On June 23, 2025, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced a 30-day comment period on proposed oil and gas leasing and development on federal land in eastern Fresno, western Kern, Kings, Madera, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare, and Ventura counties. The BLM’s Bakersfield Field is gathering input on a supplemental environmental impact statement (EIS) and potential amendment to the 2014 Bakersfield Resource Management Plan for oil and gas leasing and development in this area.
The proposed expansion of development is part of President Donald Trump’s plan to “unleash America’s affordable and reliable energy and natural resources” to “restore American prosperity...” Trump’s executive order on “Unleashing American Energy” established U.S. policy to “encourage energy production and exploration on federal lands and waters, including on the Outer Continental Shelf.”
Criteria for Supplemental EIS
The supplemental EIS will consider a number of issues, including air quality, water quality, special status species, archaeology, oil and gas resources, and social and economic conditions. The BLM will update only the portions of the 2014 Bakersfield resource management plan that need to be updated to respond to the issues and management concerns identified in a 2022 court order and settlement agreement. The plan will also consider alternatives from the BLM’s 2019 supplemental EIS for hydraulic fracturing.
Planning Area
The Supplemental EIS will analyze the impacts of oil and gas leasing and development on BLM-managed public lands. The Bakersfield planning area encompasses approximately 400,000 acres of public land and an additional 450,000 acres of federal mineral estate.
The area excludes the California Coastal National Monument and the Carrizo Plain National Monument. The notice further state that “lands withdrawn from mineral entry by law, including national monuments and designated wilderness areas, would remain unavailable for leasing and development.”
Potential Resources
Oil and gas production on federal lands is mostly in western Kern County and is approximately 9% of all oil and gas produced in California, according to the BLM. A resumption of oil and gas leasing in the planning area could bring the development of 10 to 40 new oil and gas wells on new leases each year, according to the BLM. New leases would require environmental review.
Planning Timeline
The BLM is seeking comment on the supplemental EIA by July 23, 2025. According to the BLM, a draft of the EIS will be completed by October 24, 2025 with a comment period until January 22, 2026. The BLM will then publish a final EIS on February 27, 2026.