Symposium to Mark Angeles Forest Centennial

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Angeles National Forest, a daylong symposium on Dec. 5 will feature a historian, naturalist and other experts on the 693,000-acre preserve in the San Gabriel Mountains.

The event, sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service and the Big Santa Anita Historical Society, will focus on natural wonders as well as historical, political, economic, environmental and social influences on the Angeles National Forest.

Big Santa Anita President Glen Owens said he hopes the event “will strengthen people’s caring for the forest, because only when things are truly endeared do they have a chance to endure.”

Scheduled speakers include John Robinson, author of several books on the San Gabriel Mountains; naturalist and writer Elna Bakker, who will discuss geologic features of the mountains; Bayard Brattstrom, a Cal State Fullerton zoologist, who will talk about his 45 years of field work in the forest; and photographer Roy Murphy, who has extensively documented plant and animal life in the San Gabriels.

In addition, Gary Hines will perform his one-man show about Gifford Pinchot, the first chief of the U.S. Forest Service.

The symposium, starting at 8:30 a.m. and ending by 3:30 p.m., will be held in Beckman Auditorium at Caltech in Pasadena. Tickets are $8.95 and can be purchased at the door or reserved by calling (818) 574-1613. Discounts are available for large groups. Box lunches also can be ordered.