Category: News
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Los Padres National Forest Roadless Area Trail Guide
3 min read
Chances are, if you’ve spent time exploring Los Padres National Forest, you’ve already traveled through an Inventoried Roadless Area without realizing it.
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Trump Administration Moves to Eliminate Roadless Rule, Threatening Los Padres National Forest
5 min read
The Trump administration has formally proposed eliminating the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, a move that could remove longstanding protections from more than 44 million acres of national forest lands across the country, including 635,000 acres in Los Padres National Forest. On August 18, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced that the U.S. Forest Service…
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22 Wild Places Across Los Padres National Forest and California’s Central Coast
8 min read
These are places where mountains meet the sea, rivers still run wild, condors soar overhead, wildflowers blanket the hillsides, and miles of backcountry stretch beyond the horizon. They provide clean water, wildlife habitat, opportunities for recreation, and a connection to nature that is increasingly rare.
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Los Padres ForestWatch Expands Leadership Team with Three Key Appointments
3 min read
Los Padres ForestWatch has expanded its leadership team with the appointment of Adam Morrison as Director of Development, Michelle Sevilla as Director of Organizing & Partnerships, and Shady Hakim as Director of Operations. The three appointments strengthen the organization’s ability to protect public lands and wildlife, build regional partnerships, and engage more people in conservation…
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Trump Administration Proposal Would Slash Oil Industry Cleanup Protections and Put Public Lands at Risk
2 min read
The Bureau of Land Management is proposing changes to federal oil and gas leasing regulations that would sharply reduce financial assurance, or bonding, requirements for drilling companies and expand opportunities to lease public lands for development.
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New Rule Weakens Endangered Species Act Protections: What Changed and What It Means
4 min read
The Trump administration has finalized a rule that weakens how one of the nation’s most important wildlife laws—the Endangered Species Act (ESA)—is implemented. The decision rescinds a decades-old regulatory definition of the word “harm,” making it much harder to hold people accountable for destroying habitat that endangered species rely on to survive. While the ESA…
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Every Track Tells a Story at Forest Academy’s Sold-Out Animal Tracking Workshop
3 min read
Our sold-out Forest Academy Animal Tracking workshop at the Santa Clara River Preserve on Saturday, July 11, was great fun—and incredibly informative. After discovering that access to the river basin was blocked by abundant spring growth, our expert leaders, Wyatt Harris and Martyn LeNoble, adapted the plan. They scouted the roads and parking area early…
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Trump Administration to Auction Lands Near Carrizo Plain for Oil Drilling
3 min read
ForestWatch GIS analysis finds proposed lease parcels overlap Health Protection Zones and protected wildlife habitat
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Trump Administration Scoffs at Federal and California Law and Public Process to Hand Public Lands to Big Oil
7 min read
Environmental organizations across California are condemning Trump’s Bureau of Land Management’s approval of oil and gas leasing and development plans for both the Bakersfield and Central Coast field office regions—a decision that critics argue was a rushed, legally deficient move that ignores California law, bypasses the public, and offers some of the state’s most beloved…
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Outdoor Connections Annual Campout Brings Families Together in Nature
1 min read
Earlier this month, we gathered for our annual family campout through Outdoor Connections—and it was a powerful reminder of why this work matters.
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ForestWatch Proudly Sponsors SB 1268: Codifying Outdoors for All
4 min read
As renewed threats to sell of public lands, expand oil and gas drilling, and roll back longstanding protections create growing uncertainty, California has an opportunity to lead with bold, permanent policies that protect public lands and expand equitable access to them.
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Our 2025 Impact Report Has Arrived!
2 min read
In 2025, communities across California’s Central Coast came together to protect wildlife habitat, oppose expanded oil development, advance wildfire resilience, and connect more youth and families with nature. Today, Los Padres ForestWatch is proud to share our first-ever Impact Report—a reflection on the work, landscapes, and community behind a year of conservation across California’s Central…
