To the editor: It's great that President Biden has expanded two protected areas in California, including the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument.
My question is: Will the people of Los Angeles, with greater access, as well as the institutions charged with protecting it, really respect what they have been given?
I have spent a lot of time working with volunteer organizations to pick up trash and remove dams along rivers. We have begged the US Forest Service to address the graffiti. Nothing seems to work.
Respect for nature begins at home, and that respect is sorely lacking in our newly expanded treasury.
Jim Burns, San Gabriel
