Stop Oil Drilling & Fracking

This page tracks the federal effort to expand oil and gas development across Central California, from the original management plan to the latest proposed lease sale.

Last updated: July 10, 2026

Latest Update: Trump Administration Proposed 36,000-Acre Oil Lease Sale Near Carrizo Plain

Last week, the Trump administration announced plans to auction nearly 36,000 acres of federal public land and mineral estate in four California counties to oil companies. The parcels cover thousands of acres adjacent to Carrizo Plain National Monument in San Luis Obispo and western Kern counties. A new GIS analysis by Los Padres ForestWatch found that portions of the proposed lease sale overlap verified Health Protection Zones and the Lokern-Buena Vista and Chico Martinez Areas of Critical Environmental Concern.

A public comment period on the proposal closes on August 1. 

The interactive map below shows lands opened for oil and gas leasing and proposed parcels included in the 2026 lease sale, anticipated for December. 

The lands targeted in the lease sale include nearly 13,000 acres of federal land and mineral estate in the Temblor Range along the boundary of the Carrizo Plain National Monument. The Carrizo Plain National Monument—often called California’s Serengeti—is a 250,000-acre expanse of golden grasslands and stark ridges adjacent to Los Padres National Forest representing one of the last undeveloped remnants of the southern San Joaquin Valley ecosystem. It is also home to one of the largest concentrations of endangered and rare plants and animals in California, including San Joaquin kit foxes, blunt-nosed leopard lizards, giant kangaroo rats, burrowing owls, and California jewelflowers. 

The announcement—issued by the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM)—included parcel numbers, acreage, and ownership information. Using the newly released GIS files, ForestWatch completed a detailed mapping analysis of the proposed lease sale. The analysis found that nearly 3,800 acres overlap designated Health Protection Zones, including schools and parks, while approximately 1,300 acres lie within the Lokern-Buena Vista and Chico Martinez Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), both protected landscapes managed for rare species and sensitive habitat.

Many of the properties included in the lease sale are federally owned land, but some “split-estate” parcels include federally owned mineral rights underlying private property. It is unknown whether the Bureau has notified affected landowners of the sale. 

The announcement also comes as Trump’s Bureau of Land Management has proposed sweeping changes to regulations governing fossil fuel development on public lands across the country. The proposed changes would make it easier for oil companies to lease public lands, reduce public input in the leasing process, and leave taxpayers to foot the bill for cleanup costs. 

Lease sales are competitive auctions where the winning bidder receives the right to drill for oil. Parcels often are leased for $10.00 per acre, which is the minimum bid amount under federal law. 

While this proposal covers 36,000 acres, its significance extends far beyond the parcels included in this lease sale. It is the first proposed federal lease sale under the BLM’s newly approved Resource Management Plans, which identify approximately 850,000 acres across Central California as eligible for future oil and gas leasing. The decisions made now—including how the BLM evaluates sensitive habitats, nearby communities, and public input—will help shape how those broader plans are implemented and how public lands across the region are managed for years to come.

“This is the Trump administration’s public lands agenda in plain view: give oil companies cheap access to public resources, slash the safeguards meant to protect taxpayers from cleanup costs, and throw up roadblocks for renewable energy while forcing more drilling on California against the state’s will. It’s a shame to see our public lands mismanaged this way.” —Benjamin Pitterle, Director of Advocacy and Field Operations, Los Padres ForestWatch

The BLM expects the lease sale to take place in December. If it proceeds, it would be the first lease sale in California since 2020 and the largest in the state since at least 2009. 

Background: The Broader Federal Oil & Gas Plan

The proposed 2026 lease sale is the latest step in a broader federal effort to expand oil and gas development across Central California.

On January 13, 2026, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) recommending that approximately 850,000 acres remain available for future fossil fuel drilling and fracking between the Santa Barbara Coast and the Sierra Nevada. The proposal covered roughly 400,000 acres of public lands including parks, ecological reserves, and beaches across Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, Kern, and surrounding counties.

The Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) evaluated where future oil and gas development and fracking could occur and what impacts it could have on nearby communities, wildlife, water resources, and public lands. Following a public comment period and additional environmental review, the Bureau of Land Management approved updated Resource Management Plans in June 2026, paving the way for individual lease sales such as the proposal announced in July. The proposed December 2026 lease sale is the first major implementation of those newly approved plans.

Conservation groups and local businesses voiced concern.

