Purpose and Need

The Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-229, May 2008) directed the NPS to evaluate: (1) the suitability and

feasibility of designating all or a portion of the area known as the Rim of the Valley Corridor as a unit of Santa Monica Mountains
 National Recreation Area (SMMNRA); and (2) the methods and means for the protection and interpretation of this
 corridor by the National Park Service, other federal, state, or local government entities or private or non-governmental organizations.

The Rim of the Valley Corridor is described in legislation as the area generally including the mountains encircling the San
Fernando, La Crescenta, Santa Clarita, Simi, and Conejo Valleys in southern California.

Study Area

The study area covers approximately 650,000 acres in the southern California region. It includes SMMNRA (approximately

153,000 acres) and approximately 180,000 acres of lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service (the Angeles National Forest and the

recently established San Gabriel Mountains National Monument). Numerous agencies and conservation organizations manage

lands within the study area. Over 5 million people live in the study area, another 13 million live in surrounding communities within
 the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. Land use is diverse and includes large natural areas, suburban communities, farms

and ranches, highly urbanized areas, freeways, and an array of public infrastructure. However, the vast majority of lands (84%)

are undeveloped.

Alternatives Evaluated

The study evaluates a range of opportunities to cooperatively manage the significant resources of the study area:

• Alternative A:  Continuation of Current Management (No Action), serves as a baseline for evaluating the action alternatives;

• Alternative B: Cooperative Conservation Partnership

would foster cooperative planning and funding tools for the NPS, partner agencies and landowners in
the Rim of the Valley Corridor and key habitat linkages to the Los Padres and Angeles national forests (no new areas would be added to SMMNRA);

• Alternative C:   Rim of the Valley Boundary Adjustment (Preferred Alternative), a SMMNRA boundary adjustment (approximately
 173,000-acre addition) that would provide more parks and protect habitat linkages, with an emphasis on creating

more recreational opportunities near urban areas; and

• Alternative D:  Regional Rim of the Valley Boundary Adjustment and Cooperative Conservation Areas, a SMMNRA
boundary adjustment (approximately 313,000 acre addition) with an emphasis on protecting regional wildlife corridors, would add

most areas within Rim of the Valley Corridor (excluding U.S. Forest Service managed areas) to SMMNRA. Cooperative
conservation approaches would also be recommended for key habitat linkages between the Rim of the Valley Corridor study

area and the Los Padres and Angeles national forest