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PLEASE SIGN OUR PETITION: DESIGNATE the Grizzly Bear National Monument in Orange County, CA.

Although it once characterized the wilds of California, the California grizzly bear is now extinct. The last grizzly in Southern California was tracked and killed in Trabuco Canyon less than 20 miles northeast of San Juan Capistrano in early 1908. For every child who learns that Southern California was once as wild as Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Alaska, we propose establishing the Grizzly Bear National Monument as part of the National Park System in what is now the Trabuco Ranger District of the Cleveland National Forest. This gesture harkens back to a time when condors soared over wildlands populated by pronghorn antelope and millions of wildflowers; grizzlies navigated the old-growth chaparral to find perennial streams filled with wild trout; and jaguars roamed the deep canyons of the region's diverse landscape. It's time we secure that heritage and preserve the jewel of Southern California's coastal mountain range. Download flyer. Watch the YouTube video about the monument! To learn more about the designation and management of national monuments, click here. (Placename trivia: The name Trabuco is the Spanish word for blunderbuss, a muzzle-loading firearm with a short, large caliber barrel. A trabuco was thought to be lost by an early Spanish explorer in what is now known as Trabuco Canyon.)

Newspaper Headline: Last Grizzly Shot in Trabuco Canyon in January 1908
Photo of Killed Grizzly in Trabuco Canyon in 1908

Designation of the Trabuco Ranger District of the Cleveland National Forest as the Grizzly Bear National Monument (GBNM) will:

 

 

As a companion to the Grizzly Bear National Monument proposal, we envision a rural public transit route (bus and/or shuttle) to better serve residents and tourists as they navigate the Santa Ana Mountains. Download PDF of Rural Public Transit Proposal.

Please sign our petition: NEED Public Transit To & From Canyons in OC Mountains! Call OCTA Customer Relations at (714) 646-7433 and let them know that you support public transit to and from the canyons. Thank you!

Canyon Trolly
Historic CA flag

The Rural Public Transit Route will:

 

The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) recognizes that National Monument designation is a viable land protection option.

Please notify your elected officials and let them know that you support the Grizzly Bear National Monument designation to prevent inapproprate public infrastructure (tunnel, reservoir, utility corridor, etc.) and preserve the Santa Ana Mountains for all future generations. It will take an act of the president or congress to designate a new national monument. Click here to cut and paste a form letter to send directly to the president.

Click here for sample support letters to personalize and send to congress person.

Congresswoman Mimi Walters, 45th District
Congressman Ken Calvert, 42nd District
Congressman Darrell Issa, 49th District


Congressional District Map

Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer, 3rd District
Riverside County Supervisor Kevin Jeffries, 1st District

Senator Dianne Feinstein
Senator Barbara Boxer

President Obama

First GBNM Strategic Meeting at Santa Rosa Plateau Visitor Center, Friday, May 15, 2009

From left going clockwise: Patrick Mitchell (SAMWHP), Rick Halsey (Chaparral Institute), Meghan Miller (Cal Poly Pomona), Patrick Johnson (Cal Poly Pomona), Pam Nelson (local conservationist), Joel Robinson is taking photo (NFY/SAMWHP)

We invite you and your group to join us at the table. All organizations and recreational user groups are welcome!

Organizational Supporters (If your organization wants to be added to the list of supporters, please let us know via email):

Individual Supporters (If you want to be added to the list of supporters, please let us know via email):

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