On January 13, 2026, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a study that recommends allowing oil and gas leasing across large portions of central California between the Santa Barbara coast and the Sierra Nevada. The plan, scheduled for approval later this year, opens up to 850,000 acres for fossil fuel drilling and fracking. That number includes 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 interactive map below shows lands opened for oil and gas leasing.
The Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) outlines where oil and gas development and fracking could occur and what impacts it could have on nearby communities, wildlife, water resources, and public lands. Its release triggers a short public comment period, scheduled to close on March 6, 2026, during which residents and local governments can weigh in before any decisions are finalized.
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,” said Jeff Kuyper, Executive Director of Los Padres ForestWatch. “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.”
“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,” said Ryan Gellert, CEO of Patagonia. “Our public lands and waters should be preserved for the use of the public, not offered up for sale to oil and gas companies.”
Parks, Trails, Schools, and Waterways Threatened
The document analyzes oil and gas 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.
Some drilling-eligible parcels identified in the analysis are located 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.
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 is now moving forward again under the Trump administration’s renewed push to expand oil development.
“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,” said Benjamin Pitterle, Director of Advocacy with Los Padres ForestWatch. “At some point, this starts looking like a rubber stamp for turning public lands into private industrial sites.”
Federal Plan at Odds with California’s Move to Renewable Energy
The federal proposal moves forward at a time when California has taken steps to limit oil and gas development and reduce associated public health and environmental risks. In recent years, the state has banned fracking, established health protection zones around homes and schools, and expanded local authority over oil and gas operations. The BLM proposal would support new leasing on federally managed lands and mineral estate in conflict with these state protections.
Photo: Benjamin Pitterle
Public Encouraged to Voice Concerns
The agency will receive public comments on the proposed management updates until March 6, 2026. Los Padres ForestWatch and allies are encouraging community members, scientists, educators, and local governments to review the Draft SEIS 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.