Federal agency wants to open 122,500 acres of SLO County land to oil drilling
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Bureau of Land Management proposes 122,546 SLO acres for oil lease review.
- Environmental groups cite health, wildlife risks as public comment opens July 23.
- Plan revives Trump-era policy; final environmental report due by February 2025.
More than 122,500 acres of San Luis Obispo County land could open to oil and gas leasing if the Bureau of Land Management revives a management plan developed during President Donald Trump’s first term.
On June 23, the bureau published a notice in the Federal Registrar announcing plans to prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement and a resource management plan that would evaluate the impact of allowing oil and gas leasing on land and mineral estate managed by its Bakersfield Field Office.
The Bakersfield Field Office manages 612,000 acres of public lands through eastern Fresno, western Kern, Kings, Madera, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare and Ventura counties, along with 1.2 million acres of federal mineral estate — some of which lies under privately owned land, its website said.
The plan would offer 122,546 acres of San Luis Obispo County lands to oil and gas leasing, according to the Los Padres ForestWatch, a nonprofit that advocates for the conservation of public lands.
Some of those parcels are located near schools, including Los Osos Middle School, the nonprofit said.
Designated wilderness areas or national monuments like the Carrizo Plain would not be available for oil and gas leases, the notice said.
The Bureau of Land Management said the project supports the Trump administration’s Secretary Order 3418, which calls for the expansion of oil, gas, coal and mineral exploration on federal lands, according to the notice.
Los Padres ForestWatch executive director Jeff Kuyper, however, said expanding oil and gas production would threaten the health of nearby communities and damage habitats that protect endangered species like the California condor and tule elk.
“This is a defining moment for the future of our region’s public lands,” he said in a news release. “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 Bureau of Land Management did not respond to The Tribune’s requests for comment.
Federal agency revives plan for oil and gas leasing
Environmentalists have been fighting the expansion of oil and gas production in Central California for at least a decade.
In 2014, the Bakersfield Field Office adopted a resource management plan that would have offered 1 million acres of federal land and mineral estate to oil and gas leasing and development, according to court documents.
In 2016, the Center for Biological Diversity and Los Padres ForestWatch sued the Bureau of Land Management, arguing that the 2012 final environmental impact statement for the plan did not adequately address the impact of fracking on air quality, water and wildlife — which would violate the National Environmental Policy Act.
The court agreed with the environmental advocacy organizations, so the bureau “agreed not to conduct any new oil and gas lease sales within the Bakersfield Field Office planning area until it completed supplemental National Environmental Policy Act analysis to address the deficiencies identified by the court,” a court document said.
In 2019, the bureau published a new supplemental environmental impact statement for the project. The Center for Biological Diversity and Los Padres ForestWatch sued again, arguing that the bureau still failed to address the impact of fracking on air and water quality and the health of nearby communities.
The State of California filed a related lawsuit against the plan in 2020.
As a result of the litigation, the federal government couldn’t proceed with new oil leasing in the region without “a more thorough review of potential impacts,” the Los Padres ForestWatch said.
Now, like a case of déjà vu, the bureau is developing a supplemental environmental impact statement to yet again review the impact of expanded oil and gas production.
People can submit public comments to the Bureau of Land Management on the notice of intent to publish a supplemental environmental impact statement by July 23 through the project website at bit.ly/4eLSgwu.
Then, the draft environmental impact statement is scheduled to be released on Oct. 24, with the public comment period lasting until Jan. 22. The final environmental impact statement should publish on Feb. 27, with a decision anticipated for April 28, according to a schedule posted by the Bureau of Land Management.
Kuyper urged people to oppose the expansion of oil and gas leasing in the region.
“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,” Kuyper said in a release. “The public has a right and a responsibility to speak up.”
