California · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Potrero
BLM found a natural system, a wildlife resource, a natural process and a natural hazard here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 1 right of way inside the line today. It covers 12,972 acres and was designated May 26, 1994, in the South Coast.
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
The rights of way
1 right of way sits inside the line. BLM files 1 under non-energy facilities.
- CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION1right of way
The nearest areas
- Whitewater CanyonCalifornia · 16,415 acres · at least 2 active mining claims, 13 rights of way18miles
- Santa Ana River WashCalifornia · 756 acres · 7 rights of way19miles
- Big Morongo CanyonCalifornia · 28,275 acres · 14 rights of way28miles
- Coachella Valley Fringe-toed LizardCalifornia · 11,634 acres · 5 rights of way32miles
- Santa Margarita Ecological ReserveCalifornia · 5,549 acres · 3 rights of way32miles
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 Potrero. 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