Carbajal bill would prevent development on more than 250,000 acres of Central Coast land

Yet another attempt is being made to protect more than 250,000 acres of Central Coast land from development forever.

Congressman Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, was set to reintroduce the Central Coast Heritage Protection Act in the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday.

The bill would set aside about 250,000 acres of land from Ventura County to San Luis Obispo County for designated wilderness areas. New areas of the Carrizo Plain National Monument and Los Padres National Forest would be forever protected from development under the act.

The bill has passed the majority-Democratic House the past few Congresses but failed in the Republican-held Senate.

This year, as the Republicans control the House and Democrats have the majority in the Senate, Carbajal said he has more optimism for the bill.

Carbajal advocated for passage of the legislation on Saturday during a visit to the Carrizo Plain National Monument, surrounded by supporters from the Los Padres ForestWatch, Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, Northern Chumash Tribal Council, California Wilderness Coalition, Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club, Carrizo Plain Conservancy and The Wilderness Society.

“I’m optimistic that this Congress will approve it, but if not this Congress, I’ll continue to reintroduce it until we absolutely get this piece of legislation over the finish line,” he said at the event. “To not continue to work on moving this legislation forward would be a real travesty. Because we need to preserve this area.”

While he gave his address, visitors took photos of the wildflowers and now-full Soda Lake. Under Carbajal’s bill, the area would be designated as the Soda Lake Wilderness.

Additionally, Caliente Mountain, the tallest peak in San Luis Obispo County located on the southern end of the Carrizo Plain National Monument, would be protected as the Caliente Mountain Wilderness under the bill.

Also, the boundaries of the Garcia Wilderness and Santa Lucia Wilderness in the Los Padres National Forest would be expanded.

And new scenic areas would be designated around Black Mountain in San Luis Obispo County and in the Santa Ynez Mountains in Santa Barbara County. Scenic areas have a lesser degree of federal protection than wilderness areas and do allow for some development.

The bill would also better establish the 400-mile Condor Trail that stretches from Monterey to Lake Piru near Santa Clarita.

Adding thousands of acres of designated wilderness areas in California is important to protect the immense biodiversity in the Central Coast area, Carbajal said on Saturday.

“We are lucky to be able to have this majestic place in our backyard,” Carbajal said of the Soda Lake area at the Carrizo Plain National Monument. “And it’s not only special to us, but when you really consider its ecological value, it’s important for the world.”

Carbajal noted that the bill has faced pushback from oil and gas companies that want to expand drilling operations in areas of the Carrizo Plain National Monument, as well as Central Coast developers eyeing areas of the Los Padres National Forest.

Bryant Baker from the Los Padres ForestWatch noted that the Carrizo Plain is home to several imperiled or endangered animal species such as the giant kangaroo rat, San Joaquin antelope squirrel and the San Joaquin kit fox. Other areas of the Los Padres National Forest are important habitat for the critically endangered California condor, he added.

“It’s hard to overstate just how important wilderness designations are for these habitats that these plants and wildlife rely on just to survive,” Baker said at the Saturday event. “With climate change, I think it’s really important that we be trying to protect these landscapes as much as possible. And that’s exactly what this bill does.”

Michael Khus-Zarate from the Northern Chumash Tribal Council added that Carbajal’s bill has widespread support from tribal groups on the Central Coast.

“It’s important ... for us, on the spiritual side, protecting our resources, protecting our sacred sites out here, protecting all the animals that play such a prominent role in all of our stories, in our culture,” Khus-Zarate said.