“This proposal puts some of the Central Coast’s most cherished public lands, beaches, and drinking water sources directly in the crosshairs of expanded fossil fuel development. At a time when California has taken steps to move away from fossil fuels, the Trump administration is advancing a plan that would open hundreds of thousands of acres to drilling and fracking—raising serious concerns about risks to public lands and nearby communities.”  —Jeff Kuyper, Executive Director, Los Padres ForestWatch

“The Trump Administration is once again prioritizing profit over the health of the planet. California’s public lands protect vital habitat and endemic species, bolster local economies, and provide numerous outdoor recreation opportunities for our employees and customers. Our public lands and waters should be preserved for the use of the public, not offered up for sale to oil and gas companies.” —Ryan Gellert, CEO, Patagonia

Parks, Trails, Schools, and Waterways Threatened

Although the current lease sale focuses on selected parcels, the underlying Resource Management Plans continue to make a much larger landscape eligible for future oil and gas leasing.

The Draft SEIS analyzed potential leasing across a wide range of ecologically and culturally significant landscapes. These include large portions of the Sierra Madre Mountains and surrounding foothills in the Cuyama Valley, gateway areas adjacent to Los Padres National Forest, and federally owned mineral rights underlying portions of Montaña de Oro State Park, one of the Central Coast’s most heavily visited coastal parks. It also targets lands underlying the Pacific Crest Trail and several other popular outdoor recreation sites.

The Draft SEIS also covers more than 100,000 acres of coastal land surrounding Vandenberg Space Force Base and Jalama Beach, as well as parcels near major waterways, drinking water sources, and recreation areas. These include lands adjacent to Lake Cachuma, Nojoqui Falls County Park, and waterways such as the Sisquoc River, which supports endangered southern steelhead.

Across the broader planning area, drilling-eligible parcels include lands near schools and other sensitive community sites, including Cate School in Carpinteria, The Thacher School in the Ojai Valley, and Los Osos Middle School in San Luis Obispo County. Other parcels overlap with conservation lands, wildlife corridors, and areas managed for outdoor recreation, habitat protection, and scenic values.

ForestWatch’s analysis of the proposed December 2026 lease sale parcels identified additional areas of concern, including nearly 3,800 acres overlapping Health Protection Zones and approximately 1,300 acres within the Lokern-Buena Vista and Chico Martinez Areas of Critical Environmental Concern.

A full list of key places at risk from the proposed drilling and fracking plan can be found HERE.

Oil & Gas Leasing Analysis: A History of Missteps

The proposal analyzed in the Draft SEIS has been repeatedly challenged and suspended over the past decade. Conservation groups successfully sidelined an earlier version, but it was later revived during President Trump’s first term as part of a broader push to expand oil drilling and fracking on public lands, prompting additional legal challenges by environmental organizations and a separate lawsuit by the State of California. Those cases stopped new federal oil leasing until a more complete analysis could be prepared. After remaining dormant during the Biden administration, the proposal moved forward again under the Trump administration’s renewed push to expand oil development.

In June 2026, the Bureau of Land Management approved updated Resource Management Plans, and in July announced the first proposed federal oil lease sale under those plans. The Resource Management Plans were finalized despite hundreds of thousands of public comments opposing expanded drilling and ongoing concerns that the approvals conflicted with California law and public review requirements.

“This is the second time the agency has been legally required to take a hard look at the impacts of fossil fuel development, and once again the underlying plan appears entirely unchanged. At some point, this starts looking like a rubber stamp for turning public lands into private industrial sites.” —Benjamin Pitterle, Director of Advocacy and Field Operations, Los Padres ForestWatch

Federal Plan at Odds with California’s Public Health Protections and Move to Renewable Energy

The federal proposal moves forward at a time when California has taken significant steps to limit oil and gas development and reduce associated public health and environmental risks. In recent years, the state has banned fracking, established 3,200-foot Health Protection Zones around homes, schools, hospitals, and other sensitive sites through Senate Bill 1137 (SB 1137), expanded local authority over oil and gas operations, and accelerated investments in renewable energy and climate goals.

The proposed federal lease sale would move in the opposite direction by expanding opportunities for new oil and gas leasing on federally managed lands and mineral estate. ForestWatch’s GIS analysis found that nearly 3,800 acres of the proposed lease parcels overlap designated Health Protection Zones.

In July 2026, a federal court denied the Trump administrations request to block enforcement of SB 1137 while its lawsuit against California proceeds. The court described the law as a “reasonable environmental regulation” with the “obvious and important purpose” of protecting people from the adverse health effects of oil drilling and found that the federal government had not demonstrated it was likely to succeed in its challenge. As a result, California’s Health Protection Zones remain in effect while the case moves forward.

Public Encouraged to Voice Concerns

The agency will receive public comments on the proposed lease sale through August 1, 2026. Los Padres ForestWatch and allies are encouraging community members, scientists, educators, and local governments to review the proposal and speak up—calling on BLM to fully consider impacts to public health, water supplies, wildlife habitat, recreation areas, and nearby communities, and to evaluate alternatives that would exclude sensitive areas such as parks, conservation lands, watersheds that supply drinking water, and lands near schools and neighborhoods.

ForestWatch will continue publishing updated maps, GIS findings, and resources throughout the public comment period.

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