SAVE THE SAINTS

Metropolitan southern California is ringed by three national forests: the Cleveland, Angeles, and San Bernardino, which are among the most popular recreational lands in America. Each forest is composed of a mountain range named after saints: the Santa Ana, San Gabriel and the San Bernardino Mountains - hence the Saints. These mountains include some of the most threatened biological areas on earth - yet 20 federal dollars are spent on northern California forests for every dollar spent on acquiring important private in-holdings in southern California forests. Strong public support is needed to overcome the imbalance of federal funding in order to solve the problem. The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) was created especially for this kind of purpose.

Private lands within our National Forests need to be protected before they are lost to urbanization. Loss of private inholdings, along with urban edge encroachment in the forest foothills, threaten to curtail historic public access and seriously erode the unique wild land values that these National Forests so richly provide. Since these are the most popular public lands in America, they represent the highest and best possible investment of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. By securing these prized forests for current and future public benefit, three national treasures shall remain intact for countless millions of visitors to enjoy.

The Angeles and San Bernardino National Forests are the unsung heroes of America's popular public lands, attracting as many as 40 million people a year. They are the "Yosemite" and "Yellowstone" for the average citizen of Southern California, unsurpassed oases of four-season recreational adventure where the great outdoors is only an hour or two away. The Wildlands Conservancy (TWC) has been the leader in purchasing forest inholdings with private monies. TWC owns and manages lands of rich biodiversity in the Cleveland, Los Padres and San Bernardino National Forests.