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Public lands are worth protecting.
They include well-known national parks, plus national forests, national monuments, national wildlife refuges, and other federal lands, all managed by various agencies and departments. Public lands also encompass state and local parks and beaches. As public lands, these places belong to all of us, and we have a shared responsibility to use them responsibly and to protect and defend them when they come under threat.
The central coast region holds more than two million acres of public lands, covering upwards of one-third of our local land base.
The largest—Los Padres National Forest—stretches from the famed Big Sur coast, through the backcountry of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties and beyond, even stretching into Kern and Los Angeles counties. The forest is part of a vast network of public lands that also includes Carrizo Plain National Monument, Hopper Mountain and Bitter Creek national wildlife refuges, Channel Islands National Park, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, and more.
Public lands all carry with them certain levels of protections, but some areas enjoy stronger safeguards than others.
National forests, for example, are open to a variety of land uses including logging, mining, fossil fuel development, road construction, pipeline and utility corridors, commercial livestock grazing, and more. These uses—if left unchecked—can inflict permanent damage to clean air and water, wildlife habitat, outdoor recreation opportunities, and the health of our climate.
Explore with us!
Click on the links below to learn more about the vast network of public lands in California’s central coast region.
Los Padres National Forest
Rising from the Pacific Ocean to over 8,800 feet in elevation, these wildlands form the backdrop of many local communities in Santa Barbara, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, and Kern Counties.
Carrizo Plain National Monument
The Carrizo Plain National Monument is a stunning 204,000-acre protected landscape in California's San Joaquin Valley, where vast grasslands, dramatic geological formations, and spectacular spring wildflower displays offer visitors a rare glimpse into what much of California's landscape looked like before modern development.
National Wildlife Refuges
The mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System is to manage a national network of lands and waters for the conservation, management, and where appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitat.
Ancestral Lands
Within the boundaries of what is today known as the Los Padres National Forest, five Native American cultures – the Chumash, the Salinan, the Esselen, the Tataviam, and the Costanoan – thrived for centuries. Today, many areas of the Los Padres retain their cultural and spiritual significance to Native peoples.
Wildlife & Plants
The federal Endangered Species Act protects more than 1,200 different plant and animal species that are on the brink of extinction. The Los Padres provides habitat for 26 of these protected species, more than any other national forest in California.
History of the Los Padres
In 1898, President William McKinley established the Pine Mountain and Zaca Lake Forest Reserve. It was renamed the Santa Barbara Forest Reserve in 1903 and was eventually combined with the Santa Ynez, San Luis, and Monterey Forest Reserves. President Franklin D. Roosevelt renamed the area the Los Padres National Forest in 1936.
Webinars
Watch some of our webinars from over the years. These are a rich resource full of interesting education and discussions.
Trails
Spanning nearly 2 million acres across central California, Los Padres National Forest offers an extensive network of trails that showcase the region's diverse ecosystems, from coastal chaparral to alpine peaks. These pathways tell the story of both natural and human history, winding through landscapes shaped by geological forces and centuries of human interaction.
Native Voices
Indigenous leaders who have stewarded these lands for millennia continue to guide the future of Los Padres National Forest, teaching us that true conservation requires centering Native sovereignty and wisdom.
We advocate for reducing wildfire ignitions by promoting smarter development practices in fire-prone areas, focusing on prevention through community-based strategies.
