Ventura County Star
Published March 2, 2004

Editorial: Oil drilling plan far too costly

By Ventura County Star Staff

Legislation needed to save forest

Whether it's happening within sight of the Ventura County coastline or deep within the Los Padres National Forest, oil drilling can be equally destructive to either environmental setting.

The Star has previously opposed expanding oil drilling in the national forest, saying it offers more destruction than production. That's why we support a bill by Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, that puts the national forest off-limits to additional drilling activity. (Identical legislation has also been introduced in the Senate.)

If passed by Congress, the Los Padres National Forest Conservation Act would permanently prohibit all forms of exploration and drilling for oil or gas within the boundaries of the forest.

"The Bush administration has every intention of endangering our spectacular forest by opening up additional lands in Los Padres to new oil and gas exploration," Rep. Capps said last week in announcing the filing of her bill. She added, "We are truly blessed to live among one of the most pristine and wild natural treasures in the nation. We must live up to our responsibility to preserve and protect the forest for generations to come."

Based on a U.S. Forest Service study, some 140,000 acres of the forest are rated as "high potential" for drilling, specifically the Sespe above Fillmore; San Cayetano above Santa Paula; and South Cuyama in northwestern Ventura and northeastern Santa Barbara counties.

Public comment on the proposal has ended and a decision is expected this spring.

The Forest Service calls the legislation premature since the environmental review process has yet to conclude. But neither the Bush administration nor the Forest Service has signaled any inclination to back off a proposal that calls for new drilling in Los Padres for the stated purpose of weaning the country off dependence on foreign oil.

According to the California Wilderness Coalition, a statewide group working to save California's remaining wildlands, Los Padres holds, at best, a meager 10-day supply of energy for the nation. Even the Forest Service's own studies show the forest contains less than 1 percent of the nation's oil and gas reserves. The risk/reward equation just doesn't add up.

It is not worth destroying streams, trails, building new roads, harming threatened and endangered species, including the California condor and San Joaquin kit fox. Besides, Los Padres is already doing its part to supply the nation's energy needs by producing 700,000 barrels annually from existing wells.

The proposal sounds like a shortsighted deal for the wildlife that seek refuge in Los Padres and for everyone who uses the forest for recreation purposes. The Bush administration and the Forest Service should respect the wishes of the public and leave the forest alone.

© Copyright 2004 by Ventura County Star