California · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Bitter Creek
BLM found a wildlife resource and a fish resource here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place no claim, lease or right of way inside the line today, and three grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 1,025 acres and was designated December 22, 2014, in the Bakersfield Resource Management Plan.
One of the 1,120 places the Bureau of Land Management has designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern. This page shows its line, what BLM found there and what sits inside it.
The line
Ground: USGS The National Map, topographic tiles. Boundaries: BLM's own, read Oct 20, 2026. The 3 grazing allotments below aren't marked.Grazing allotments
3 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Allotment USFS-GRZ-10696.0104728,830acres
- Santiago Creek2,840acres
- San Emigdio578acres
The nearest areas
- Upper Cuyama ValleyCalifornia · 15,628 acres · 12 rights of way, 5 grazing allotments covering part of it10miles
- Ancient Lakeshores - Alkali SinksCalifornia · 402 acres · 1 right of way28miles
- Lokern-Buena VistaCalifornia · 69,389 acres · 29 oil and gas leases, 59 rights of way, 4 grazing allotments covering part of it30miles
- Compensation LandsCalifornia · 281 acres · 1 right of way, a grazing allotment covering part of it40miles
- Hopper MountainCalifornia · 4,518 acres · 4 oil and gas leases, 12 rights of way43miles
More from BLM's California office
Every area BLM's California office holdsThe proposed rule
A proposed rule, RIN 1004-AF53, would change how BLM drafts every land use plan, and how it designates ACECs like Bitter Creek. The comment window hasn't opened: the proposed rule wasn't in the Federal Register at our last check. The Watch sends one email the day it prints.
The rule's abstract
The purpose of this rulemaking is to establish in regulations an updated process for the approval of the development, revision, amendment, and maintenance of land use plans, as provided for by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, for public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Additionally, this rulemaking will provide clarification of the process the BLM uses for designating Areas of Critical Environmental Concern.Unified Agenda entry for RIN 1004-AF53, Publication ID 2026, reginfo.gov (OMB OIRA), read Oct 18, 2026