Today, President Barack Obama will declare the San Gabriel Mountains—located between the Los Angeles Basin and the Mojave Desert—a national monument. According to the Los Angeles Times, more than 3 million people visit the park each year, which has begun to have a negative effect on the environment.

Of the 655,000-acre Angeles National Forest, 350,000 will be declared the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. The decision came from years of the U.S. Forest Service being unable to keep up with the accumulation of trash from visitors, a growing amount of graffiti, and unsafe trails that are in desperate need of repair.

The Washington Post reported that the east fork of the San Gabriel River (in the middle of Angeles National Forest) frequently violates the standards for regional water quality because of plastic bags and diapers that are thrown in the water.

For the past 11 years, a campaign to declare the monument has been led by San Gabriel Mountains Forever, which includes members from organizations such as the Wilderness Society, the Sierra Club, and Friends of the River. With this designation, the U.S. Forest Service will be able to put improving trails, restrooms, signs, and parking first and foremost. It will also provide protection for the endangered species located in the area, such as the spotted owl and Nelson’s bighorn sheep. The specific amount of funds that will be given to improve the area has not yet been announced.

But not everyone was in favor of the creation of the national monument. Officials from San Bernardino County and residents who own property in the area expressed concerns about location, leading the monument to exclude some western portions of the San Gabriel Mountains.

The new monument provides 70 percent of the open space in Los Angeles County, as well as more than a third of its drinking water. This will be the 13th time Obama will have either established or expanded a national monument without approval from Congress first.

Image courtesy of Ricraider/Wikimedia Commons