Bill would add Griffith Park and the LA River to National Park System

For such an immense urban area, Los Angeles is rich with natural resources, and a new bill introduced in Congress Wednesday would place nearly 200,000 acres of land in and around the city under federal protection.

Proposed by Representative Adam Schiff and Senator Diane Feinstein, the Rim of the Valley Act would bring a wide swath of new territory into the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area that would more than double the park’s size. The new lands would include Griffith Park, much of the LA River, and open spaces in the Santa Susana Mountains and Santa Clarita Valley.

Bringing these areas into the National Park System would allow park officials to create and maintain new hiking trails, monitor wildlife, and provide financial assistance for preservation-related projects, according to a statement from Schiff.

But the new land wouldn’t be entirely wild; the park’s proposed new boundaries would encompass important cultural sites like El Pueblo de Los Angeles, the Rose Bowl, and the Hollywood Bowl.

Schiff originally introduced the bill, called the Rim of the Valley Corridor Preservation Act, last year, following a six-year study by the National Park Service. As the Daily News reports, the new version of the bill drops the area around the contaminated Santa Susana Field Laboratory site from the proposed boundaries, eliminating the possibility that the Park Service would be responsible for any future cleanup.

An interactive map of all the territory that would be added to the park under the bill can be seen here.

• Bill Would Envelop LA in a 200,000-Acre Greenbelt [Curbed LA]
• Rim of the Valley Project Could Draw Griffith Park, LA River, El Pueblo Into National Park System [Curbed LA]
• A 67-Mile Trail From Pacific Palisades to Malibu is Ready for Hikers [Curbed LA]