Legislators resume efforts to expand Santa Monica Mountain National Entertainment District

Federal lawmakers in California are resuming plans to expand widely to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, but when the Trump administration’s efforts to cut funding are somewhat concerned that it will cut the area from the national park system.

U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) recently reintroduced legislation will add 118,000 acres of land, the edge of the so-called Valley Corridor, about 154,000 acres of recreational areas, known as the area The largest city-national park in the world. U.S. Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) plans to introduce the home version.

The edge of the valley corridor is a discontinuous area that extends from the Simi Hills and the Santa Susana ranges to the Verdugo and the San Gabriel Mountains, forming a “green belt” that surrounds San Fernando, Crescenta, Crescenta, Santa Clarita, Simi Simi and Conejo Valleys. It also includes existing parks and historic sites, including Griffith Park and Alvila Street in the city of Los Angeles

Supporters say the legislation would pave the way for cohesive management across vast areas and gain federal funding and expertise if successful. This could lead to conservation of wildlife corridors (for mountains, bears and other local animals) and better maintenance of trails, according to supporters.

“It’s about opening up access to our national forests and state parks to the public,” Friedman told the Times. “So you add land, but you also add a lot of connectivity by doing so that people can enjoy these public places more easily.”

A National Park Service spokesman declined to comment.

This is not a new effort. In fact, elected officials and environmentalists have tried to protect the edge of the valley corridor for decades. Similar legislation failed last year.

The latest iteration is the Trump administration Try to cut about $1.2 billion in funding For the National Park Service, which will account for about 30% of its operating budget for fiscal 2026 (including $900 million in park operations).

In proposing cuts, the government called for the ceding of certain federal parks to states.

The Park Service’s responsibilities “in the traditionally understandable sense, the large number of locations that are not ‘national parks’, many of whom receive a small number of local visitors and are better classified and managed as state-level parks,” the discretionary budget requirement states. “The budget will continue to support many national treasures, but there is a critical need to simplify staffing and transfer certain properties to state-level management to ensure long-term health and maintenance of the national park system.”

The envisioned cuts will result in at least 350 layoffs in 433 areas managed by the park service nationwide, according to an analysis by the National Parks Conservancy Association, a nonpartisan member organization dedicated to protecting national parks.

Dennis Arguelles, the NPCA’s Southern California director, said he expects most of the funds to go to “Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Yosemite” if cuts pass, such as Grand Canyon Park.

“Parcs like the Santa Monica Mountain National Recreation Area will be at risk,” he said.

“Only Congress has the right to finally dispose of federal property and sell it, or return it to the states or anything they are talking about,” he added. “So, President, this administration may have that intention, but ultimately Congress will have the last say, or should have the last say.”

The budget is just one of several threats to national parks that have emerged in recent months.

In February, about 1,000 national park managers were fired as part of the Trump administration’s cuts to federal labor force About eight workers From the Santa Monica Mountain National Entertainment District. Court Order Reversed layoffsbut many believe that more jobs will be laid off.

NPCA estimates park services since January Lost about 13% of employees Due to the pressure of the acquisition, early retirement and deferred resignation.

Jim Hines, a civic activist dedicated to the protection of public lands, waters and wildlife, has been alerting the vulnerability of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. He said Hines said when Hines said nearly 10,000 people were out, he said the entertainment district was “target number one”, referring to the department previously led by Elon Musk, the government’s Ministry of Efficiency.

There are many losses, including open space and entertainment opportunities in the densely populated Los Angeles area, he wrote in a newsletter.

Hines said in an interview that he traveled to Washington, D.C. regularly and met with his “opponents”, including Trump administration officials executing church directives; he has been there five times since Trump began his second term.

He said members of Congress have not heard of the Santa Monica National Entertainment District, except for a few delegates with Southern California.

“It’s time for everyone to know the importance of the Santa Monica National Recreation Area…I’ve started with the Trump/Ethics Administration… Now the ball is over.”

Hines believes that the vision he supports on the edge of the valley corridor will be realized one day, but not this year. He said the latest bill has a “zero” chance.

Concept of the edge of the valley corridor Master’s thesis of the late Marge Feinberg In the mid-1970s, Cal State Northridge graduates envisioned long trails in the hills and mountains of the San Fernando Valley.

Politicians and protectionists have taken over Feinberg’s cause over the years.

In 1990, Republican Governor George Deukmejian Master Plan The edge of the valley trail corridor, but this did not lead to extensive action.

During the George W. Bush administration, Congress Funding A study on the edge of the valley completed by the Park Service in 2016. Then during the Trump administration, a bill fell into trouble in Congress, passed the House but died in the Senate.

Previous legislative iterations would add 191,000 acres to the Santa Monica Mountain National Entertainment District. These bills have never been accepted in the face of strong opposition from developers and construction lobbyists.

Any divided residential or commercially divided land, or land that has been developed for this purpose, will be removed from the proposal. What remains is land that has been protected at the local level.

Schiff’s involvement in the effort dates back to at least 17 years.

“The edge of the valley contains the last wild and open space in Los Angeles and connects our city center and suburbs with the beautiful outdoors,” Schiff said in a statement. “This legislation will preserve millions of land and wildlife that Angelnos enjoys.”

The NPCA’s Arguelles said the actual effects of the legislation could be collected by exploring the Santa Monica Mountain National Recreation Area where the National Park Service owns and manages about 15% of the land. He said the federal status of the entertainment district did not deprive local jurisdictions of control. Instead, it allows the park service to work with other land managers, including state and local agencies, to restore local vegetation, learn about trail networks, and complete other complex projects.

For example, the National Park Service has conducted more than 20 years of research on the Santa Monica Mountains and surrounding mountain lions. This study reveals the existence threats facing big cats, occupying existence in an increasingly urbanized landscape.

“That’s what they can do in other areas with their resources and expertise,” Arguelles said.

He said that even though the bill was “in a dilemma” in Washington, D.C., it introduced the bill to help keep the issue alive at the local level.

Time worker Jaclyn Cosgrove contributed to the report.