Los Padres ForestWatch

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Los Padres ForestWatch ForestWatch protects wildlife and wilderness in Los Padres National Forest, Carrizo Plain, and other public lands throughout California’s central coast region.

Two new California laws could make a real difference for wildlife across the state. 🐾 Together, they aim to make it easi...
10/13/2026

Two new California laws could make a real difference for wildlife across the state. 🐾 Together, they aim to make it easier for animals to move safely through the landscape and for communities to coexist with wildlife.

SB 1250 will bring wildlife connectivity into state highway planning—helping identify where crossings, culverts, fencing, and other improvements can make roads safer for both people and wildlife.

SB 1135 creates a statewide framework for reducing human-wildlife conflicts and supporting science-based, nonlethal coexistence strategies.

These laws build on California’s existing Room to Roam protections and have direct relevance here in the Los Padres, where highways and development can fragment habitat used by mountain lions, black bears, bobcats, coyotes, deer, and other wildlife.

Through ForestWatch’s Room to Roam program, we’re continuing to track wildlife movement, roadkill, and barriers across the region so we can help turn these policies into meaningful protections on the ground.

See wildlife or an animal killed on the road? Report it through our Room to Roam survey.

👉🏽 Learn more about the new laws and how you can get involved: https://ow.ly/emmc50ZW7Tl

A big thank you to everyone who spoke up for the Roadless Rule. 💚👏At least 1.6 million comments were submitted in suppor...
10/08/2026

A big thank you to everyone who spoke up for the Roadless Rule. 💚👏

At least 1.6 million comments were submitted in support of keeping these protections in place across the 2025 and 2026 comment periods—including more than 1 million this year alone.

A new analysis by the Center for Western Priorities found that 99.1% of the 370,238 publicly posted comments opposed repealing the Roadless Rule. Commenters raised concerns about wildlife habitat, drinking water, quiet recreation, invasive species, and the increased wildfire risk associated with roads.

The message is clear: people want our intact backcountry forests protected. These are places where people hike, ride, bike, explore, and find refuge—and they should not be exploited by the federal government or private interested that want to open these lands up to intensive logging, roadbuilding, and extraction.

The opposition went well beyond individual comments. ForestWatch joined conservation groups nationwide on a 250-page technical letter that helps lay the groundwork for a legal challenge if the repeal moves forward, and 127 outdoor businesses also signed a letter supporting the Roadless Rule, including Patagonia, Toad&Co, and REI.

Here on the Central Coast, we’ll keep standing up for the 635,106 acres of roadless lands in the Los Padres—and watching closely for what comes next. Stay tuned.

Missed our monarch webinar or want to revisit it? 🦋 The recording of The Power of Community Science and Monarch Conserva...
10/07/2026

Missed our monarch webinar or want to revisit it? 🦋 The recording of The Power of Community Science and Monarch Conservation is now available on YouTube.

Hear from Isis Howard, Endangered Species Conservation Biologist with The Xerces Society, about western monarchs, the challenges they face, and how community science is helping researchers better understand and protect them.

👉 Watch the recording and explore ways to get involved: https://ow.ly/HMwO50ZSkJ9

We’re excited to welcome Martín Mejía to the ForestWatch team! 🌿 Martín brings a background in environmental studies, Tr...
10/05/2026

We’re excited to welcome Martín Mejía to the ForestWatch team! 🌿 Martín brings a background in environmental studies, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, community organizing, equity, and environmental justice, and a deep passion for helping more people feel connected to the outdoors.

As our Outdoor Connections Coordinator, he’ll be helping create meaningful, welcoming opportunities for people across Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties to get outside, build a sense of place and belonging, and experience the public lands we work to protect.

When he’s not working, you can usually find Martín reading, at the beach, spending time outdoors with Henry, or hanging out with friends and family.

We’re so glad he’s here. Welcome, Martín!

The finish line is in sight. 👀 Now’s the time to check your favorites, place your final bids, and make sure nothing slip...
10/03/2026

The finish line is in sight. 👀 Now’s the time to check your favorites, place your final bids, and make sure nothing slips away.

There are still plenty of great items and experiences in the mix, from local favorites to memorable adventures, with every winning bid supporting ForestWatch’s work across the Central Coast.

