More than 27 federally protected plant and animal species rely on Los Padres National Forest, while the nearby Carrizo Plain National Monument is home to one of the highest concentrations of endangered species in California.
This Endangered Species Day, we’re celebrating just a few of the remarkable animals that depend on these wild landscapes to survive, from the elusive San Joaquin kit fox and the critically endangered blunt-nosed leopard lizard to the iconic California condor soaring above the Central Coast backcountry.
Protecting endangered species starts with protecting habitat. Clean water, intact grasslands, roadless forests, remote desert valleys, and connected wildlife corridors all play a critical role in helping species recover and adapt in a changing world. When these landscapes are fragmented by drilling, logging, mining, roads, and development, wildlife loses the space it needs to survive.
The good news? Conservation works. California condors are flying again because people fought to protect places like the Sespe Condor Sanctuary and surrounding wilderness in Los Padres. Species recovery is possible when we choose to safeguard the ecosystems that sustain life.
Today and every day, Los Padres ForestWatch is working to protect the wild public lands, watersheds, and habitats that endangered species across the Central Coast call home.
📷: All photos by Chris Trent
#EndangeredSpeciesDay #LosPadresNationalForest #LosPadresForestWatch #CAWildlife
Central Coast, Stand Up! 📣 Join us at a town hall to learn what proposed changes to the Roadless Rule could mean for Los Padres and our public lands.
For 25 years, the Roadless Rule has protected millions of acres of intact national forest from new roads, large-scale logging, and mining, including more than 635,000 acres in and around Los Padres National Forest.
Now, the U.S. Forest Service is proposing to roll back these protections while limiting public input in the process.
Together, we can show that our communities are paying attention—and that we will fight to protect our forests.
🌲 OJAI: May 27 at @sanelivingcenter
🌲 VENTURA: May 28 at @topatopabrewingco on Colt St.
🌲 SANTA BARBARA: June 10 at @toadandcoclothing Courtyard
🌲 SLO: Details coming soon...stay tuned!
👉🏽 Comment *ROADLESS* to RSVP!
#RoadlessRule #RoadlessTownHall #CentralCoast #Ojai #Ventura #SantaBarbara
Live for the outdoors and ready to put your boots on the ground? 🥾 Put that passion to work where it counts.
Join our team as Land Stewardship Manager, leading the care of a 157-acre nature preserve in the San Emigdio Mountains and driving stewardship projects across Los Padres National Forest. From wildlife surveys and habitat restoration to mapping, monitoring, and coordinating field projects, this role blends science, strategy, and real work in wild places.
If you're grounded in the sciences, thrive in hands-on fieldwork, and want to play a direct role in protecting and restoring the landscapes of the Central Coast, apply now.
👉🏽 Comment LAND for the full job announcement and application instructions.
#GreenJobs #SantaBarbaraJobs #LosPadresForestWatch
Despite overwhelming public opposition (nearly 98% of public comments!), the Trump Administration has officially repealed the Bureau of Land Management’s Public Lands Rule, rolling back conservation safeguards across 245 million acres of public lands.
The rule helped protect wildlife habitat, watersheds, and intact landscapes by ensuring conservation was considered alongside drilling, mining, grazing, and other development.
Here on the Central Coast, that includes landscapes connected to the Los Padres National Forest and Carrizo Plain National Monument, home to California condors, San Joaquin kit foxes, tule elk, giant kangaroo rats, and more.
At a time when public lands across the West face increasing pressure from drilling, mining, and industrial development, it’s more important than ever to speak up for the wild places that sustain wildlife, clean water, recreation, and our communities. We won’t stop fighting for strong protections and science-based stewardship across the Central Coast and beyond.
👉 Comment *PLR* to read more.
#PublicLandsRule #ProtectPublicLands #LosPadresNationalForest
Explore the Sespe Wilderness—the wildest, most protected backcountry in the southern Los Padres National Forest 🌿
Pull up to a free Trail Talk on May 21 at @sbplibrary . Hear from ForestWatch's Executive Director Jeff Kuyper, award-winning writer, educator, and co-founder of @sisarcanyonrunclub Peter Deneen (@dancin.pete ), and outdoor journalist and photographer @chuckgrahamphoto as they break down the landscapes, recreation, and history behind the Sespe’s protected status.
Think condors, bighorn sheep, rugged trails, and public lands history. See you there!
📷: Chuck Graham
#SespeWilderness #Sespe #LosPadres #LosPadresNationalForest
Meet the yellow-blotched ensatina (YBE). This small salamander is a U.S. Forest Service Sensitive Species and lives only in the Tehachapi Mountains and surrounding mountains including Mt. Pinos, Frazier Mountain, Tecuya Ridge, Alamo Mountain, and Pine Mountain.
🦎 Unlike some amphibians who start life in water and move to land, the YBE (and many other salamanders in Los Padres) are terrestrial, meaning they skip the aquatic larval stage and hatch from eggs on land as fully-formed, miniature versions of the adults. Their eggs are laid in and under decaying logs and rocks. And because they breathe through their skin, they’re also powerful indicators of environmental health.
