2011, and Democratic Congresswoman Judy Chu, in 2014, introduced bipartisan legislation to further protect the mountains; Whereas top officials from the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture held listening sessions in the area of the San Gabriel Mountains in 2010 and a town hall in 2014; Whereas, in October 2014, President Barack Obama permanently protected the San Gabriel Mountains by designating it as a National Monument under the authority granted by the Antiquities Act of 1906 ( 54 U.S.C. 320301 et seq.); Whereas the San Gabriel Mountains attract millions of visitors each year and provide two-thirds of the open space within the densely populated Los Angeles County; Whereas the San Gabriel Mountains are some of the steepest and most rugged mountains in the United States; Whereas the designation of the San Gabriel Mountains as a National Monument aimed to preserve miles of streams and hiking trails for people to enjoy for decades to come