Pelosi Introduces Legislation Renaming Golden Gate National Parks

Contact:Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami, 202-226-7616

Washington, D.C. -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced the Golden Gate National Parks and Technical Corrections bill today. The legislation will rename and redesignate the Golden Gate National Recreation Area as the Golden Gate National Parks. The legislation will also make technical corrections to other park units contained within the Golden Gate National Parks.

"Our national parks are some of America's greatest treasures, and they have been designated that way to ensure they are preserved for our future generations. In the San Francisco Bay Area, we are proud of our Golden Gate National Recreation Area, with parks spanning across San Mateo, San Francisco and Marin Counties. They are a national treasure and they are deserving of the highest National Park Service designation, which this legislation will ensure.

"One hundred years ago, President Theodore Roosevelt declared Muir Woods the nation's 10th National Monument to honor the conservationist John Muir and preserve a beautiful natural space.

"Today, I would like to recognize the establishment of the Golden Gate National Parks, which will contain the Muir Woods National Monument, as the 59th National Park. This bill is dedicated to renowned environmentalist Edgar Wayburn, and to my friend and predecessor in Congress, the late Congressman Phillip Burton, and to all those who have dedicated their careers and lives to preserving these remarkable natural and historical spaces for our and future generations to enjoy."

Background

The Golden Gate National Parks offer Bay Area residents and visitors the opportunity to escape from the City and connect with nature and our nation's history. The Golden Gate National Parks are home to sites utilized by the Coastal Miwok and Ohlone people, the Spanish missionaries and military, Mexican settlers, Gold Rush prospectors, and Civil War military units. There remain many historic sites preserved within the Parks, including the Cliff House Restaurant and the Sutro Baths in San Francisco, as well as decommissioned army bases and fortifications dating back to 1776.

The Golden Gate National Parks also offer visitors access to an amazingly diverse natural area. The Parks contain expansive forests and costal lands, such as Sweeney Ridge in San Mateo County and Muir Woods in Marin. There is also an abundance of plant and animal life in the Parks with over 1,200 identified plant and animal species, including 33 threatened and endangered species.

In the years since the establishment of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area almost 40 years ago, the park units have collectively been referred to as Golden Gate National Parks. As natural and historic sites have been added to this park system, the need has grown to recognize the system of parks for what they are, which is one of our nation's great natural treasures.

This bill recognizes the importance of Golden Gate National Parks to the history and future of our nation and rewards it with a designation befitting its place among the most spectacular national parks in our nation.