Trump Administration Resurrects Oil Drilling Threat to 400,000 Acres of Central Coast Public Lands

In a move that threatens some of California’s most cherished wildlands, the Trump administration has revived plans to expand oil drilling and fracking across 850,000 acres throughout the Central Coast and Central Valley.

On June 23, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing its intent to redo a management plan and an accompanying Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS). That SEIS, originally prepared during President Trump’s first term, attempted to make federally-owned lands and minerals throughout Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, Kern, and neighboring counties available for oil and gas leasing and fracking.

“This is a defining moment for the future of our region’s public lands,” said Los Padres ForestWatch executive director Jeff Kuyper. “From Cuyama to the Carrizo and from the Santa Ynez Valley to the Ojai Valley, these landscapes are home to rare wildlife, beloved parks, and rural communities that should never be sacrificed for short-term oil profits.”

The analysis includes parcels located near public schools and popular parks, including Cate School in Carpinteria, The Thacher School in Ojai, Los Osos Middle School, and Ken Adam Park in Lompoc. Other drilling-eligible areas lie adjacent to Lake Cachuma, Jalama Beach, Nojoqui Falls County Park, and key waterways like the Sisquoc River—home to endangered southern steelhead. Portions of the Santa Lucia and San Rafael mountains, Tepusquet Canyon, and the Cuyama Valley, all of which support critical wildlife habitat and provide recreational opportunities for local residents, are also at risk.

The affected areas contain sensitive ecosystems that support rare and imperiled species such as the California condor, San Joaquin kit fox, and tule elk and pronghorn. These lands also serve as vital watersheds for nearby farms and neighborhoods, and as natural buffers against climate change impacts.

The current review process follows a 2020 lawsuit and subsequent legal agreement by ForestWatch and allies including the Center for Biological Diversity, Patagonia, Friends of the Earth, and Sierra Club. That lawsuit filed by Earthjustice on behalf of the groups, and combined with a similar suit filed by the State of California, successfully halted any new federal oil leasing in the region pending a more thorough review of potential impacts. While the Biden administration chose not to devote scarce agency resources to rewrite the oil leasing plan, the Trump administration is now using the court-mandated process to revive and accelerate its previous plan to open these lands to industrial development.

“This is not just about one lease or one well—it’s about opening the door to industrial development across landscapes that have remained wild and unspoiled for generations,” said Kuyper. “The public has a right and a responsibility to speak up.”

ForestWatch is urging residents, landowners, scientists, educators, and outdoor recreationists to submit public comments. The group is asking BLM to conduct a thorough environmental review and to protect sensitive sites like schools, public parks and beaches, national forest and national monument lands, ecological reserves, and neighborhoods.

The agency is now accepting public comments through July 23, 2025.

A copy of the official Federal Register notice is available at:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/06/23/2025-11481

An interactive map of lands being considered for oil leasing is available at: https://forestwatch.org/news/trump-administration-resurrects-oil-drilling-threat-to-central-coast-public-lands/