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March 6, 2008
Oil Company Announces Plans to
Explore for Crude in the Carrizo Plain National Monument
The Same
Company Was Responsible for Last Year's Devastating Oil Spill in
the Los Padres National Forest
San Luis Obispo County, Calif.
- An oil company has expressed interest in exploring for oil in
the heart of the Carrizo Plain National Monument, a critical
ecological area that was set aside in 2001 to protect one of the
last remnants of grasslands remaining in this region. The
Carrizo Plain National Monument is adjacent to the Los Padres
National Forest in southeastern San Luis Obispo County, and is
home to one of the highest concentrations of rare and endangered
plants and animals in California.
photo © Bill Bouton
Vintage Production LLC, a
subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Corp., owns 30,000 acres of
mineral rights on the valley floor of the 250,000-acre Carrizo
Plain National Monument. Vintage has owned these mineral rights
since before the establishment of the monument in 2001. When the
federal government purchased much of the land to create the
monument, it did not purchase much of the underlying mineral
rights. In fact, 130,000 acres of the Carrizo Plain National
Monument (a little more than half of its total acreage) contains
privately owned mineral rights.
The most common method of oil
exploration is seismic prospecting - sending shock waves into
the earth using giant "thumper trucks" and/or explosives. If
these methods indicate the presence of oil, then more precise
data is obtained by drilling exploratory ("wildcat") wells.
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Giant kangaroo rat, which hops
on its rear feet like a kangaroo. |
Blunt-nosed leopard lizard.
© G Nafis, californiaherps.com |
San Joaquin kit fox.
Photo courtesy CDFG. |
These exploration methods
can be particularly harmful in ecologically sensitive areas
like the Carrizo Plain. The area is home to endangered
wildlife like the giant kangaroo rat, the San Joaquin kit
fox, and the blunt-nosed leopard lizard, all three of which
rely on underground burrows for shelter. These burrows could
be harmed by the intense vibrations and ground disturbance
caused by thumper trucks and explosives. Thousands of acres
of land outside of the monument have been several impacted
by oil development, underscoring the importance of
preserving the Carrizo Plain and preventing any additional
oil development within its boundaries.
Of particular concern is the
track record of Vintage Production. The company was responsible
for last year's disastrous oil spill in the Los Padres National
Forest, which covered more than three miles of stream near the
Sespe Condor Sanctuary. The company has also been responsible
for nearly a dozen other spills in the same area during the past
few years, according to official spill reports.
Currently there is only limited
oil development on the Carrizo Plain National Monument, along
its western boundary. This drilling existed at the time the
monument was created, and the Presidential Proclamation that
created the monument allowed existing oil drilling to continue.
However, the mineral rights owned by Vintage are in the heart of
the national monument.
What's Next
Before proceeding, the oil
company must obtain permits from the U.S. Bureau of Land
Management and other agencies, and must also prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement.
ForestWatch will be tracking
this process along every step of the way to protect the Carrizo
Plain National Monument from the expansion of oil drilling. In
2006, ForestWatch protected more than 3,500 acres of the Carrizo
Plain from plans to drill an exploratory well in an undeveloped
area of the monument. ForestWatch also protected an additional
1,800 acres along the boundary of the national monument later
that year. With your support we will be able to continue our
successful track record of protecting the Carrizo Plain National
Monument from oil development.
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