California · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Chico Martinez
BLM found a natural system, a wildlife resource, a cultural value, a natural process and a historic value here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place no claim, lease or right of way inside the line today, and two grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 4,614 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 2 grazing allotments below aren't marked.Grazing allotments
2 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Chico Martinez6,250acres
- Santos1,665acres
The nearest areas
- Compensation LandsCalifornia · 281 acres · 1 right of way, a grazing allotment covering part of it6miles
- Ancient Lakeshores - Goose LakeCalifornia · 40 acres · 1 right of way19miles
- Lokern-Buena VistaCalifornia · 69,389 acres · 29 oil and gas leases, 59 rights of way, 4 grazing allotments covering part of it19miles
- Ancient Lakeshores - Alkali SinksCalifornia · 402 acres · 1 right of way28miles
- Ancient Lakeshores - Sand RidgeCalifornia · 1,600 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it34miles
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 Chico Martinez. 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