💚 See something you love? Look for Buy Now on select items to lock it in before the last-minute bidding begins.

Bidding closes October 4 at 8 PM PST. 👉🏽 Scope the auction and make your final move: forestwatch.org/silentauction

What does advocacy look like? Sometimes it’s sharing a post. Sometimes it’s submitting a personal comment. Sometimes it’...
10/02/2026

What does advocacy look like? Sometimes it’s sharing a post. Sometimes it’s submitting a personal comment. Sometimes it’s showing up to a town hall and writing a postcard.

And sometimes it’s sending hundreds of postcards from people across the Central Coast to Washington, D.C. to speak up for the Roadless Rule. 😎

The comment period closes October 6. If you haven’t used your voice yet to defend the Roadless Rule, now’s your chance.

👉🏽 Comment today: https://ow.ly/ziix50ZTl6I

You don’t need a bucket-list budget to get in on the fun. 👀 Our silent auction is packed with local favorites, gifts, di...
10/01/2026

You don’t need a bucket-list budget to get in on the fun. 👀 Our silent auction is packed with local favorites, gifts, dining, unique experiences (like touring an Abalone Farm!), and plenty of things you might have bought anyway—all while supporting ForestWatch’s work to protect our region’s public lands.

And with plenty of bids still under $50, you never know what you might take home.

🌲 Take a look and find your favorite: forestwatch.org/silentauction

Latino Conservation Week brought us together in Santa Barbara and Oxnard for two mornings rooted in community, culture, ...
09/30/2026

Latino Conservation Week brought us together in Santa Barbara and Oxnard for two mornings rooted in community, culture, creativity, and connection to the outdoors.

At Elings Park, families explored native plants, restoration, and conservation alongside Wilderness Youth Project, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden and Latino Outdoors with plenty of pan dulce, cafecito, scavenger-hunt fun, and good food along the way.

A week later at ’olołkoy Beach Park, families gathered for art, movement, community-building, and a conversation about California’s 30x30 initiative. Oxnard artist Christian A. Quirino led a workshop where participants painted what connects them to nature, from beaches and mountains to birds, trees, and flowers.

Thank you to our partners, Padres Juntos, Del Pueblo Café, and every family who joined us. 💚 We’re grateful to celebrate Latino Conservation Week with a community that cares deeply about these places and each other.

👉 Read more: https://ow.ly/NIK350ZTbf0

Governor Gavin Newsom has signed SB 1268, sponsored by Los Padres ForestWatch, making equitable access to parks, public ...
09/29/2026

Governor Gavin Newsom has signed SB 1268, sponsored by Los Padres ForestWatch, making equitable access to parks, public lands, and outdoor recreation a lasting state commitment.

We’re proud to have sponsored this bill and helped advance a policy that reflects what we see through Outdoor Connections every day: conservation is stronger when more people can experience these places, feel welcome there, and build lasting connections to the outdoors.

Thank you to Governor Newsom for signing SB 1268 and to Senator Lena Gonzalez for championing the bill and carrying it through the Legislature.

A big win for access, belonging, and conservation across California.

Pat Veesart left his mark on some of the Central Coast’s most treasured landscapes, and on the people who fought alongsi...
09/29/2026

Pat Veesart left his mark on some of the Central Coast’s most treasured landscapes, and on the people who fought alongside him to protect them.

A founding member of the Los Padres ForestWatch Board of Directors, Pat helped guide our early work and spent decades advocating for places he loved deeply, from Los Padres National Forest and Carrizo Plain National Monument to California’s coast and Alaska’s Tongass rainforest. His conservation work helped shape campaigns to protect the Carrizo, defend public access, stop harmful development, and strengthen protections for wild lands and wildlife.

But Pat’s legacy was about more than policy wins. He knew these landscapes intimately, brought people together around them, and had a way of making others understand why they were worth fighting for. Carrizo Plain, especially, was home, and his presence remains woven into that landscape.

We’re deeply grateful for everything Pat gave to ForestWatch, the Central Coast, and the places he loved.

👉 Read Jeff Kuyper’s full tribute to Pat and his remarkable life of conservation: https://ow.ly/j4v150ZSkhP

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