HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESAPPROVES $2.5 MILLION FOR LAND ACQUISITION IN SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS

[Washington, D.C.] “ Congressman Brad Sherman today announced the passage of the Interior Appropriations bill by the House of Representatives for 2003, which included $2.5 Million for land acquisition in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

These funds are needed to protect crucial lands from development. The amount approved by the House is more than twice the $1 million Congress appropriated for 2002 for the Santa Monica Mountains. The decision of the House to provide $2.5 Million this year must now be approved in similar legislation being considered by the Senate.

If this funding is approved, Congressman Sherman will have secured nearly $20 Million for the Santa Monica Mountains since coming to Congress in 1997. Federal funding secured by Sherman, combined with state and local funds, is sufficient to complete the Backbone Trail, which will be dedicated on August 22nd, 2002.

The Santa Monica Mountains are within an hours drive for over 19 million people (one in 15 Americans), and are a critically important recreational resource. The beaches and mountains of the SMMNRA are visited each year by over 40 million people, making it the most visited unit of the national park system.