Goleta Valley Voice
Published March, 12 2004

Oil and forest a bad mix for environmentalists

By Jeff Jones

Politicians, and a growing group of environmentalists, are rallying around the local forest in an attempt to permanently put the plug in new federal oil drilling options.

Congresswoman Lois Capps introduced the Los Padres National Forest Conservation Act in February. The act seeks to ban development of untapped petroleum reserves.

If passed, the measure will take Los Padres off the list of candidates for all future oil and gas development, including the issuance of federal permits or leases, drilling, and exploration.

Proponents of expanding petroleum production believe federal forests, especially in the western states and Alaska, hold the key to diminish reliance on, and in some cases sever ties with, foreign sources.

Capps and increasingly vocal members of the Coalition to Save Los Padres counter the trade-offs are too high a price to pay for various stakeholders in the region.

"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," Capps said at a recent press conference.

"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. This bill will protect Los Padres National Forest and eliminate the risk of environmental and economic ruin that could result from more oil drilling."

Brigid O’Brien, an aide to Capps in Washington, D.C., said this week the congresswoman is reaching out to gain additional support from colleagues on Capitol Hill.

Meanwhile, the ban is targeted in the other congressional chamber, with California Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein sponsoring the simultaneous introduction of companion legislation.

The two senators and Capps view the timing as critical to close the window on permits that may be coming.

A Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) is expected from the U.S. Forest Service this year and could come as early as next month. The statement will help direct those whose job it is to decide where, and if, drilling in Los Padres occurs.

But a coordinator for the Coalition to Save Los Padres says there are no guarantees drilling won’t go on, even if the document dictates a thumbs-down in certain sectors.

"Even if the Final Environmental Impact Statement says ‘no drilling,’ it will take legislation to protect the forest," said Erin Duffy, a chief facilitator of the Los Padres coalition. "The FEIS is just a recommendation from the Forest Service. I truly believe the only way to protect these wild lands is with something written in Congress."

The coalition has 16 member organizations on the national, regional and local environmental fronts.

Duffy said many watchdog groups, including the Sierra Club, the Wilderness Society, Get Oil Out (GOO) and the formidable Environmental Defense Center, as active partners in the coalition, are keeping tabs on current governmental practices.

"Last week, the (Federal) Bureau of Land Management auctioned off over a dozen leased sites on public lands outside of Ojai, Filmore and Santa Paula," Duffy said. "This is a regular practice."

The proximity of permits to the protected California condors down south is articularly disturbing for coalition members and Duffy, who is also a regional organizer in the California Wild Heritage Campaign, a statewide nonprofit focused on preserving public lands and rivers.

"There are oil rigs in the forest right now that are adjacent to the condor sanctuary," Duffy said. "The whole forest is their habitat. They can fly up to 150 miles a day in search of food and will land where they need to. If you’re trying to protect a species, you must protect its habitat."

Groups outside of California, notably the Oil and Gas Accountability Project in Colorado, have already thrown support behind coalition efforts to get legislation passed.

"There are people working on this issue who have never been to Los Padres," Duffy said. "They realize drilling in Los Padres is a bad idea for the Condor, will ruin Chumash sites and hinder recreational opportunities."

Los Padres is home to 1,500 native plant and animal species concentrated in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

Duffy said the forest also provides sanctuary for a score of species categorized as threatened or endangered, such as the bald eagle, southern steelhead trout and peregrine falcon.

Currently, about 14,000 acres of Los Padres forest are open to oil and gas development. An estimated 140,000 acres are considered "high priority" sources by the government, with the Bush Administration and U.S. Forest Service targeting a total of 760,000 acres for petroleum exploration, according to Capps’ documentation.

With more than 1.5 million visitors to Los Padres each year, Duffy says additional drilling rigs will "degrade the experience."

"Punching roads through the forest is going to cause erosion," she said. "Streams and trails will be contaminated during runoff. Air pollution will increase. Siltation in rivers will make it difficult to fish."

Duffy said hunting and fishing groups have fired off a petition to the White House over public land management policy and oil drilling.

"It’s not the usual suspects fighting this development," she said.

The coalition will convene informational meetings scheduled for later this spring. For the California Wild Heritage Campaign’s updates on Los Padres’ status, visit www.californiawild.org.

Photo credit: Alan Coles

Caption: Degradation of the recreational experience isn’t the only reason such strong opposition to oil drilling in Los Padres exists. Environmentalists’ other fears include habitat destruction and an increase in erosion because of new roads.

© Copyright 2004 by Goleta Valley Voice