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September 12, 2007
OIL COMPANY SEEKS DRILLING
RIGHTS IN UPPER LOPEZ CANYON
ForestWatch
Joins With Landowners to Protect
Lopez Creek and Santa Lucia Wilderness
 The
oil industry is secretly working behind the scenes to gain the
right to drill for oil in Upper Lopez Canyon, a remote area
northeast of Arroyo Grande surrounded by the Los Padres National
Forest. ForestWatch and landowners along Upper Lopez Canyon Road
have joined together to oppose oil development in this remote,
ecologically sensitive region that serves as a gateway to the
adjacent Santa Lucia Wilderness area.
A representative of the Nahabedian
Exploration Group has been knocking on residents’ doors along
Upper Lopez Canyon Road, according to several landowners who
live along the road. The oilman urges landowners to sign over
their underground mineral rights to the exploration company. The
company is a subsidiary of Pacrim Energy Ltd., an international
energy conglomerate based in Australia, according to the Pacrim
website.
 Lopez
Creek is a year-round stream that flows along several scattered
residences in this remote canyon, eventually feeding into Lopez
Lake, a municipal water source for more than 45,000 people in
the five cities region of Arroyo Grande, Pismo Beach, Grover
Beach, Oceano, and Avila Beach. Lopez Lake is also a popular
recreation destination for camping, boating, fishing, and
windsurfing. The canyon above the lake provides public access to
the Santa Lucia Wilderness Area and popular hiking and
equestrian trails to Big Falls and Little Falls.
This renewed drilling effort comes
on the heels of a plan proposed by the U.S. Forest Service in
2002 that considered opening the federally-owned portions of
Lopez Canyon to oil drilling. In 2005, the U.S. Forest
Service decided to prohibit any oil drilling in this area,
citing environmental concerns. A study
commissioned by the federal government estimates that if
drilling occurred in Lopez Canyon, it would likely produce
350,000 barrels of oil. This
 represents
a 24-minute supply of oil, based on current consumption rates
for the United States as calculated by the Energy Information
Administration, which tracks official energy statistics for the
U.S. government.
“People come here from all over
the County to marvel at the magnificent waterfalls and ancient
oak trees in this remote canyon,” said Jeff Kuyper, Executive
Director of Los Padres ForestWatch, a nonprofit organization based in
Santa Barbara working with landowners to protect this area of
the forest from oil development. “It’s not worth ruining this
special place for a few minutes’ supply of oil.”
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