Part of San Gabriel Mountains to be declared national monument

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The San Gabriel Mountains will soon become elevated from a national forest to a national monument.

On Friday, President Barack Obama plans to announce during a speech in San Dimas that he will set aside 350,000 acres of the San Gabriel Mountains as a national monument.

Daniel Rossman of the Wilderness Society says the president's decree would give the mountains "historical, cultural" significance, allowing extra federal resources to pour into the area to clean up the trash littering hiking trails and rivers.

"The San Gabriel Mountains are an incredible national treasure," said Rossman. "We've worked with volunteers who do cleanups in the river where you'll find dirty diapers, trash, old articles of clothing. This will help bring the resources and management focus to ensure that people have a place to play without overburdening this beautiful San Gabriel Mountains."

Opponents of the move say they don't want the San Gabriel Mountains declared a national monument because they want to keep the federal government out of the lives of hikers, ATV riders, hunters and foothill residents.

"Once again it probably comes with fees and more restrictions. The government takes so much of our money every time we turn around anyway," said Bailey Canyon resident Loren.

Some local government agencies are concerned about having access to fighting fires within areas of the mountains butting their communities. The Wilderness Society says any fear is misplaced.

"We'll see that as this national monument moves forward, those conflicts simply don't exist," said Rossman.