California · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Upper Cuyama Valley
BLM found a natural system, a wildlife resource and a natural process here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 12 rights of way inside the line today, and five grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 15,628 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
The rights of way
12 rights of way sit inside the line. BLM files 9 under non-energy facilities and 3 under other energy facilities.
- FRONTIER CALIFORNIA INC3rights of way
- PG&E3rights of way
- USFS (LP - SANTA BARBARA RANGE DISTRICT)3rights of way
- Holder not listed by BLM1right of way
- SANTA BARBARA FLOOD1right of way
- COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA PUBLIC WORKS DEPT1right of way
Grazing allotments
5 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Allotment USFS-GRZ-10723.01047266,777acres
- Allotment USFS-GRZ-10703.01047210,949acres
- Allotment USFS-GRZ-10706.0104726,952acres
- Santa Barbara Canyon1,692acres
- Cuyama 2470acres
The nearest areas
- Bitter CreekCalifornia · 1,025 acres · 3 grazing allotments covering part of it10miles
- Lokern-Buena VistaCalifornia · 69,389 acres · 29 oil and gas leases, 59 rights of way, 4 grazing allotments covering part of it32miles
- Ancient Lakeshores - Alkali SinksCalifornia · 402 acres · 1 right of way33miles
- Compensation LandsCalifornia · 281 acres · 1 right of way, a grazing allotment covering part of it39miles
- Chico MartinezCalifornia · 4,614 acres · 2 grazing allotments covering part of it43miles
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 Upper Cuyama Valley. 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