But they’re under pressure from climate change, drought, disease, and habitat fragmentation. That's why it's even more important to get to know them—because to know them is to love them, and to love them is to protect them!
🐸 Curious to learn more? Comment *SHOP* to check out our store's Amphibian Collection!
📷: Bryant Baker
#AmphibianWeek #YellowBlotchedEnsatina #LosPadresNationalForest
California has made a big commitment to making sure everyone can access parks and the outdoors, but that commitment isn’t guaranteed to last.
SB 1268 would strengthen the Outdoors for All initiative and help make California’s commitment to outdoor access long-lasting.
Why it matters:
🌿 Access to nature isn’t equal across California
🌿 Many communities face real barriers to getting outside
🌿 Time outdoors builds long-term support for protecting public lands
When people connect with the outdoors, they are more likely to value and advocate for its protection.
Your voice matters. 📣 Comment *ACCESS* for an easy link to tell the Senate Appropriations Committee to support SB 1268 before May 11.
#OutdoorsForAll #SB1268 #LosPadresForestWatch #OutdoorAccess
Reporting wildlife and roadkill on local roads can help identify dangerous crossings and guide where protections are needed most across our region.
Be part of our Room to Roam community science project by logging your sightings through a free, mobile-friendly survey right from your phone.
👉 Comment R2R for an easy link to download the survey and start documenting today: forestwatch.org/R2R
#RoomToRoam #LosPadresForestWatch #RoadWatch #CAWildlife
A few seats remain for The Wilderness Table! 🍽️
Join us for an unforgettable evening in Santa Barbara Wine Country celebrating local flavors, sustainable farming, and the wild landscapes of California’s Central Coast.
Your evening includes:
🍹 Farm-to-glass welcome cocktail from @rock12distillery
🍇 Vineyard tour at @larnerwine
🍽️ Multi-course dinner by @highonthehogcatering + Chef Brett Stephen
🍷 Thoughtfully paired wines
🌿 Meaningful conversation with a community that cares about protecting public lands
👉 Comment WILD to join us at the Table!
💚 Thank You to Our Event Partners
Larner Winery & Vineyard
Rock 12 Distillery
chumashfoundation
@islandpackers@carolgravellegraphicdesign@anchorpoint_its
💚 Thank You to Our Hurricane Deck Sponsors
Ann and Evan Wride
Anonymous
#WildernessTable #LosPadresForestWatch #Solvang #LarnerVineyard #ProtectPublicLands
Comment *FOFA* for a link to send a message to Senator Padilla and Congress! 📣
The “Fix Our Forests Act” is being sold as wildfire policy. 🔥 It’s not.
This bill would fast-track commercial logging on public lands by calling it “fuel reduction” while weakening environmental review and safeguards that determine what gets cut and why.
That matters right now. The administration is aggressively using wildfire as an excuse to log America’s mature and old growth forests on public lands, while stripping away the last safeguards we have in place.
We need real wildfire solutions—science-based strategies that actually protect communities, like home hardening and defensible space—not policies that open the door to more logging with fewer protections.
📣 Comment *FOFA* for an easy link or head to forestwatch.org/act to tell @senalexpadilla and Congress to oppose the Fix Our Forests Act.
#FOFA #FixOurForestsAct #LosPadresForestWatch #ProtectPublicLands #Logging
Do you get giddy when you see a Cooper’s Hawk in the wild? Does your heart skip a beat when you hear the pulsing melody of a California Thrasher? If so, you won’t want to miss this! 🐦
Local birding experts Jim Royer and Carrie Miller will lead you on a unique birding experience on Saturday, May 30 through one of the country’s premier birding locations.
🦆 Comment BIRD to reserve your spot!
This walk is part two of the four-part Forest Academy learning series. Discounted rate when you register for the remaining three events!
🙏🏽 Thank you to our event partners:
@anchorpoint_its@carolgravellegraphicdesign@oniracom@montecitobank@islandpackers
chumashfoundation
PIP Marketing Signs Print
@tonyaperalta_ojairealtor
📷: Cooper’s Hawk by Bryant Baker
#LosPadresForestWatch #ForestAcademy #SLO #SLOBirding #CerroAlto
Sixty years ago, Topa Topa was a weak fledgling rescued from Matilija Canyon in Los Padres National Forest. Today, he’s the oldest living California condor—and one of the most important.
After surviving a failed return to the wild, Topa Topa became a cornerstone of the recovery effort. As part of the captive breeding program, he’s helped bring hundreds of condors back to the skies, with many now flying free across California.
His story is a reminder of what’s possible—and what’s still at stake. Condors continue to face threats from lead poisoning, habitat loss, and more.
🎉 Happy 60th, Topa Topa! Thank you for helping pull a species back from the brink.
👉 Comment TOPA to read the full story and celebrate his legacy.
📷: Courtesy of L.A. Zoo
#TopaTopa #Condor #MatilijaCanyon #LosPadresNationalForest
